Tisch Center graduate students attend Gold Key Awards Gala

The Gold Key Awards recognizes the most influential and innovative design work in the hospitality industry. The 39th annual gala took place on November 11, 2019 at New York’s Cipriani Midtown. The Gold Key Awards is one of the industry’s oldest and most prestigious awards programs for excellence in hospitality design. The event awarded best designs in various categories such as best socially conscious hotel and best emerging concept. Nathalie Abi Nader, a student in the MS Hotel Industry Studies, talks about her experience at the event. 

How did this event fit with the course you have taken? 

Professor Simon Turner, who teaches Design and Development in our program, was one of the judges for the Gold Key Awards and he was kind enough to invite us. The event was very specific to the course, as it’s directly related to hotel design. Throughout the course, we have been learning about the different stages of hotel design and the interaction between different key members of the project team. It was great seeing different interior design companies that we had mentioned during class being awarded during the event. We also toured Moxy Hotel the previous week, and were pleased to see that Moxy’s designer was recognized so many times. It made our property tour the previous week even more impactful.    

Do you feel it has benefited your learning experience? 

Overall, I think our program, but also our professors have given us such great opportunities and allowed us to participate in site visits, conferences, and lectures that we would not be able to experience on our own or elsewhere. It was very kind of Professor Turner to let us take part in this special night and amazing experience.