Over the three days of the event, attendees enjoyed a comprehensive showroom filled with design products and materials from more than 290 exhibiting brands, as well as a first-rate programme of conferences, workshops and panel discussions featuring leading figures from the sector.
The fifteenth edition of interihotel, held at Fira Barcelona – Gran Via and once again supported by Roca Group as Global Sponsor, has reached record figures, both in the number of exhibitors and professional visitors, and in the volume of hospitality business opportunities identified among the 11,675 registered attendees.
Showroom with plenty of design
The event presented a carefully designed exhibition area, featuring a total of 291 exhibiting brands, all dedicated to offering innovative solutions for the design of hotels and restaurants. Each brand recreated its own interpretation of different hotel and restaurant environments (bedroom, café, lobby, etc.), turning the exhibition route into a genuine experience of pilot spaces for the hospitality sector.
The organisation itself was responsible for the design of the common areas such as the Suite, the Lounge, the Agora, the Atelier and the various zones of the Interiors Living Lab, among others. These spaces were dressed with product placements from the exhibiting brands, extending their visibility while offering professionals rest and networking areas infused with great design.
Conferences of the highest level
This edition featured +240 speakers across conferences, debates and workshops. The conferences and panel discussions were moderated by Pilar Civis, director of Revista Interiores; Juan-Francisco Fuentes Lojo, director of Diariodesign; Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, architecture journalist at El País; Marina Peñalver, features editor at AD Spain; and Marisa Santamaría, founder of Global Design & Innovation Trends Unit.
The Agora was the ideal stage for talks by renowned speakers such as Tom Dixon, Peter Bundgaard (Space Copenhague), Luca Pronzato (We Are Ona), Andrés Reisinger (Reisinger Studio), Álvaro Catalán de Ocón (Premio Nacional de Diseño 2023), Inés Miró-Sans (Casa Bonay), Cristina Carulla and Natali Canas (El Equipo Creativo), among many others.
The workshops at the Atelier were also a great success, offering a practical orientation and addressing fascinating topics such as storytelling (María Lillo, Melon Breakers), ceramics as a key element in hospitality spaces (Ana Illueca), accessibility (Mónica Surís, AccessLab), craftsmanship and natural materials (Sagarminaga Atelier), interior photography (Bacon Studio) and spatial design and conceptualisation using AI tools (Ricardo Orts).
The Lounge, the event’s main meeting and relaxation space, hosted debates led by key sector entities representing hotel companies, architecture and interior design, as well as interior product brands. Notable participants included CETT-UB, the Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC, the Col·legi Oficial de Dissenyadors d’Interiors i Decoradors de Catalunya (CODIC), the Asociación Profesional de Diseñadores de Iluminación (APDI), LCI Barcelona, Mujeres en Hospitality, Rethink Tourism, Alianza Hotelera, Domus Selecta and the Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Decoradores y Diseñadores de Interior (CGCODDI).
The event also included once again the Diálogos programme, an initiative through which professionals from studios and brands associated with the AMBIT cluster debated the different themes that shaped this edition: local craftsmanship and contemporary interpretations of tradition (Cultural Encounters), sustainability as a continuous transformation affecting all aspects of hospitality (Sustainable Encounters), and how collaboration between investors, hoteliers and designers is creating new opportunities for the hospitality sector (The Business of Encounters).
interihotel BCN25 awards
interihotel recognises and rewards people, studios and brands that are shaping hotel and restaurant design, driving innovation and excellence in the sector. This recognition celebrates those who, through their creative vision and commitment to quality, are redefining the hospitality experience and setting new trends in spaces for rest, gastronomy and social interaction, across six award categories:
- interihotel BCN25 Award for Best Stand Design: TM Leader Contract (K24), designed by María Ortega
- interihotel BCN25 Award for Sustainable Product for Hotel and Restaurant Design: RiceTab, by Birdmind
- interihotel BCN25 Award for Innovative Product for Hotel and Restaurant Design: Acoustic Wall, by Bariperfil
- interihotel BCN25 Award for Best Restaurant Design: Superchulo Canalejas, by Pablo Roig
- interihotel BCN25 Award for Best Hotel Design: Hotel Riad Brummell Medina, by Clàudia Raurell Architecture Office
- interihotel BCN25 Lifetime Achievement Award in Hotel and Restaurant Design: Sandra Tarruella, from the studio Sandra Tarruella Interioristas
The jury selecting the winners was composed of Julio Rodrigo, Sustainability & Innovation Area Manager at AMBIT Cluster (serving as jury secretary); Jordi Moya, Board Member of APDI (Professional Association of Lighting Designers); Agnès Blanch, Interior Architect and Vice President of ARQUIN-FAD; Cristina Mora, Secretary of the Barcelona Section Board of COAC (Architects’ Association of Catalonia); Marc Huertos, Vice President of CODIC Lleida (Official Association of Interior Designers and Decorators of Catalonia); María Deus, Brand Manager of Domus Selecta; Helena Puig, Professor of the Master’s in Interior Design for Hotels, Bars & Restaurants at ELISAVA; Pere Ramon, Executive Board Member of GHB (Barcelona Hotels Guild); Daniel García, Head of Partners Department at the Barcelona Restaurant Guild; Pedro Coelho, Head of Interior Design Department at LCI Barcelona; and Ana Prim, Partner & Head of Expansion at Sercotel Hotels, representing MH (Mujeres en Hospitality).
Interiors Living Lab
The AMBIT Cluster’s Interiors Living Lab presented new iterations of all its spaces:
- The Concept Rooms Lab showcased two experiential spaces designed by the studios ILV* and PhiBa Architecture, inspired by the hotel chains Mercer Hoteles and Medplaya. Both drew great attention from visitors.
- The Xperience Lab featured mixed reality demonstrators, immersive zones based on Generative Artificial Intelligence, and interactive totems that allowed users to generate interior design scenes and product proposals. This edition also included the MATCHPOINT ZONE, where leading companies and professionals in Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality shared key insights on emerging technologies for the hospitality sector.
- The Materials Lab hosted the exhibition Conscious Materiality, curated by Matter Group, which invited attendees to rethink contemporary materiality from a critical, ethical, and sustainable perspective.
- As a new addition, the Craft Lab, curated by journalist Tachy Mora, invited visitors to explore how new experimental and hybrid expressions of contemporary craftsmanship can be integrated into hotel and restaurant design through seven exhibited works, in an attractive and widely commented space.
The Business of Encounters
The theme of interihotel BCN25, “The Power of Encounters,” was clearly reflected in the professional connections made throughout the event. The CC4 hall hosted an extensive programme of national B2B meetings between exhibiting brands and prescribers, as well as the traditional interihotel International Reverse Trade Mission, which included representatives from major firms such as Accor, Caribe Hospitality, DWP, Enjoy Group, and HBA Miami.
Across these programmes, more than 600 meetings were held, reaffirming interihotel’s strength as a key business-generation platform for all participants.
interi-off
interihotel also premiered interi-off, the off-site interior design agenda that filled the city of Barcelona with events. A total of 29 activities—including talks, afterworks, forums, installations, workshops, and guided visits—were part of this first edition, led by three major congresses organised by AMBIT Cluster (organiser of both interihotel and interi-off) at the Fira Barcelona Conference Centre:
- On 21 October, the Wellspaces Forum took place, a platform where neuroarchitecture, neurodesign, and open innovation converge to explore spatial design from a transversal, impact-oriented perspective.
- On 22 October, the Future Living Forum followed, a congress addressing opportunities within the living sector, including flexliving, coliving, and other hybrid forms of hospitality.
- Finally, on 23 October, the cycle concluded with the AI Interiors Forum, a professional event focused on the impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on creative processes related to the hospitality sector, followed by a practical workshop dedicated to its application in spatial and experiential design.
