Schedule for Nov. 8 and 9 brings hospitality and restaurant panels, talks by Marcel Wanders and Kai-Uwe Bergmann, and guided booth tours

By Samuel Navarro Serpa

NEW YORK — BDNY 2026 (Boutique Design New York) will offer 52 conference sessions Nov. 8 and 9 at Jacob K. Javits Center. Programming includes panels, lightning talks, tours, networking meetings and social events focused on hotel, restaurant and hospitality design.

Photo: Courtesy BDNY

Highlights include Sunday’s conversation with Marcel Wanders, owner and creative director of Moooi, and a talk by Kai-Uwe Bergmann, a partner at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), on projects stretching from Japan to Arctic latitudes. Monday brings debates on building renovation, culinary-driven hotel brands and hospitality at the Obama Presidential Center.

Photo: Courtesy BDNY

Every BDNY 2026 Mainstage session (Booth 100) requires a Conference Pass and carries one continuing education unit (CEU). Other events have unlimited capacity, according to the online schedule, except a women’s leadership breakfast that requires a ticket and seats 250.

BDNY 2026 Sunday packs 27 sessions

Mainstage opens at 11 a.m. with “The Fast-Track Hotel: Lessons from Accelerated Model Room and Hotel Delivery,” moderated by Dan Ryan. Wanders joins at 12:30 p.m. for “The Man Behind the Practice,” a fireside chat with Alissa Ponchione, editor in chief of Hospitality Design and Boutique Design Magazine. From 2 to 3 p.m., Polywood sponsors “The New Language of Wellness,” with Dale Moss, Galey Alix and Kane Sarhan. Bergmann closes the stage at 3:30 p.m. with “The Future of Hospitality: A Global Journey from Japan to Bhutan, Paris, Copenhagen & the Arctic Circle.”

At The Hub (Booth 2679), Bruce Ford of Lodging Econometrics opens at 10:45 a.m. with “Design Demand Ahead: U.S. Hotel Development Through 2027.” At noon, “ISHP Owners Grill: Strategy Shaping the Industry” features Keith Mack, Suzanne Saunders, Gary Womack and Nicole Dalton, and at 3:15 p.m. Matt Goodrich and Elyse Heckman join “Designers on Design Presented by ROOM.”

Preen’s space (Booth 3119) hosts “Designing for Legacy: Secrets to Building Projects That Will Still Be Relevant in 2050” at 1:30 p.m., with Alexis Readinger and Sebastien Silvestri, CEO of The Dinex Group. At Booth 255, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Crème Jun Aizaki Architecture & Design present “One Night Only: Access, Belonging, Discovery” at 11 a.m. and “Does Great Design Need a Big Budget?” at 1 p.m.

Dine & Design (Booth 781) gathers restaurant programming, including booth tours by Restaurant Development + Design magazine and “The Conversation: Current Drivers in Restaurant Design” at 1 p.m. Four 90-minute Material Bank Insider Tours round out Sunday at BDNY 2026.

Monday adds 25 more BDNY 2026 sessions

At 9 a.m., River Pavilion hosts “BDNY Power Players: Women Leaders in Hospitality Breakfast.” Four panels fill the BDNY 2026 Mainstage. At 11 a.m., “The Renovation Equation: When Preservation and Profitability Align” brings together Mary Gilmore, Ashley Ewing Parrott, Melissa Shelton and Whitney Krieger. At 12:30 p.m., “The Future of F&B” examines design, brand and cultural relevance. From 2 to 3 p.m., Jennifer Johanson and Charlie Palmer discuss “From Concept to Culture: Building a Culinary-Driven Hotel Brand.” At 3:30 p.m., “The ROE of the Room” presents Return on Emotion (ROE) as a business asset in boutique hospitality.

Elsewhere, Ben Dreith, U.S. editor of Dezeen, moderates “Discover Inside Norway: Legacy, Sustainability, and Modernity Redefined” at The Hub at 3:30 p.m. Dine & Design asks “Is Fine Dining Dead? Rethinking the Modern Restaurant Experience” at 11:15 a.m. At 3:30 p.m., Kimshasa Baldwin and Gordana Jordanovska present “Designing Hospitality at the Obama Presidential Center.” Material Bank Insider Tours cap the day.

Registration and details for BDNY 2026 are available on the official BDNY website. More: New York Calendar.

Event details

BDNY 2026 (Boutique Design New York)
Dates: Nov. 8 and 9, 2026
Location: Jacob K. Javits Center, New York
Mainstage: Conference Pass required
Women Leaders in Hospitality Breakfast: ticket required, 250 seats