Ladies and gentlemen welcome back to another SL2M Now today I'm specially thrilled for our next guest because I'm sure a lot of you love to go to these Luxury hotels around the world myself as a world traveler I've been in some incredible hotels that now I'm seeing that it's been designed by the company that we're gonna have in today HPA here's better associates They are the leading interior design company when it comes to luxury hotels around the world actually is considered the birthplace For interior design and for that we're gonna have the vice president of development Her name is Kaylin Torton and she's gonna tell us all about it and really go deep into the specifics on how they are putting together this incredible designs on some of the most prestigious hotels worldwide, so let's get going There she is. What's happening? How are you? Good morning.
How are you? Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for joining us.
Yeah, that was quite the introduction Thank you Listen well earned and deserved because I gotta say what you guys have been doing it's fantastic I was just looking at some of the projects in fact I was recently Montenegro the one and only and I was eating at Savia or amazing restaurant And I really know that it was actually designed by you guys so every time I look into a specific amazing spot I'm like man HPA designed it You guys aren't doing some of the most extraordinary interior designs for all these hotels worldwide So tell us a little bit about how it comes that this is the birthplace of hospitality design Yeah, so I mean chances are you've been in our properties as you've experienced You know HPA has just been around for a really long time the firm started in 1965 and actually by the beach was anharmonica and at the time the idea of Interior design specifically for hospitality was basically a new concept right like there was style and there was interiors particularly in the residential space But this notion of designing specifically for the unique challenges of operators So operating a restaurant operating a hotel, you know These are typologies that have very specific needs and requirements to function and as the guest you don't always want to see all of that Right, that's why it's called back of house. So this idea of designing guest facing spaces for these specific needs just had never really been happening So HPA started and really kind of created the industry now HPA You know is coming up on at 60 year anniversary. There's the hospitality design industry is huge, right? There's hundreds and thousands of amazing architects and designers that focus on hospitality But again back in 1965, you know, we were more or less a category of one Over the 60 years HVA has grown from one like studio by the beach to think we're 19 offices now globally We have over 1200 employees.
Yeah, so it's it's been a pretty incredible trajectory if you look at the full history of company 100% no, I mean, that's like looking at the project that you're working on. It's just fantastic Yeah, but I gotta say is a great property. I mean that's also just happens to be a fabulous brand You know, they're very Judicious about where they put hotels and that they control their brand very carefully plus this Montenegro But That destination itself is gonna blow up because it's so beautiful and so magical can get tired of it But I just want to go deep into how as a business You've been able to evolve over time because as you mentioned interior design as a thing It has been changing over time and as more architect interior designers are coming out and now with the power of social media How do you stay ahead of the game? That's a hard question.
I always make a joke that we have a crystal ball in our office Wow, I like it. Yeah, I know it makes it It's not a joke I mean The way that we've a there's kind of two parts to your question like how did we evolve the business and the kind of how do you stay at the forefront? Right. So oh, sorry.
That was my dog um hba Really if we if we think of design as through the lens of the guest Then hba's business model has really evolved In the same way that if you imagine a guest journey So imagine like let's use your you're at the one and only and on tonight Or let's use that as an example you enter the hotel when you immediately enter think of all the things that you're experiencing It isn't just the space planning right? It's the uniform of the person who opens the door for you Does he wear a uniform is he dressed in a suit or is he casual? The couch that you sit on the material of that couch when you go to the bar the glass that you're holding You know, is it really heavy so you can like slam it down or is it this really like crystal delicate flute? Is the lighting really bright or is it dim and romantic and moody?
So already we've talked about interiors ff any lighting design uniform design tabletop design And we've talked about five things and we haven't even left the lobby yet So all of these are different services and so what hba has done over you know decades Is kind of build departments and teams that now touch all of these different parts of the project So we have interior design of course, which is how we started to this day It's still kind of the bread and butter of the practice We have a huge lighting company called light directions that has been around for several decades To again to give us more control right to make sure that the lighting is integrating with the interiors Which makes sense with the material on the furniture like all of these things need to kind of work in symphony, right? So that's been a major point of evolution for hba, you know today We have I think over a dozen brand partners brand partners meaning entire businesses that hba has birthed and grown and that includes lighting You know custom accessorizing we have a landscape division. We're building an architecture practice We have a graphics division which handles everything from signage down to you know the matchbook that you get at the restaurant So it gives everything's really cohesive in terms of the point of view of the guest How we say it ahead of all of that? I mean i'll be really candid with you know hb's been around a long time, right?
You've been around that long you have kind of eras so hbund through eras You know we were at the forefront and you're at the beginning they experienced a huge period of growth through the 80s We have an office in atlanta that you know hba Atlanta 1985 was like the pinnacle of interior design for our industry We were very lucky in the early 2000s hb was one of the first companies in asia hong kong in china So when me and china really went through that huge boom hb was already there And so you know I think we were able to scale and grow very quickly because of that Um now there's a lot more competition, right? There's always a bull scratching at the door And so you know we've changed a lot our recruitment practices. We educate our staff We also travel a lot. I mean one of the best ways to know what's out there is to just see it yourself and experience it Now a lot of questions arises we're thinking about this right, but I want to go deep down into how do you really?
Establish those relationships, right? How does a company decide a hotel? Let's say oh, I want to work with you versus this other interior design So I can answer the question for me personally and then I can maybe talk a little bit about kind of hba Um, you know for me, I think I've always been in a development growth kind of brand role You know, we're doing this for over 12 years now And I think development gets a little bit of a bad rap They think that when people hear development or especially business development what they really hear is sales You know, there's nothing right like everyone has like immediately you have all this baggage right around the word sales I've never done that. You know, I don't I don't believe in cold calling I don't believe in kind of just sending stuff into the ether and like hoping for the best right?
We're in an industry that's about people that's the approach I take with development, right? It's about long-term relationship building and also making sure that we're the right fit, you know development I think in its truest best sense is really about curating and making sure that you're bringing the right pieces together at the right time to realize the vision right and That takes patience and not always like very anti-sales in a way if it requires I think just kind of a different sensitivity H3a has been again very lucky because we've worked with so many operators You know, I think we've in the here in the US in particular, you know, we do a lot with Marriott We have a really great relationship with Hilton Um, and we're also willing to just start small, you know We're willing to kind of start with a smaller so maybe just a lobby and really work our way again Kind of put one foot in front of the next rate and build that relationship really methodically Jumping into the fun is great too. We do that But the reality is that not every business, you know, you can't have a business model that is reliant on moon shots Everything can be like this moon shot right like you do need some of that kind of slower when my thought it will grow Right consistency the compound effect to keep on doing day after day and then Actually, you'll start looking at the bigger picture as well Now if we talk about interior design, right? Because a lot of things have changed over the years But now more than ever with covid and everybody appreciating certain spaces So have you seen a specific trend that we are facing now when it comes to interior design?
Yeah, for sure. I think you know covid I think was like an existential awakening for everyone Um, you know, we were all trapped in our homes dealing with ourselves Not able to socialize. Um, I mean one of the earliest trends that I think everyone saw was this relationship between indoor and outdoor So, you know wellness wellness, um, which is kind of an ambiguous term I think I think it's being redefined every day right now, but you know resorts So specifically wellness meaning resorts have historically done this really well, right? You go to a resort Let's say, you know, you're in bora bora, right?
And the whole point of being there is to be outside And so those relates to those properties have to do a really good job through architecture through landscaping through spatial planning To make sure that there's an almost kind of seamless Integration right between you're in your living room or you're outside in your plunge pool. Like it's all very kind of it flows It's very open. Um, I think after being trapped inside during covid suddenly there was a very real craving for more of this type of living Um, I'm sure there was some pragmatic reasons for that too being outside is better for air circulation, etc So we've seen almost immediately an infusion of kind of wellness principles being infused into almost every project I mean We've done I can't even tell I've done so many urban resorts, right? Because even in a skyscraper in the middle of a dense city, we're still looking to bring in some of these ideas from resort and wellness Now I gotta ask you we always ask this to our guests.
But why is it really luxury to you? Oh, man um So For me luxury is a simple idea done completely Um, but yeah, sounds easy Uh, but I think in order to deliver on that to really execute a simple idea done completely you need intention And for me that's luxury. I think and that this isn't restricted to hotels, right? Like this could apply to anything it could apply to the perfect white t-shirt, uh, the perfect glass of champagne, right?
I think intention is something especially now, you know, our media landscape is incredibly fractured every I mean I'm included I sit on my couch watching tv and I'm on instagram right like that's okay And so I think in this reality where everything is so much all the time This idea of intention of a single point of view. It's actually really I think rare Can't wait to meet you and get to do other things together. Definitely the one thing you're having is what you were talking about Waiting for that exclusive sneak peek I don't even mean that just wishing you well. Thanks again, killing for everything.
You are amazing For everybody listening or watching please follow them. They're doing amazing great source of inspiration for your design and Great team. So thanks again. And we'll see you in celebration.
Yeah And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it and remember embrace it's beautiful success in life My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time