Hospitality Design Magazine Names 2026 Honorees

- The 2026 honorees include leaders from prominent firms like Auberge Collection, Lake Flato, and Gensler, recognizing their influence on luxury hospitality, sustainable design, and global brand strategies. Honorees such as Grace Escaño-Maniatis of Auberge Collection and Amy Jakubowski of Gensler are noted for their work on high-profile projects like the Shore Club in Miami and the Waldorf Astoria New York. - A significant trend in hospitality is human-centric lighting, which uses tunable white LEDs to align with the body's natural circadian rhythm. This approach aims to improve guest well-being by enhancing sleep quality and reducing stress, moving beyond basic aesthetics to become a key part of the wellness experience. - The WELL Building Standard is increasingly influencing hospitality design, with specific features for circadian lighting design like L03. This standard uses metrics like Equivalent Melanopic Lux (EML) to ensure lighting supports occupants' natural biological cycles. - Smart lighting control is becoming standard, with protocols like DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) enabling individual fixture control and integration with building automation systems (BMS) and the Internet of Things (IoT). This allows for sophisticated, pre-programmed lighting scenes that can transform a space from a bright conference setting to an intimate dinner ambiance. - Sustainability is driving a shift towards a circular economy in hospitality design, emphasizing reusable and recyclable materials to extend product lifecycles. In lighting, this includes using energy-efficient LEDs and designing fixtures with materials like reclaimed wood and recycled metals. - Design leadership in architecture is moving towards a more collaborative and visionary approach, focusing on building diverse teams and fostering a culture of innovation to anticipate future trends in technology and sustainability. Effective leaders are expected to establish a clear vision and empower their teams, rather than adopting a purely top-down management style. - Alongside the Women in Design awards, *Hospitality Design* also recognizes a Design Firm of the Year and a Hotelier of the Year as part of its annual HD Awards. For 2026, the design firm Curioso and hotelier Grupo Habita were honored for their impactful contributions to the industry. - Industry publications that specifiers and designers follow for trends and inspiration include *Dezeen*, *ArchDaily*, and lighting-specific resources like *arc magazine* and *LEDs Magazine*. These platforms are crucial for staying current on material innovations and new technologies shaping the field.