The recent TOPHOTELPROJECTS World Tour Las Vegas Event gave stakeholders throughout the global hospitality industry a unique chance to network with a diverse group of executives, experts, and insiders, many of which were attending the event for the first time.

The event took place Tuesday, May 2 at Las Vegas’ Lucky Dragon Casino and Hotel, and in addition to the networking opportunities, it included a cavalcade of knowledgeable speakers, in-depth panel discussions, and presentations by renowned architecture and design companies. Attendees enjoyed the wide variety of experts that were present, as well as the content they brought to the table.

The event began in the morning with a presentation by Robin Jay, an award-winning filmmaker, author, speaker, and publisher, who began her career in personal development as “The Queen of the Business Lunch.” Equipped with her depth of business relationship expertise, Jay spoke about the importance of networking and socializing, sharing tips for how to do it effectively in order to earn a maximum return on the time that one invests. Of particular note were Jay’s insights into how to maximize the opportunities presented by networking events, such as the TOPHOTELPROJECTS World Tour Las Vegas.

Jay’s award-winning book, “The Art of the Business Lunch- Building Relationships Between 12 and 2,” has been published in 12 languages worldwide, and she has been featured on MSNBC-TV, CNN, the BBC, as well as in Newsweek Magazine and The New York Times.

The other main highlight of the morning was the presentation given by Rolf Schmidt, founder and CEO of TOPHOTELPROJECTS. Schmidt presented facts and figures about the current hotel construction pipeline in the United States. He showed the audience information and asked them to guess which hotels belong to which brands. Those in attendance were surprised to learn that it was challenging to tell the brands apart. Schmidt used this exercise to highlight just how much room there is in the global hospitality industry to create unique brand identities that will set you apart from the masses.

Other presentations were given by Paul Breslin and Leiza Orcoyen. Breslin, who is the managing director of Horwath HTL, made an impressive presentation that was centered on how to reinvent unused spaces in order to increase revenue and improve the bottom line, showing the audience various examples of hotels that have innovated in that regard. Leiza Orcoyen, an architect and partner with Sanchez Ella Sepra Arquitectos, spoke about different elements that can be employed to make guests feel at ease with the places they are staying.

The panel discussion was also interesting, with those who participated talking about the future of thematic properties versus homogenized, generic, cookie cutter designs. Moderation was in charge of Manuel Canales, Managing Director of The Media Group. The panel was conformed by Dave Jacoby, COO of The Lucky Dragon Hotels & Casinos, David Messersmith, Regional Development Manager of Gatehouse Capital, James Carry, Senior Vice President, Principal of Wilson Associates and Malcolm Berg, Principal & Owner of EoA. Panelists agreed that there is now far more value in creating hotels based on concepts, rather than on geography. The panel discussion also involved talk of how to define who exactly a millennial is, and what he or she may want from a hotel. Panelists pointed out that approaching this generation was becoming increasingly important, and one of the main risks of targeting what they want was creating hotels that feel “too forced.”

Finally, the “Creative Spark” portion of the event involved three highly varied projects. The “Paso Del Norte Hotel” is a property that captures the story of a city, El Paso, Texas, while simultaneously becoming a local epicenter, a venue where any and all major social events could take place. The Edgewood Tahoe, of Northern California, is a property located in a green and natural place. Meanwhile, Hotel Indigo LA Downtown bears the influence of the theaters in the downtown of its home city, envisioning a place where Angelinos can decompress while at the same time enjoying the 1920s signature drinks amid an extensive view.

Of the three projects, the Paso Del Norte Hotel was awarded first prize. It was designed by Kobi Karp of Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design, while Edgewood Tahoe was designed by Miguel Baeza of HBA San Francisco, and Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown was designed by Valeria Lassalle of HBA Los Angeles.

The event wrapped up with a round of networking and drinks at a reception in the Lucky Dragon’s pool area.

The next TOPHOTELPROJECTS World Tour event will be held in London on June 13th in The Montcalm Royal London House. Following on from the popularity of the Las Vegas event, this is sure to be an unmissable day, so don’t miss out on tickets!