Not much is black and white anymore… so many more grey areas since the outbreak of the oncein-a-generation pandemic and now the Russia – Ukraine war in the background. But the sector is dynamic, the sector is always adapting and the sector is growing. Like being in a real life ‘whack a frog’ game, we, the players of the game, are sitting on the edge of our seats, trying to plot the next move we need to make.
So what did 2022 look like to us?
In the early months of the year, there was hope around the fact that this year would be a more normal year for hospitality. Whilst the optimism has been sucked out of us, we had licked our Covid wounds, had gained some of our emotional strength back and could see opportunities for growth in a new reality.
Then throughout the year we were hit by dramatic developments such as the war, the energy crisis, political and economic turmoil in different parts of the world. Whilst we were manoeuvring around the side effects of these, ie the effect on transportation costs, supply chain problems, and raw material shortages, there was still one ‘constant’, the fact that the commercial interiors sector does not stop finding cracks to shine through, rerouting the intense energy where needed within the global sector that turns over billions.
Yes, with inflation hiking up in some countries investments have been halted, however, with energy prices going up, this has meant that there is surplus to invest in other countries. All in all, the sector is nimble, able to see new opportunities and change course. Analysing the market, we see that two regions are on the up and up; Saudi Arabia + The Middle East and North America – these areas will offer manufacturers like us more opportunities to get involved in big new projects.
Economics aside, when it comes to strongly emerging trends we have observed the following:
– Sustainability is starting to become really embedded into the sector, and a must for all companies to develop and implement
– Reimagining interiors as spaces where one boosts moral and gets away from reality is becoming a priority
– Offering a guest experience that is more human with interactions, with design and with environments is what is expected
At Parla we combine the rooted history of a 3rd generation company with a team of current and young designers, craft people and managers to be able to react effectively to the fast paced environment of hospitality interiors. So, in between waves of global and local crises, we draw strength from our core and take on new challenges.
The challenges we rose to and thrived alongside in 2022 were:
– starting a new chapter with projects in the very high end of 5 star experiences, with projects such as Four Season’s Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet and Mandarin Oriental Residences Beverly Hills
– delivering projects at some amazing destinations in North America
– working on new product designs that have sustainability as their starting point
And what do we wish for 2023?
– We hope to continue working on new exciting projects with repeat clients
– Increase the number of projects in new regions for us, such as America and Saudi Arabia
– Launch a variety of new award deserving sustainable products
With a global market size that surpassed 48 billion pounds in 2021 and that is expected to achieve an estimated value of 80 billion pounds by 2030, we can’t help but be a little bit optimistic!
