For the second consecutive year, HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates topped the Hotel Management and ha+d annual Top Design Firms list. The list ranks hotel design and architecture companies by annual lodging project revenue.
The results are published in the May issues of Hotel Management and ha+d.
Rounding out the top ten:
| COMPANY | ANNUAL LODGING REVENUE |
| HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates | $85,442,000 |
| CWL Hospitality | $80,000,000 |
| Gensler | $52,000,000 |
| HFS Concepts 4 | $35,000,000 |
| Wilson Associates | $35,000,000 |
| Level 3 Design Group | $34,000,000 |
| HKS | $32,336,523 |
| Aedas | $25,300,000 |
| American Hotel Register Co. | $25,000,000 |
| Innvision Design | $25,000,000 |
Click here to download a PDF of this year's list.
Nearly 80 companies that do business around the world responded to this year's survey, which was conducted online in March and April.
On the whole, participants said they are optimistic about the industry's comeback. "2011 was the best year the company ever had," said Jim Spitzig of Level 3 Design Group. "2012 should be 10- to 20-percent higher than 2011."
While conversions have been the bread and butter for many designers during the past few years, several noted a return to new-construction projects.
"We are starting several new hotel projects, all new-construction," said Jacki Arena, of Jacki Arena Interiors. "We haven't seen new construction in over two years. It's a good sign!"
Others noted a growth in their firm's global outreach. "Hospitality market conditions drove our firm to reach places we never thought we would go," said Carlos Oroza of PRADA + Kulich & Associates. "We worked in Bangladesh, Turkey, Russia and Brazil."
BY THE NUMBERS
Some data you won't see in the published survey: While one-quarter of all survey participants indicated they work in all hotel chain scale segments, most said they work in upscale, upper-upscale and luxury.
And it's no surprise that hotel designers and architects are branching out, and always have. Eighty-four percent work in restaurant design and nearly 70 percent work in spa design. Companies have diversified over the past few years as well, adding office/retail design, residential design and healthcare design to their stables.
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