Joining us on this week’s episode is a talented and award winning  designer whose creativity defies the boundaries of the industry. She’s a frequent contributor to Hotel News Now and a recurring speaker at industry events who has been recognized as one of Hotel Management’s Top 30 Influential Women in Hospitality. Welcome to the show, Principal and Managing Director at Pierre-Yves Rochon, Amy Jakubowski! Amy sits down with boat Dan Ryan to discuss what it means to design spaces, the attributes of successful design teams, and what it means to understand the why. 

Takeaways: 

• For Amy, hospitality is about creating, defining, and enriching the human experience. Every location has a unique culture, and good hospitality creates a human connection that highlights those attributes. 
• In the hospitality industry, you need to be able to hustle. As a leader, you’ll find yourself having to manage people and address their needs, all while balancing the design work for your clients. Being able to adapt quickly is a necessary skill.
• When designing across any medium, you need to understand the why. Why are you doing this, why are you doing it this way? You can’t challenge convention unless you understand why it was there in the first place. 
• Designing a space goes beyond visual aesthetic, but to every element of the human experience. You need to consider elements like where luggage goes, how people move through the hallways, and the overall function of the space. 
• When designing a space with a Michelin Star chef, you are not designing for them, you are designing an extension of them. You are creating the theater in which their dishes are presented, and all elements must reflect this. 
• Creating a successful design team requires members with more than just a strong portfolio. Good team members are collaborative, have a positive outlook, and are helpful and encouraging. 
• One application of design that is often scarce in hospitality is hospital design. To create more welcoming and healing spaces, hospital designers should work in tandem with hospitality designers. 

Quote of the Show:

• “You can’t challenge the system unless you know why it was there to begin with.” - Amy Jakubowski

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-jakubowski/ 
• Website: https://www.pyr-design.com/en/ 
• Publications:
  • https://ishc.com/wp-content/uploads/Amy-Jakubowski_HNN.pdf 
  • https://www.costar.com/article/1391676743/5-fashion-trends-translated-to-hotels 

Shout Outs:

08:10 - Julia Monk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-monk-faia-fiida-noma-2aa11711?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3B8jYgH4ofSpi9Z%2BLl7kjATg%3D%3D 

08:28 - Hank Brennan

08:30 - Peter Gorman

08:31 - David Beer

16:26 - The George V Hotel

16:30 - The Ritz London

17:34 - The Jade Signature

20:05 - Boucheron

20:06 - Chopard

21:18 - The Inn At Little Washington

22:54 - Perkins&Will

26:22 - The Waldorf Astoria NYC

26:31 - The Waldorf Astoria Lusail Doha

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/V49NNZCG3jg