“Time to Dare” is the motto of the new edition of EquipHotel, held at Parc des Expositions de la Porte de Versailles in Paris from 3 to 7 November. Due perhaps to Olympic fever, the biennial trade show, an international reference point for the world of contract projects and Horeca, sets out to promote experimentation with new approaches to hospitality, making room for innovation and creativity by thinking outside the box. Also in terms of sustainability and territorial relations. The program includes a fine calendar of events and encounters with various professionals, inside and outside the sector, involved in different roles pertaining to the design, production and management of a Horeca enterprise: architects, interior designers, product designers, installers, furniture makers.
There will be over 1200 exhibitors – of which 30% international hailing from 36 countries – and 30 display sections, subdivided into four pavilions for a complete and multi-sectorial overview of all contract projects. This edition offers many new developments, starting with “Innovation Lab: hospitality of tomorrow,” which presents the ideas of young talents: 20 students from ENSCI – Les Ateliers, the first French public educational institute exclusively focused on design, and a class from the European Design Institute, illustrating their visions of hospitality. There is also the Lounge, an area entirely devoted to inclusion and accessibility, created in collaboration with AFPAPH, the French association of professionals for accessibility of the disabled.
Tuesday 5 November brings the first “International Day” with a series of round tables in English on the themes of design and food services, with the participation of international designers like Tina Norden, architect and partner of Conran & Partners, or André Straja, architect and partner of the Italian firm Gas Studio. The Innovation Awards have also been augmented with two new prizes that encourage the initiatives of creative professionals in the world of hotels and restaurants. The jury will be chaired by Emmanuel Sauvage, managing director and cofounder of Evok Hôtels Collection. Registration was open until 6 September. In collaboration with the magazine Bon, founded by the chef Thierry Marx, focusing on social engagement and president of UMIH, Union des Métiers et des Industries de l’Hôtellerie, there will be a new kitchen space concentrating on “eating well,” with activities and interactions due to be transmitted via YouTube.
One particular priority is the “tech” aspect, with its great importance for a modern concept of hospitality: the space has been boosted to 5000 square meters, welcoming companies in the sector that offer solutions in terms of managerial tools, front and back office, PMS, income and sales management, OTA, reservation engines, marketing and digital communication, data, customer experience, entertainment, with a place of honor set aside for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The area for wellness enterprises has also expanded: designed as a transparent bubble, it covers a space of 7500 square meters, in an experiential context of the “Unusual,” including a guestroom with bath and closet that can be installed in the midst of nature in just 48 hours, a sauna-igloo to position in the countryside, facing the sea or the mountains, or the possibility of enjoying a massage performed by the first autonomous massage robot guided by AI.
