EquipHotel x ENSCI

From November 2nd to 5th, the leading event for the hospitality industry will return for a new edition. Under the banner of “plural hospitality”, the trade fair will bring together 1,200 exhibitors and 80,000 professionals from 133 countries, alongside the fresh perspectives of twelve young designers from ENSCI—Les Ateliers.

“Hospitality as a creator of memories.” This was the theme explored by the twelve ENSCI students, aged between 18 and 29. Their challenge: to imagine experiences, devices and objects capable of enriching the traveller’s journey. While comfort, interior design and quality service remain essential components of hospitality, some details can give a hotel stay an entirely different flavour. The young designers
therefore examined many aspects of hotel culture, including everyday habits, relationships between guests and staff, welcoming rituals, sensory experiences and the objects and souvenirs travellers take home once their stay has ended. “Today, hospitality is constantly reinventing itself ”, explains Béatrice Gravier, Director of
EquipHotel.

With the theme of plural hospitality, EquipHotel aims to highlight the diversity of experiences and approaches that shape the hotel stay. The collaboration with ENSCI—Les Ateliers is fully aligned with this ambition: inviting young designers to explore what makes an experience unique and how a place can create lasting memories.” Among the most striking proposals is Caillou by Zakine Jacobs. The project draws on two evocative symbols: the seashell held to one’s ear in the hope of hearing the ocean and the stones collected during travels as keepsakes of a place. Yet this is neither a mineral specimen nor a shell. Jacobs proposes a cement pebble containing electronic components designed to replay the sonic memory of a hotel lobby or the sounds of a city recently visited. The object becomes a vessel for remembrance, preserving the atmosphere of a journey through sound. Poetry is equally present in the work of Gauthier Carnéjac-Dijoux.

With L’Entre-soi, waking up and going to sleep become a genuine olfactory experience. Seeking to recreate the freshness and mist of a countryside morning, the designer infused a curtain with fragrance that is released whenever the fabric is moved at dawn or dusk. To create this singular moment, the scent is encapsulated within microparticles and sprayed onto the textile by hotel staff before the guest’s arrival. Meanwhile, Leonardo Ortega Herrera presents Discos de Fuego, a circular form developed in several versions, from monumental volcanic-stone sculptures to wall sconces and fragrance diffusers. A recognisable silhouette designed to bring people together, it acts as both an object and a gathering point. At a different scale, Toponymie, by Clémence Pierrat and Paul Ferrier, invites travellers to sit at a table equipped with integrated shelving. Designed for dining, working and discovering, the installation provides information about the surrounding territory, encouraging guests to engage more deeply with the destination they are about to explore. Together, these innovative proposals demonstrate how design can transform hospitality into a source of lasting memories. They will be showcased, alongside many other projects, during the next edition of EquipHotel, from November 2nd to 5th 2026. •

photos : EquipHotel x ENSCI—Les Ateliers, 2026 © All rights reserved