High Point, North Carolina will be the host city for the inaugural Vacation Rental Design (VRD) Summit, to be held April 20-21, 2023, in conjunction with the Spring High Point Market. The VRD Summit comes at a time when the vacation rental industry is seeing unprecedented demand and growth, and the guest experience, as it relates to design, is a key differentiator.
Presented by High Point x Design (HPxD) and High Point Market Authority (HPMA), the Vacation Rental Design Summit is the first summit of its kind, created specifically for vacation rental designers and related businesses. The two-day event will leverage the city of High Point’s resources and appeal to gather innovative brands, thought leaders and designers. Focused on education, sourcing, inspiration and trends in the vacation rental market, one of the takeaways being how a well-designed rental and its marketability impacts profitability and delivers an ROI.
This increased interest in vacation and short term rentals by industry colleagues prompted interior designer Jessica Duce, founder JDuce Design and co-owner of Vacation Rental Designers, to propose creating a gathering around this topic.
“This is not residential design. This is not hospitality design. Vacation rental design is cultivating a luxury experience in a residential setting while anticipating the needs of the guest, owner, property management and housekeeping.” explains Duce, “There is no other design niche quite like this.”
Duce was adamant that High Point should be the host city and Jane Dagmi, managing director of HPxD, was in total agreement. “With the amount of manufacturing brands and resources in our city, there is no better place to host the VRD Summit. High Point’s legacy is widely known as ‘the furniture capital of the world’— but it’s more than furniture, it’s a year-round design destination for our industry.”
In speaking with High Point Market Authority about the VRD Summit, their team found the idea equally compelling and as an opportunity for High Point, and decided to partner on the event which will precede the Spring High Point Market, April 22-26.
Tammy Nagem, incoming president and CEO of the High Point Market Authority, sees the opportunity aligning well with her vision for High Point Market. “High Point is well versed in executing large events and is also accustomed to catering to the shifting needs of the home furnishings industry. We are uniquely qualified to host this event both in terms of infrastructure surrounding High Point Market but also in terms of the resources we have here for designers diving into this niche. The product base is here, the expertise is here, and the inspiration is endless.”
The VRD Summit is created to offer business development, education, inspiration and resources to those who are currently designing or have a business interest in vacation rental properties. The Summit is designed to help attendees connect with new brands and manufacturers, makers, and innovators. Beyond home furnishings, lighting and decor, this Summit will feature kitchen and bath brands as well as smart home technology companies.
The VRD Summit B2B event is open to Architecture & Design professionals as well as hospitality groups, developers, property managers, real estate / investors and the media. Online registration for the Spring ‘23 Summit will open in December 2022. For more information and to pre-register visit: hpxd.org/VRDSummit.
