NEW YORK—Seven exhibitors received Editors’ Choice Awards during the Opening Ceremonies of the 98th annual International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS) and 4th annual Boutique Design New York (BDNY), Sunday, November 10, 2013, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The awards recognize best new products within the categories of design, equipment & supplies, food & beverage, green, operations, tabletop and technology. From the seven winners, the Kenneth F. Hine “Best of Show” Award also was selected. The 2013 Editors’ Choice Award winners are:
Kenneth F. Hine “Best of Show”—Phillips Collection (High Point, N.C.) for the Bicycle Wall Panels.
Design—Fire Farm Lighting (Elkader, Iowa) for the Ribbon Chandelier, an extremely low energy, low profile, even lighting distribution, with remarkable weight to scale ratio. The fixture is scalable from 3 feet to 8 feet and more and can be combined with others to create larger chandelier installations.
Equipment & Supplies—The Vollrath Company (Sheboygan, Wis.) for Mirage Induction Rethermalizer, a soup rethermalizer that doesn’t require water for heating, eliminating the need to fill and refill the unit with water. The induction heating technology offers fast retherm times and precise temperature control.
Food & Beverage—TeaVert (Seattle) for the single-use, fully biodegradable, birch tea infuser. Each infuser is assembled utilizing a natural process without harmful use of chemical adhesives or staples.
Green—Phillips Collection (High Point, N.C.) for the Bicycle Wall Panels, fashioned from recycled bicycle wheels reclaimed in Indonesia. The Bicycle Collection turns the millions of bicycles discarded each year into fun, dramatically-scaled works of art.
Operations—Xeros (Manchester, N.H.) for Xeros Cleaning System for Hospitality, consisting of a specialized laundry machine that uses polymer beads to extract dirt. The system uses up to 70 percent less water, 50 percent less energy, and approximately 50 percent less detergent as compared to conventional washing to deliver superior cleaning results.
Tabletop—Front of the House (Miami) for Harmony Bento, a totally unique porcelain interpretation of the classic bento box. It offers a multitude of modern compartmentalized serving options in six different configurations and 22 mix-and-match accompanying pieces.
Technology—anyGuest.com for anyGuest.com, a mobile and online ordering application built to serve dine-in, room service, delivery, and takeout. It is a custom branded web application for guests to use their own smart device and order off an establishment’s menu wherever they are.
Editors from leading hospitality trade publications reviewed nearly 100 submissions of the latest products for the industry, and selected winners based on innovative product design, how a product answers a particular industry need, creative use of material or construction, and development or use of a new technology.
Judges for the 18th annual IHMRS Editors’ Choice Awards were Kris Burnett, Hospitality Upgrade; Glenn Hasek, Green Lodging News; Beth Lorenzini, Foodservice Equipment Reports; Dennis Nessler, Hotel Business; Michelle Renn, Hotel Online; Stephanie Ricca, HotelManagement.net and Mary Scoviak, Boutique Design.
The 98th annual International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show runs through Tuesday, November 12, 2013, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The market presents nearly 700 exhibitors and attracts some 18,000 industry professionals. It is co-located with Boutique Design New York (BDNY), featuring 325 manufacturers, designers and representatives of furniture, lighting, wall coverings, fabric, seating, accessories, artwork, carpet and flooring, materials, bath and spa, and tabletop.
IHMRS is sponsored by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. (HANYC), and the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Assn. (NYSH&TA). BDNY is a joint venture of AH&LA, HANYC, NYSH&TA and HMG (Hospitality Media Group). Both shows are now under new management by HMG.
Additional information is available online, at www.ihmrs.com or www.bdny.com.
