6 March 2023

Hospitality innovator Tom Ito joins Mews Unfold as keynote speaker

Ito, who launched Gensler’s hospitality practice, will share remarkable hospitality projects that push the boundaries of the use of physical spaces. 

[AMSTERDAM / LOS ANGELES – 6th of March] Mews, a leader in hospitality technology, has announced Tom Ito, Principal at Gensler and founder of their hospitality practice, as the keynote speaker for the upcoming Mews Unfold flagship industry event. 

230227-1_Unfold - Hospitality Tom Ito Hero

“I’ve always been interested in pushing boundaries within industry spaces, particularly hospitality,” said Ito. “I’m thrilled to be speaking to a room full of innovators, providing a little extra inspiration for how to be bold and successful in what can often be quite a traditional industry.” 

Ito launched Gensler’s Hospitality practice in the late 1990s, and since then has expanded their practice to an international scale, leading some of the industry’s most celebrated mixed-use, entertainment, master planning, and hotel projects. His keynote speech at Unfold is about Transformation: Design Strategies for the Human Experience. 

“We’re so excited to have someone with Tom’s insight and expertise speak at Unfold,” said Leah Anathan, CMO at Mews. “I’ve no doubt that every single attendee will walk away feeling inspired, bursting with new ideas for how to transform their own property space.” 

In his keynote, Ito will help to uncover the purpose and motivation behind physical spaces and explore the benefits of reinventing them. He’ll share examples of remarkable hotel hospitality projects that were designed with guest interactions and brand experiences at the heart of the plan. Underpinning all of Tom’s projects are the blending of technology and spaces, advancing mixed-use models and sustainability throughout the physical footprint. 

Mews Unfold is hospitality tech’s specialist annual forum. Taking place at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam on April 4th, the one-day event is packed with speeches, panels and workshops. Other speakers also confirmed include Charlie McGregor from The Social Hub, Kari Anna-Fiskvik from Nordic Choice Hotels, Naomi Heaton from The Other House, Harsha L’Acqua and Greg Früchtenicht from Saira Hospitality, Dimitris Manikis from Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and Kevin Machefert from Machefert Group.  

Tickets are still available for hoteliers and hospitality tech specialists: https://www.mews.com/en/unfold/2023/amsterdam  

About Mews 

Mews is a leading platform for the new era of hospitality. Over 3,000 properties in 70 countries are powered by Mews. The Mews Hospitality Cloud is designed to streamline operations for modern hoteliers, transform the guest experience and create more profitable businesses. Customers include Accor, Generator-Freehand, Nordic Choice Hotels, The Social Hub, Life House and Les Airelles. Mews has been named the World's Best Independent Hotel PMS Provider by World Travel Tech Awards (2022) and won Best Place to Work in Hotel Tech (2021, 2022) from Hotel Tech Report. The company has offices in Europe, the United States and Australia. 

About Tom Ito 

Tom Ito launched Gensler’s hospitality practice in the late 1990’s. As leader of the firm’s hospitality practice and principal in Gensler’s LA office, Tom provides overall direction for hospitality projects – assuring sustainable design, innovation, and strong client service. Tom has led and been part of leadership teams for complex hotel projects with clients throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Americas. His well-rounded experience as a designer, architect, and strategic thinker gives him a comprehensive understanding of complex lifestyle projects and insight into delivering outstanding guest experiences.  

About Gensler 

Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 53 locations and more than 7,000 professionals networked across the Americas, Europe, Greater China, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Founded in 1965, the firm works globally with more than 4,000 clients across more than 29 practice areas spanning the work, lifestyle, community, and health sectors. We are guided by our mission to create a better world through the power of design, and the source of our strength is our people. By leveraging our diversity of ideas, our research and innovation, our shared values, and our One-Firm Firm culture, we are working seamlessly as a borderless firm in 140 countries and making the greatest impact on our communities as we continue to tackle the world’s challenges.