The Independent Hotel Show, a prominent event in the world of hospitality, celebrated its first appearance stateside in Miami on September 20-21, 2023. This gathering brought together hospitality professionals from luxury and boutique hotels in North America, the Caribbean, and Central America and suppliers from across the globe.
The Independent Hotel Show originated in the United Kingdom in 2012 and has built a successful track record for over a decade of attracting thousands of hotel owners, general managers, and high-level operators to foster idea-sharing, business transactions, and networking.
In 2019, a new chapter began with the launch of the Independent Hotel Show in Amsterdam. The inaugural U.S. Independent Hotel Show took place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, marking yet another milestone in this event’s legacy. The event provided a platform for companies throughout the supply chain to directly engage with a receptive audience seeking top-quality products and services.
Learning Opportunities
The show’s seminar program focused on the latest hotel trends and cutting-edge innovations. A broad range of interesting sessions covered topics such as sustainability, staffing, branding, and products and solutions for hoteliers.
In the session, “Supply Chain Issues: Solutions Discovered in a Post-Pandemic Hotel Opening”, Brandon Laterveer, Director of Development at Sydell Group and Zoe Goldberg, Director of Brand & Creative at The Penny, described the unique challenges they encountered and shared their innovative solutions to launch a new brand under a time constraint while dealing with zoning regulations and post-pandemic supply chain issues.
Brandie Patterson, Senior Vice President of Global Software Applications, LLC and Board Member of Darkness2Hope and Jason Cohen, President & CEO, AdcommTV addressed the topic of “Human Trafficking and the Hospitality Industry” and discussed in-room solutions for guests to summon assistance in situations involving human trafficking. Darknes2Hope is a non-profit organization founded on the principle that every person being trafficked deserves a chance at life.
Business Opportunities
The Independent Hotel Show Miami featured a diverse array of exhibitors with products and services relevant to boutique and luxury hotels, including:
SLX Hospitality, specializes in providing unique OS&E products for the boutique, historic and luxury hospitality industry throughout North America. Jenifer Andrews explained how their Boutique In A Box® service features all your OS&E items, conveniently unit-packed by guest room, making remodels, installations and new construction projects faster, more cost-efficient and easier.
Jim Woods demonstrated how easy it is to maintain a living GrowUp Greenwall using a wicking system that allows plants to draw water as needed. GrowUp’s products can accommodate any space, from small focal points behind a front desk to an entire lobby wall.
Hotel Internet Services provides high-speed internet access solutions for hotels and resorts across North America. Jack Nielsen explained the benefits of their GuestCast entertainment solution on the guest experience.
Pineapple Hospitality specializes in product categories that create value for operators while benefiting guests and the environment. Lynn Martin and Rick Haussman discussed their focus on providing hotels with the best options at competitive prices while Hakeem Valles brewed delicious Ethiopian coffee at the booth.
Royal Basket Trucks is a leading producer of carts, trucks, and containers used in facilities throughout the United States. Nick Schrader explained that their innovative product line, which includes a motorized deluxe housekeeping cart, offers a variety of features and ergonomic benefits to keep property operations running at the highest level.
Bill Massey Jr and Marion Adams explained how The Restroom Kit can help “Protect Your Bottom”! The Restroom Kit is a compact, portable all-in-one kit that contains everything an individual needs to address bathroom cleanliness and supply issues when away from their home or hotel room.
Hotel Emporium is a direct manufacturer of premium hotel amenities that strives to elevate the standards of the hospitality industry. Shea James, Julie Costerg and Kushan Vindula displayed several of their sustainable products, including the Ecopod collection, zero plastic powder-based body wash, shampoo and conditioner amenities – add water to use.
Water Wise USA provides water conservation solutions for commercial and industrial facilities across the United States. Elizabeth Mesegue demonstrated how the Aquamizer Toilet Plumbing Retrofit can help a property significantly reduce its water bills and prevent costly leaks. Best of all, their solutions are paid from the savings achieved with zero upfront cost.
Lauren Wettenstein showcased several beautiful items from Aerin, a luxury lifestyle brand that offers a range of products, including fragrances, beauty products, home decor items, and lighting fixtures. The brand’s founder Aerin Lauder’s own lifestyle serves as a focal point of inspiration for the collection. “Classic, but always with a modern point of view, every piece is created to make life more beautiful, with a sense of ease and refinement.”
Quench provides water filtration systems and ice dispensers for businesses across North America. Alex Haussman and Amy Wachal explained that their products are designed to provide clean drinking water and ice while reducing environmental waste. Their tap dispensers look great and offer refreshing still and sparkling water.
Aloe Up is a sunscreen and skincare company that offers a range of products, including sunscreens, lip balms, lotions, and after-sun care products. Tom Whaley emphasized that their products are made with natural ingredients such as Aloe Vera and are free from harmful chemicals like parabens and oxybenzone.
Piaggio Fast Forward is a robotics company that designs and develops intelligent mobility solutions for people and goods. Dominic Locascio demonstrated their flagship product, Gita, an autonomous cargo vehicle that follows its owner while carrying up to 40 pounds of cargo.
Amanda Romano and Rachel Mangum with Amazon Business explained how the online marketplace provides business customers access to millions of products from various sellers across different categories, such as office supplies, electronics, industrial equipment, and more.
BluWorld of Water specializes in custom water feature design and fabrication. Josh Effron displayed beautiful examples of their fully sealed, maintenance-free, encapsulated water features.
Attendees following the robotic dog on the exhibit floor were led to Ryan Timberg, Luna Mason, Marlin Peiffer and the team from Acme ATM. Acme ATM provides ATM machines and services to businesses across the United States. Their products are designed to provide customers with secure and reliable cash dispensing services.
Fernando Serrano and Tim Pizzitola explained how Infiniti HR can help hoteliers. The company provides human resources outsourcing services to businesses across the United States. Their services include payroll processing, benefits administration, compliance management, employee training, and more.
Dan Banning and Cameron DeJean showed how easy it is for a hotel to interact directly with guests before, during and after a stay using Directful. Directful is a powerful all-in-one communication tool and a fully integrated direct booking platform, managing everything needed to generate direct bookings by sending and receiving messages with travelers.
Zybra bicycles were on display. They design and operate custom-branded, app-based bicycle rental amenity systems for Hotels, Resorts, Residential Communities as well as Commercial Parks. Yechiel Rosenblum explained that Zybra owns and operates the stations and manages all the maintenance and upkeep.
Jason Cohen explained how AdcommTV helps businesses accelerate their technical evolution by providing an integrated portfolio of cutting-edge products, including commercial TVs and digital signage and services such as Business Internet and DIRECTV® for Business that are guaranteed to deliver quality entertainment to their own clients, customers, guests, residents and visitors.
Looking Forward to the Independent Hotel Show Miami 2024
According to David Audrain, CEO & Partner of Exposition Development Company, Inc, producers of the event, “The inaugural edition of Independent Hotel Show Miami was successfully held with an impressive group of exhibitors covering a wide range of products and services of value to the Luxury, Boutique and Independently-minded Hotel operators. The response from hoteliers who attended the show has been overwhelmingly positive, with most planning to attend next year’s show with a larger group of colleagues. The show will be held annually in Miami Beach, and the 2024 edition will be run on September 18-19.”
Based on the results of its US debut, the Independent Hotel Show Miami is poised to follow the successful path of its European counterparts.
Review written by IHS President Rich Paliwoda.