Hospitality Giants 2024 image
JoJo’s Shake Bar in Scottsdale, Arizona, by Bar Napkin Productions. Photography courtesy of JoJo’s Shake Bar.

Unveiling Interior Design’s 2024 Hospitality Giants

2023 marked a year of very strong recovery for the Giants in general, with almost all metrics surpassing the 2019 levels: salaries, staffing, billing rates, fees. But when it comes to the sector-by-sector temperature-check, the landscape is more uneven. Hospitality joins corporate in the recovery-pending zone. Giants working in this vertical are still struggling to surpass pre-pandemic fees: They’re down 44 percent compared to 2019. In fact, hospitality is faring the worst of all sectors. Chalk it up to the expected revenge travel surge that never came to pass, and that business travel remains sluggish.

2024 Hospitality Giants Rankings

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at 2024 Rank Firm Headquarters Design Fees (in millions) FFC Value of Work Installed (in millions) Design Staff 2023 Rank
1 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 1 HBA INTERNATIONAL Santa Monica 100.4 6,026.8 1,181 1
2 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 2 GENSLER San Francisco 42.4 3,176 3
3 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 3 ROCKWELL GROUP New York 34.5 295 2
4 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 4 HKS Dallas 33.5 174 12
5 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 5 WIMBERLY INTERIORS New York 22.6 79 4
6 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 6 FORRESTPERKINS/PERKINS EASTMAN New York 20.3 305 5
7 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 7 AVROKO New York 20.2 2.4 120 7
8 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 8 DLR GROUP Minneapolis 17.3 4.0 870 10
9 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 9 BASKERVILL Richmond 16.6 158.9 79 14
10 michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 04:25 PM 10 ICRAVE, A JOURNEY COMPANY New York 15.5 395.1 60 17

“blank cells” = did not report data

But looking more closely at individual data points, hospitality fee income did increase 12 percent year-over-year, and Giants are predicting another small 5 percent bump-up for 2024. So, the needle is moving in the right direction. Moreover, these are quite high fees: $645.6 million in 2023 (versus $576.2 in 2022)! To put things in better perspective, the verticals experiencing double-digit growth—including government/civic and transportation—make up a much, much smaller piece of the Giants pie in comparison. It stands to follow that hospitality has a comparatively bigger dollar-amount gap to recover.

Typical for this sector, the greatest growth is happening in luxury hotels, comprising almost a quarter of fees, with restaurants in second, resorts in third, and boutique hotels in fourth— together driving some serious dollars. Many other segments, including cruise ships, remain flat, however. Segment predictions for 2024 are dead-even with 2023 actuals, with a majority expecting the most growth in luxury hotels.

Project totals are also way up, to the tune of 40 percent year-over-year and 63 percent higher than 2019. The hard numbers are fantastic: almost 8,000 projects, a figure that doubled over the last decade. And Giants are expecting another 11 percent project growth for 2024, which would bring the amount very close to 9k.

You may be scratching your head thinking something doesn’t track: How can hospitality projects balloon so much over the last five years—but fees overall remain down from 2019? A likely explanation is that Giants are working on smaller projects for less dollars, and/or more renovation projects versus new construction. This would be in line with anecdotal reporting. Interestingly, FF&C value also increased robustly between 2022 and 2023: from $14.7 to $22.4 billion. That’s 53 percent year-over- year and surpassing the 2019 numbers by 15 percent. Again, these big digits to some extent reflect the inflating cost of products and construction. But Giants expect a strong 22 percent growth curve for 2024, which implies an upward trend that’s independent of hard costs. (The FF/C ratio has been consistent over the last decade but is currently trending higher towards furniture and fixtures.)

In terms of locations, Hospitality Giants tend to have the highest percentage of overseas projects in comparison to other verticals. While most sectors hover around a 90/10 split between domestic and international, hospitality has traditionally held steady around 80/20, and this year is no different, albeit skewing toward domestic. Once again, the biggest growth markets are Asia, Canada, and Europe overseas and, in the U.S., the southernmost regions.


Firms With The Most Fee Growth (in millions)

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at Firm 2022 Fees 2023 Fees Increase
1 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM HKS 14.7 33.5 18.8
2 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM Gensler 24.9 42.4 17.5
3 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM Jacobs 4.8 14.2 9.4
4 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM ICRAVE, a Journey Company 9.9 15.5 5.6
5 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM Elkus Manfredi Architects 1.1 5.6 4.5
6 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM Sargenti Architects 3.7 8.0 4.3
7 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM Champalimaud Design 8.0 12.0 4.0
8 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM //3877 2.8 6.3 3.5
9 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM MKDA 0.8 3.5 2.7
10 michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 06:48 PM Hord Coplan Macht 2.6 5.2 2.6

Editor’s Note: Take a look at recent coverage of our Hospitality Giants most admired firms of 2024 below. Yabu Pushelberg tops the list followed by AvroKO, Rockwell Group, and Meyer Davis Studio.

Read More About Most Admired Firms


Percentage of Firms Predicting Category Growth Over Next Two Years

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at Project Types More Projects No Change Fewer Projects
1 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Boutique hotels 57 20 3
2 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Luxury hotels 51 23 5
3 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Restaurants/bars 51 30 4
4 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Resorts/spas/country clubs 49 24 5
5 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Multiuse 46 24 4
6 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Mid/economy hotels 34 27 4
7 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Senior living 28 44 0
8 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Condo-hotels/timeshares 20 24 5
9 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Gaming 18 23 5
10 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Micro-hotels 11 31 5
11 michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 07:45 PM Cruise ships 9 23 1

Percentage of Firms Projecting Regional Growth Over the Next Two Years

U.S.

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at Total U.S. Percentage
1 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM Southeast 70
2 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM Southwest 67
3 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM Northeast 53
4 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM Midsouth 49
5 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM Mid-Atlantic 33
6 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM Midwest 26
7 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:54 PM Northwest 25

International

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at International Percentage
1 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM Middle East 32
2 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM Caribbean 29
3 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM Europe 23
4 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM Mexico 21
5 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM Central/South America 15
6 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM Canada 8
7 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:55 PM Africa 4

Asia

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at Asia Percentage
1 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:56 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:56 PM China 11
2 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:56 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:56 PM Asia/Australia/New Zealand 10
3 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:56 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:56 PM India 5

Regional Projected Growth

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at Region Percentage
1 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:58 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:58 PM U.S. 96
2 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:58 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:58 PM International 58
3 michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:58 PM michelleyee 13/05/2024 10:58 PM Asia 15

Methodology

The Interior Design Giants annual business survey comprises the largest firms ranked by interior design fees for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2023. The listings are generated from only those surveyed. To be recognized as a top 100, Rising, Healthcare, Hospitality, or Sustainability Giant, you must meet the following criteria: Have at least one office location in North America, and generate at least 25% of your interior design fee income in North America. Firms that do not meet the criteria are ranked on our International Giants list. Interior design fees include those attributed to:

1. All aspects of a firm’s in­terior design practice, from strategic planning and programming to design and project management.

2. Fees paid to a firm for work performed by employees and independent contractors who are “full-time staff equivalent.”

Interior design fees do not include revenues paid to a firm and remitted to subcontractors who are not con­sid­ered full-time staff equivalent. For example, certain firms attract work that is subcontracted to a local firm. The originating firm may collect all the fees and re­tain a management or generation fee, paying the remainder to the performing firm. The amounts paid to the latter are not included in fees of the collecting firm when determining its ranking. Ties are broken by rank from last year. Where applicable, all per­cent­ages are based on responding Giants, not their total number. 

All research conducted by ThinkLab, the research division of SANDOW Design Group.

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