Hospitality Business Review: Specials Magazine

In hospitality and event environments, success is measured in minutes, movements and momentum. When teams are resetting a ballroom late at night for a morning event, or turning a space multiple times in a single day, the difference between a smooth transition and a stressful one often comes down to the tools they rely on. When timelines are tight and staff are stretched, ease of setup, reliability, and intuitive design of equipment are operational necessities that directly impact staff efficiency and the guest experience. For 75 years, SICO has built its business around that reality. As a global provider of mobile furniture and staging solutions for hospitality and event environments, it partners with hotels, convention centers, and multipurpose venues to help teams work more efficiently, reduce labor strain, and deliver consistently high-quality events. The company’s solutions are built for conditions where speed, reliability, and ease of use directly impact both staff performance and the guest experience. Supported by experienced sales and customer care teams, SICO works as a long-term product and solution partner supporting customers from early planning and product selection through delivery, service, and long-term use. The continuity gives operators confidence that the products they rely on today will still be supported years down the line. That commitment to practical design, operational insight, and customer support has defined SICO’s role in the hospitality industry for generations and continues to shape how events come together today. “Our role goes beyond selling,” says Ken Steinbauer, President. “We focus on asking the right questions, understanding the real pain points, and then matching the right solution to how a space actually operates.”

In the world of hospitality, the difference between a good event and a great one lies in the details. It’s the perfectly timed service, the smile that makes every guest feel special, and the seamless coordination behind the scenes. And behind it all is SMS Staffing SolutionsSMS Staffing Solutions, the company dedicated to ensuring that every event runs flawlessly, elevating ordinary moments into extraordinary memories. As a Certified Minority Business Enterprise, the SMS Staffing Solutions has provided friendly, competent, and fully insured hospitality staff to assist businesses across the Detroit area for over a decade. The company prides itself on providing exceptional front-of-house and back-of-house staff, ensuring that every event—large or small—runs smoothly and exceeds client expectations. Specializing in both temporary and contract staffing, the SMS Staffing Solutions offers highly skilled and motivated professionals who understand the art of delivering exceptional guest services. The agency’s commitment to excellence, backed by years of experience and a focus on customer satisfaction, has made it a trusted partner for businesses and event organizers across the region. Although a household name in the hospitality industry, the story of SMS Staffing Solutions began far from it. Originally focused on security and janitorial staffing, the company evolved during the 2008 automotive downturn and expanded its services. With the auto industry suffering, its leadership turned its attention to a thriving sector: hospitality. What started as a single-client operation quickly blossomed into a full-fledged hospitality staffing agency. “We never planned to be a hospitality staffing company,” says Kellie M. Shotwell, executive vice president. “But when we saw an opportunity to serve an industry that values excellence, we knew we could do it better. And we’ve been doing that ever since.”.

What renovation pressures are reshaping mid-market hotel properties? The hotel industry, particularly mid-market and boutique brand properties, stands at a pivotal juncture. As owners continue modernizing hotels to meet elevated guest expectations, they face key priorities like managing tight renovation timelines, maintaining brand consistency, and navigating supply chain disruptions and budget constraints. This is precisely where Distinctive Hospitality Designs (DHD) excels, helping hotels transform these challenges into opportunities for smoother operations and uncompromised guest experiences. With over 20 years of industry experience across major brands including Marriott, Hilton, and IHG, the firm leverages its furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) and operating supplies and equipment (OS&E) expertise to deliver fully integrated solutions that minimize disruption, reduce costs, and accelerate project timelines. This effectively reduces downtime-related revenue loss. Besides, DHD specializes in phased renovations and off-hour work schedules to safeguard occupancy and ensure the best possible guest experience. Dealing with the supply chain effortlessly is one of DHD’s hallmarks. The firm, with its global sourcing capabilities and strong vendor relationships, mitigates common FF&E and OS&E challenges, such as shipping delays and backorders. On-time deliveries stem directly from a consistent focus on accountability and transparency, reinforcing its ability to manage budget complexities and keep timelines on track, even across multi-property programs. “We understand the unique demands of the hotel industry, from the tight renovation timelines to maintaining the brand consistency across multiple properties,” says Laura Rogers, co-owner and managing partner..

How does Greenhaus help destinations define and express distinct identities? Every destination has a story waiting to be discovered. Few know how to narrate it in a way that truly connects with people. For more than three decades, Greenhaus has helped destinations identify what makes them distinct and translate that clarity into immersive experiences that resonate long after travelers return home. Over the past ten years, the firm has strategically shifted its focus towards tourism marketing. Greenhaus builds new brands and refines established ones, rooted in place and positioning clients to compete in an increasingly crowded global travel market. Its portfolio spans tourism, hospitality, resort and real estate sectors as well as destination marketing agencies that promote tourism in the U.S., Mexico and the South Pacific. “We are connecting people to places in ways that capture their imagination, spark emotion and feeling and create connections that resonate over time,” says Paul Whitbeck, CEO of Greenhaus. Central to that work is the recognition that no two destinations operate alike. The firm evaluates each location’s character, culture and governance structure before defining strategy. Some destinations differentiate through geography and physical features. Others derive competitive advantage from community identity or cultural heritage. Governance and stakeholder models vary just as widely, from highly involved boards to autonomous teams, each with distinct decision-making processes, funding structures and strategic horizons. Effective brand development, the firm emphasizes, requires navigating those variables with precision..

How did Livio Lauro’s early experience inspire the creation of EuroBar Station? At 13, Livio Lauro, the founder of EuroBar Station, watched a bartender craft a Shirley Temple; the fizz rising through red syrup, crowned with a maraschino cherry, and something clicked. That glimpse of theater, precision, and hospitality sparked a fascination with bar design that never left him. For years, however, the idea simmered on the back burner. Family responsibilities and a demanding beverage hospitality career kept it on hold. It took the global lockdown of 2020 to create the pause he had never allowed himself. In his garage, Lauro began building wooden prototypes, rethinking how a bar station could function if designed entirely around the bartender’s workflow. And by 2021, those prototypes evolved into EuroBar, a “pandemic baby” built to elevate the art of bartending through design that works as beautifully as it looks. Turning Experience into Systems How does EuroBar translate bartending experience into modular cocktail station systems? EuroBar operates as a hospitality-focused manufacturer of premium cocktail stations and bar equipment. Drawing on Lauro’s decades behind the bar, it develops modular systems that balance aesthetics, efficiency, and adaptability. Its flagship Classico^™ station and the compact Sportivo^™ unit anchor a product line designed for a wide range of venues. From white-tablecloth restaurants and cocktail-forward bars to hotels, casinos, coffee shops, and hybrid all-day concepts. The goal? To create stations that can transition from morning espresso service to late-night cocktails without structural overhauls or operational friction..