AHEAD Americas 2023
19 October 2023
2023 Awards
Each year, AHEAD - the leading Awards for Hospitality Experience and Design - comprises four regional annual awards programmes, celebrating the achievements of those shaping the hospitality industry across the Americas, the Middle East & Africa (MEA), Asia, and Europe.
The winners of AHEAD Americas 2023 were announced at a ceremony Weylin, Brooklyn on 19 October.
Once all of this year's regional winners have been announced, the very first AHEAD 100 list will be unveiled; our new annual list showcasing the best new hotels in the world. A judging panel - comprising architects, interior designers, hoteliers, and industry commentators from across the globe - will then decide the final 10 best-of-the-best, before selecting the winner of the Ultimate Accolade, announced on 20 November.
To hear when entries for our 2024 series open, sign up to our mailing list.
Global Headline Sponsor
Headline Sponsors
Global Sponsors
Event Sponsors
GLOBAL HEADLINE SPONSOR
About
RH Contract provides a business-to-business partnership like no other in the industry. With our multi-category product assortment, unparalleled product design and curation capabilities, uniquely integrated interior design approach, the benefits of RH’s purchasing power, and our global supply chain and logistics scale, RH Contract has proven to be a unique, valuable project partner.
ORGANISED BY
About
We’re the leading B2B media company in hospitality design
We create content and commercial solutions to connect communities developing exceptional hospitality experiences around the world. We’ve been publishing beautiful magazines, curating exceptional events and crafting online content since our launch in 1999.
TROPHY SPONSOR
About
The brand Lasvit, founded in 2007 by Leon Jakimič, sheds new light on Bohemian glass and takes it into the next millennium. Lasvit combines the authenticity of glass craft with innovative technologies and creative craftsmanship. In a few short years, Lasvit has established itself as the authority delivering bespoke lighting sculptures and art installations made from hand-blown glass.
Collaborations with renowned designers and artists produce also unique glass collections. Nendo, Ross Lovegrove, Daniel Libeskind, Maarten Baas, Czech legends René Roubíček and Bořek Šípek are among those who choose Lasvit in order to embody their unconventional artistic vision, endow it with the precision and mastery of our glassmakers, and produce impressive creative oeuvre. This is a manifesto of Lasvit’s uncompromising mission: To transform glass into breathtaking light and design experiences.
POWERED BY
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TOPHOTELPROJECTS is the heart of a global community of suppliers and decision-makers which initiates and supports the communication relating to building, design, furnishing, and operation of hotels.
We are a German research firm covering global hotel constructions, that over a decade branched out into hospitality events, media, and hotel design.
No other company comes close in supporting the hotel industry by efficiently combining different business areas into one integrated solution.
Ever since the hotel industry veteran Rolf W. Schmidt founded the company in 2009, our core activity is building the world’s most comprehensive directory of:
We took the complex, ever-evolving global hospitality industry and introduced it to our German sense of efficiency and sheer hard work.
Our research team of some 25 experienced professionals spends 1,800 hours a month researching hotel projects around the world.
Our database has been 10 years in the making, during which we gathered information on over 24,000 hotel projects and 120,000 related companies. Currently, our database has information on more than 6,500 ongoing hotel projects worldwide – important details included.
TOPHOTELPROJECTS today represents an exhaustive, ever-growing network of professionals from all major sectors of the hospitality industry: owners, developers, investors, brands, operators, architects, designers, and suppliers.
In 2019, TOPHOTELPROJECTS and Sleeper Media signed a strategic partnership with mutual co-investment. This partnership combines digital expertise and in-depth data of TOPHOTELPROJECTS with Sleeper Media’s leading hospitality offerings. It is all about synergy and a win for all sectors of the industry.
GLOBAL SPONSOR
About
KALDEWEI – your worldwide partner for iconic bathroom solutions shaped from superior steel enamel. KALDEWEI’s extensive range of bathtubs, shower surfaces, and washbasins are ideally suited to the demands of the hospitality industry delivering an increased level of health and wellbeing awareness for your hotel. The smooth, non-porous glass surface not only gives you security against germs and dirt but is also the material of the future. KALDEWEI steel enamel is made of 100% natural materials and is 100% recyclable, so it’s good for your guests and the planet too.
To learn more visit KALDEWEI.com
GLOBAL SPONSOR
About
Founded in 1892 in Switzerland, LAUFEN has become one of the world's leading companies for sanitary ceramics. Today LAUFEN Bathrooms provided integrated bathroom concepts with high-quality products, ranging from sanitary ceramics to bathtubs and shower trays, furniture, faucets, and accessories.
GLOBAL SPONSOR
About
Designing and manufacturing everything in bathrooms.
Roca began life as a family business manufacturing cast iron radiators at a factory in Gavà, near Barcelona in 1917. Over the years, the portfolio gradually expanded and by 1929, Roca entered the bathroom environment for the first time. With an attentive focus on social changes, Roca has since been pioneering when tackling issues surrounding sustainability, design, and technology, and remains at the forefront of these innovations today. Today, Roca reaches over 170 countries, supplied by 76 production plants with more than 20,000 employees worldwide. After one hundred years, Roca is still proud to call itself a family business.
GLOBAL SPONSOR
About
Villeroy & Boch, formed in 1748, is a leading ceramics manufacturer steeped in European culture and history, and one of the biggest international premium brands in the areas of bathrooms and wellness.
Villeroy & Boch offers the finest and most innovative bathroom products and furnishing concepts for both private customers and property developers. The company is a pioneer in the realm of ceramic product design and innovation. Villeroy & Boch beautiful, high-quality products are hallmarks of French design flair and German engineering efficiency.
PARTNER
PARTNER
MUSIC CONSULTANT
About
Music Concierge is one of the leading experts in the creation of brand identity through music, specialising in providing complex playlist solutions for some of the best-known names. For over a decade, we have been responsible for the signature sounds of internationally renowned hotel groups, iconic retailers and other branded spaces across the globe.
EVENT SPONSOR
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Preciosa Lighting elevates the heritage of Bohemian crystal through contemporary lighting designs since 1724. The company is built on centuries of tradition and the unique art of master glassmakers from Crystal Valley. We honour this heritage and craftsmanship by creating innovative lighting products that stand the test of time.
Our lighting styles range from individual luxury lighting to dynamic and interactive installations. As a global company, Preciosa cooperates with designers worldwide to create exclusive lights that reflect our spirit. Our historic chandeliers and contemporary projects can be found in hotels, resorts, fine restaurants, luxury residences, cultural institutions and on board yachts and cruise ships in locations as varied as New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Moscow or London.
Preciosa Lighting can create unrivaled emotional experiences by combining the traditional art form of chandelier craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. This knowledge is what drives our intention to unveil the symbolic as well as the aesthetic power of decorative lighting. It led us to create Preciosa’s Signature Designs which are highlighted by countless customization possibilities to perfectly fit the owner’s desires.
Signature Designs are authentic, timeless, and celebrate design. We are inspired by the allure of crystal combined with light. Creative craftsmanship is evident through the versatility of each light; customizable for space and its uses. Preciosa’s advanced use of technology is seen in every element of the design. They present contemporary styles with a timeless quality.
EVENT SPONSOR
About
Founded in 2011, Saatchi Art is a gallery and art consultancy that has disrupted the art-buying process by making art widely accessible to all kinds of buyers – from collectors to designers.
We strive to support historically excluded groups of artists and provide them with a platform to showcase their work. Since we started our gallery over 50% of sales each year are by women.
Saatchi Art represents artists in over 100 countries, providing our clients with an unparalleled selection of paintings, photography, sculpture, and works on paper, enabling us to support projects with both local and international artists. We also work with design studios and artisans internationally to create unique pieces, from ceramics to bas reliefs and woven textiles.
Our art advisory services are offered free of charge, and we curate bespoke art packages for hospitality, multifamily and residential, commercial, and healthcare projects. Currently, we are working on projects in the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
We have recently curated art collections for Four Seasons New Orleans (Bill Rooney Studio), tommie Hollywood and tommie Austin (Studio Collective), Hotel Barriere Fouquet’s New York (Martin Brudnizki Design Studio), The Boca Raton (Rockwell Group), Dream Doha (Meyer Davis), Thompson Hollywood (Tara Bernerd & Partners), 1 Hotel Toronto (Rockwell Group and SH Hotels & Resorts), and Aria MGM (Rottet Studio).
Our team of art advisors is dedicated to contemporary art and design, and to working with the finest designers in the world to create elevated, sophisticated, and memorable experiences.
We look forward to working with you!
Rebecca Wilson
Chief Curator & VP, Art Advisory
rebecca@saatchiart.com
EVENT SPONSOR
About
With its brands hansgrohe and AXOR, the Hansgrohe Group, based in Germany, enjoys a reputation as a leader in innovation, design and quality within the bath and kitchen industry. The 120-year plus history of the company is marked by innovations, such as the first hand-held shower with multiple spray types, the first pull-out kitchen faucet, and the first wall bar to hold a hand-held shower. Hansgrohe stands for long-lasting quality products and for responsibility towards people and the environment. Hansgrohe is a reliable partner to its customers worldwide, where countless projects show how hansgrohe showers turn the hotel bathroom into an oasis of wellness or how AXOR bathroom collections created in collaboration with international designers, complete the furnishing of a luxurious hotel, villa or high-end residential home. AXOR brand inspires, constructs and produces taps, showerheads and accessories for luxurious bathrooms and kitchens to perfection. While hansgrohe brand offers premium assortments in showers, faucets, washbasins, furniture and accessories. The company, its brands and products have collectively won more than 600 awards since 1974. Hansgrohe will continue to develop ground-breaking solutions that not only shape the flow of water but also enhance user’s daily interaction with it.
EVENT SPONSOR
About
With its brands hansgrohe and AXOR, the Hansgrohe Group, based in Germany, enjoys a reputation as a leader in innovation, design and quality within the bath and kitchen industry. The 120-year plus history of the company is marked by innovations, such as the first hand-held shower with multiple spray types, the first pull-out kitchen faucet, and the first wall bar to hold a hand-held shower. Hansgrohe stands for long-lasting quality products and for responsibility towards people and the environment. Hansgrohe is a reliable partner to its customers worldwide, where countless projects show how hansgrohe showers turn the hotel bathroom into an oasis of wellness or how AXOR bathroom collections created in collaboration with international designers, complete the furnishing of a luxurious hotel, villa or high-end residential home. AXOR brand inspires, constructs and produces taps, showerheads and accessories for luxurious bathrooms and kitchens to perfection. While hansgrohe brand offers premium assortments in showers, faucets, washbasins, furniture and accessories. The company, its brands and products have collectively won more than 600 awards since 1974. Hansgrohe will continue to develop ground-breaking solutions that not only shape the flow of water but also enhance user’s daily interaction with it.
EVENT SPONSOR
About
Welcome to Bellino!
We have provided exquisite linens for the bed, bath and table for over 30 years and are one of the most distinguished luxury brands in the industry
We offer an extensive product range to suit the needs of the most sophisticated buyer: from 200 to 600 TC percale and sateen, elegant jacquards, prints, cotton terry, matelasse’, cashmere blends
Our approach to hospitality is very dynamic and our mission is to supply the most exclusive luxury and boutique hotels, restaurants and cruise ships of North America with the finest quality products stocked in the US for quick deliveries at the most competitive prices
We recently launched our most sustainable product: COMO Cotton/Tencel bed linen blend
In addition to being very silky and soft, Tencel has an environmentally responsible, closed loop production process which transforms wood pulp into fibers with low ecological impact. 99% of the water and solvents used in the production are recycled, the fibers are USDA certified as compostable and biodegradable and can fully revert back to nature
Our technologically advanced and mills around the world allow us great flexibility and to offer a wide range of customizations and luxurious and durable fabrics especially manufactured for commercial use
We are proud to be sponsors of Ahead Awards, one of the top hospitality events in the world
EVENT SPONSOR
About
For 30 years Gessi has been designing and creating concepts to enhance the use and benefits of water with the commitment to realise the aspirations of style, personalisation, physical and mental wellbeing of individuals in the most private of living spaces. Creating a new sector, the Private Wellness sector, Gessi has transformed places that were previously utilitarian into environments capable of exciting and regenerating those who live in them on a daily basis.
Created in a zero impact green park, the company's creations bring a message of beauty, love of nature, attention and safety for the user into the homes of those who choose them. The serenity and passion with which they are made, engraved in each object, give a positive vibration to whoever uses and enjoys them.
A global reference for lifestyle, innovation, design and sustainability, the Gessi collections furnish the world's most beautiful hotels, public spaces, yachts and private homes.
SUPPORTING PARTNER
About
The Awards were first launched at the House of Lords in 2016 to recognise, celebrate and reward accessibility across hotels, restaurants and other public venues worldwide.
The judges focus on style, thoughtful design, innovation and liberty that delivers exceptional accessibility. The aim is to encourage hospitality industry bosses, architects and designers worldwide to consider ways in which they can address the current and future needs of disabled guests.
EVENT SPONSOR
About
At MADERA, our team of design, construction, and manufacturing experts is dedicated to creating Seamless Wood Design™—an approach that simplifies wood finish specification for architects and designers. By offering an integrated collection of high-quality wood products, we ensure that each piece is crafted to blend beauty with function, making the design process smoother and more cohesive.
Seamless Wood Design™ celebrates wood’s natural elegance and purpose, bringing harmony to spaces and elevating the experience of wood in every detail. Discover how MADERA can transform your spaces with the artistry and functionality of our Seamless Wood Design™ solutions.
EVENT SPONSOR
About
In 1939, Paul Symmons invented the world’s first pressure-balancing, anti-scald shower valve. That innovation is established as the industry standard—and it's still the foundation of our business today. Our iconic Temptrol® valve is made right in our Braintree, Massachusetts factory and it’s built to handle the relentless demands of the hospitality environment.
At Symmons, we understand that hotel plumbing isn’t just pipes and valves—it’s a critical piece of a positive guest experience. That’s why hospitality brands all over North America and beyond trust us for products that are built to last, are easy to maintain, and are backed by a team that always answers the call.
The Temptrol valve is still our flagship. Every decorative trim collection we offer is compatible with any Temptrol valve, all the way back to those made in 1968. And when it’s time for service, a quick rebuild with genuine Symmons parts renews the warranty—10 years for commercial use, lifetime for residential. Just a few minutes with basic hand tools, and you have a fresh new look, new precision-made internal components, and a side order of peace of mind.
But today, Symmons goes far beyond hotel room walls.
That’s where Evolution by Symmons® comes in. Evolution is a wireless building management system that detects leaks, monitors temperature and humidity, and prevents water issues before they become expensive headaches. With AI and Machine Learning capabilities, Evolution delivers predictive insights to help property managers proactively prevent water issues and reduce insurance costs. It even integrates with our upcoming Digital Master Mixing Valve.
For more than 85 years, Symmons has partnered with hospitality leaders who expect more than just a great shower valve. They expect long-lasting durability, consistent quality, and a team that’s committed to making things right.
Symmons. We Make Things Right.
#hospitalitydesign #temptrol #evolutionbysymmons #madeinmassachusetts #madeinusa #plumbinginnovation
EVENT SPONSOR
About
At Sans Souci Lighting, every piece of glass we create tells a unique story – a narrative shaped by the skilled hands of Czech craftsmen, whose traditions are passed down through generations. Our designs are born from a profound respect for the art of glassmaking, seamlessly blending heritage with modern innovation. Our lighting pieces are more than functional objects; they are works of art, handcrafted with love and precision. Each curve and intricate detail celebrate true craftsmanship, honouring the legacy of Bohemian glassmakers.