Hospitality Design: What I've Learned

In November 2023, Libby Sims Patrick will be inducted into Hospitality Design's Platinum Circle, an honor bestowed on those who have made significant impact and contributions to the hospitality industry. In February of 2022, Sims Patrick joined editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen for a wide-ranging conversation, where she reflected on her southern upbringing, launching her Atlanta-based firm, and her role as an owner-developer of the River Runner Hotel, slated to open in 2024. Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Andrew Fay and Roger Hill met at Cornell University and became fast friends bonding over their shared passion for hospitality. In 1988, they took a leap of faith and founded the Gettys Group. It was a big risk at the time, but one that has paid off in the three-plus decades they’ve run the Chicago-based company as COO and CEO, respectively. Their work speaks for itself. Consider the Farnam Hotel’s vibrant interiors, which have reinvigorated Omaha, Nebraska, or the Grand Bohemian Orlando’s lush designs.  Today, the 70-person firm is made up of experts in everything from interiors  and development to branding and procurement. This collaborative spirit has allowed the Gettys Group to offer a truly holistic approach to design, ensuring that each project is as unique and memorable as the next.Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

For Malene Djenaba Barnett, the common thread of her life's work is her ancestors, whom she pays homage to through her multidisciplinary pursuits. There's Barnett's textiles and ceramics work tied to the Black diaspora, her 2018 founding of the Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG) to celebrate and support Black creatives, and her current studies as a Fulbright scholar where she is the visiting artist at Edna Manley College in Kingston, Jamaica. Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

The Co-CEOS of Tao Group Hospitality share the unique distinction of being business partners and best friends. After meeting in high school, Tepperberg and Strauss started throwing parties which quickly evolved into larger events and an exclusive list of clientele. After graduating from college, they founded Strategic Group, opened gamechanging Manhattan nightclub Marquee, and eventually, met Marc Packer and Rich Wolf, founders of Tao restaurant. Soon after, the foursome launched Tao Group Hospitality—and the rest is history. Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

After 17 years ascending the ranks of Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA), starting out as a designer before eventually becoming a partner, Meghann Day was recently promoted to President of the Americas. Although Day’s career has taken her all over the world and through different roles from designer to principal interior designer to her newly created position, one thing hasn’t changed—her love of hospitality.Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Clint Nagata founded BLINK Design Group with the goal to create a firm that would outlast him by placing the emphasis on the brand as a whole—and its work—rather than any one individual. Since 2006, Nagata and his team at BLINK Design Group have been reshaping the modern hospitality landscape together, crafting luxurious oases including Vietnam’s Regent Phu Quoc, Raffles Maldives Meradhoo Resort, and Six Senses Uluwatu. This episode is brought to you by American Leather. To learn more, visit www.americanleather.comThank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Partners in love and in life, Kevin O'Shea and David Bowd are the minds behind Salt Hotels. After walking their own paths in hospitality, with O'Shea cutting his teeth at Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Bowd working for hospitality heavyweights Andre Balazs and Ian Schrager, they set out on their own. What started as a small boutique hotel, Salt House Inn in Provincetown, Massachusetts has since grown, with the founders bringing their own brand of hospitality to Miami, New York, L.A., and soon--beyond.  This episode is brought to you by American Leather. Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Barbara Parker and Miriam Torres made their way into design independently but it wasn't long before they decided to go into business together, after a mutual colleague pointed out their complementary talents.  In 2004, they founded their Boston-based firm Parker-Torres Design. Over the past 19 years, Parker and Torres have brought their visionary touches to a slate of renowned properties, including the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey and InterContinental Washington, DC - the Wharf, leading to their induction into Hospitality Design's Platinum Circle hall of fame in 2022. As for what makes their partnership such a success, they credit the passion and dedication they pour into every project. "We're fortunate that we just happen to do what we love to do," Torres says.Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

"You [have] to embrace change. Don't doubt it," says Helen Jorgensen, who would certainly know. Her nontraditional journey into the hospitality industry began with  stints in government at the IRS and the NSA before she pivoted to roles at Marriott and Disney. Now, as the vice president of design and procurement at Host Hotels & Resorts, she helps instill a strong sense of place in each property through design while keeping LEED and ESG commitments top of mind. Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Designer Mark Zeff's life changed in 1982 after boarding a flight bound for New York City from Australia. What was intended as a short trip soon stretched to three weeks, and before he knew it, New York was home. Spending glamorous nights at Studio 1954 and mingling with iconic creatives Andy Warhol and Anna Wintour, it wasn't long until he founded his namesake interior design and architecture firm MARKZEFF, the force behind Magnolia Bakery, Virgin Nashville, and New Orleans' Kimpton Hotel Fontenot. As Zeff says, "Patience always prevails." Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.