NEW YORK—Next Events, an emerging leader in design industry networking and matchmaking experiences, has revealed a strategic partnership with ICD Publications, an independent business-to-business media company. ICD Publications’ Hospitality Group consists of industry-leading brands—InspireDesign and Hotel Business.
Founded in 2019, Next Events provides networking and trade experiences for the design industry, created to connect buyers with suppliers in engaging and interactive environments. The company’s first experience—All Aboard Design, March 12-16, 2020—will offer a one-to-one matchmaking experience aboard the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line that departs from Fort Lauderdale, FL, and stops in Cozumel, Mexico.
As a media partner for Next Events, InspireDesign will provide editorial coverage, curate content and cultivate attendance of the company’s upcoming events. InspireDesign targets a readership of hospitality interior designers, and its sister publication—Hotel Business—reaches a wide audience of hotel owners and operators. Additionally, the Next Events’ sales staff will now become the sales force for the InspireDesign brand. Next Events is spearheaded by Michael Schneider, founder of the Boutique Design brand, who has spent the last 15 years developing relationships in the hospitality design industry.
“The strategic partnership between Next Events and the InspireDesign and Hotel Business brands is mutually beneficial,” said Schneider, president/CEO, Next Events. “As we focus on building more intimate relationships through our networking events, these industry-leading publications will further engage connections with our core audience. Overall, this partnership brings tremendous value and a wealth of experience and innovation to the hospitality design industry.”
Combining intimate networking events with curated editorial coverage, Next Events and ICD Publications strive to engage the design community through innovative concepts. “InspireDesign is excited to form a strategic partnership with industry leader Michael Schneider and his company Next Events to offer a comprehensive platform—print, digital, face-to-face, social—to hospitality professionals, helping to cultivate trade between buyers and suppliers and to create meaningful business solutions,” said Allen Rolleri, publisher, ICD Hospitality Group. “Joining these two progressive and innovative brands will deliver a much-needed alternative approach to engaging the design community on an intimate and personal level, where relationships can thrive in this evolving business landscape.”
Christina Trauthwein, editor-in-chief, ICD Hospitality Group, added, “This mutual collaboration will position us as leaders in the field, creating an aligned powerhouse platform for the design community. We share a united vision: Inspiration, imagination, insight, experiential are all key to the design process, and are not only core values of our partnership, but are the foundation of what we’re bringing to the design industry.”