The Hospitality Industry Network is bringing its bi-annual Regional Tradeshow back to New York, Friday, June 22nd, from 3-9 p.m. at the Metropolitan Pavilion.
The tradeshow—free for architects, designers, specifiers, purchasing agents, hotel owners and managers, design students, and educational professionals—will boast 150 exhibitors showcasing the latest in hospitality products on the sold-out show floor.
"The NEWH Regional Tradeshow offers both exhibitors and attendees the face-to-face contact which is so important. In addition, since the booths are six-by-six, the shows are small and intimate and attendees are able to see numerous amount of product and samples in one day," says Jena Seibel, tradeshow/marketing manager, NEWH Inc.
For a true New York experience, the New York chapter's board has added two events to the existing program. Kicking off the day is Hospitality Design (HD) magazine's Owners' Roundtable luncheon from noon until 2:00 p.m., which is designed to connect designers, architects, purchasers, and manufacturers with some of the most influential executives in hospitality. In HD's version of speed dating, 17 table "hosts" from various hotel, management, equity, and restaurant companies—from Morgans and Kimpton to Starwood and Wyndham—will discuss the industry, new projects, and answer attendee questions, rotating every 10 minutes. All money raised through sponsorships and ticket sales support NEWH's mission of raising money for education and scholarship. (Tickets for the roundtable can be purchased separately.)
During the tradeshow, attendees can watch four well-known New York graffiti artists—Gia Gutierrez, KEO, Alice Mizrazhi, and George Sen One—fight it out street art-style in the chapter's first-ever Urban Artist Battle. Using Plutonium Paint canvases, spray paint, and even doors sponsored by RAYDOOR, the artists will tag these surfaces, creating artworks that will be raffled off for money for scholarships at 8:00 p.m.
"We constantly strive to honor creativity and inspire innovation throughout the New York hospitality community," says NEWH New York's president Tara Mastrelli. "We've recruited a stellar roster of some of the most influential names in the industry to donate their time for a free-flowing discussion of ideas and trends over lunch, designed a tradeshow packed with our vendors' latest products and innovations, and through a series of creative collaborations, have created a live art event that brings the energy and creativity of New York to our show floor."
"We wanted to engage our New York hospitality community with an event that was energetic, inspiring, outside the box, and cutting edge," said Alicia Canon, the New York chapter's tradeshow chairperson. "Graffiti has had such an impact on our New York landscape, but unfortunately, most associate it with the side of a subway train, an exterior of a building, and some go as far to feel the art movement can portray a negative expression. We wanted to break these barriers down and convey how it is powerful, expressive, imaginative, invigorating, and inspiring, not just to our exterior landscape, but to our interior spaces as well."
To further entice attendees, there are two $500 door prizes, multiple items—from a Grohe kitchen faucet and Speakman showerheads to a free stay at the Thayer Hotel—up for bid in the silent auction, a DJ spinning tunes, hosted wine and cheese from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., and a cash bar and hosted sandwiches and desserts from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
"We've been working hard this year to continue to advance the New York hospitality industry—by providing scholarships for promising young talent and students in need, mentorship for those just starting out, and by continually fostering a local community that honors creativity and inspires innovation throughout," says Mastrelli.
More Regional Tradeshows are scheduled for 2012, including Denver (August 9th) and Dallas (October 18th). To attend New York's, click here.
