Bruno Silva, designer at Rodrigo Vargas Design, is set to attend Hotec Design, an annual conference presented by Questex, the parent company of Hotel Management. At the conference—scheduled this year for June 16-18 at the Fairmont Scottsdale (Ariz.) Princess—buyers meet one-on-one with hospitality-focused suppliers to learn about new products and services and to keep up-to-date on emerging trends.
Ahead of the conference, Silva talked about emerging design trends, overcoming challenges and the value of meeting industry professionals one on one.
1. What are you most excited about for your company in 2025 (and beyond)?
The wide variety of projects we have started managing and to get closer to see them finalized and materialized as holistic whole projects
2. What are some of the biggest design-related changes you’ve seen in the hotel industry over the past year?
Budgetary constrains and having to be more conscious on this matter always affects directly the end result vs concept of a design.
3. How has your business adjusted to these changes?
Working hand by hand with our vendors and listening to the client. Communication is the key in every level of the project and how we, as designers, look for tools to overcome these challenges.
4. How are you incorporating new technology, especially AI, into your business?
It is becoming a great tool for us whenever we are feeling a creative block by helping us with a quick solution.
5. What steps are you taking to improve sustainability in the industry?
In our office we try to be more conscious from the sample requests up to the materials selections, where we source them from and the companies' certifications on this matter.
6. What are some trends you think will have staying power beyond 2025?
Monotone and neutral spaces will be slowly staying in the past to bring back color, patterns and rooms with big personalities.
7. What is the biggest challenge you have overcome over the past year? How did you overcome it?
[A] client's tight deadlines which put a lot of pressure on us and thanks to the vendors and their ability to help us source in-stock pieces or reselect when needed, everything come together in time for a successful install.
8. What is the value of meeting hospitality suppliers one-on-one?
We get to have a better understanding of each others' range of scope
9. What do you hope to accomplish at Hotec this year?
Build relationships with new vendors that will work as a resource for our company for future business and connect with fellow designers from across the country.
Hotec Design will take place June 16-18 at the Fairmont Scottsdale (Ariz.) Princess. Applications are open for buyers and suppliers.