FINAL DEADLINE DEC 15

Kavitha Iyer

Choice Hotels International / Vice President of Architecture and Design

Kavitha Iyer is Vice President of Architecture and Design for Choice Hotels International based in Maryland in the United States. Previously, Kavitha was the Head of Design for the Americas at IHG Hotels & Resorts.

As an Architect and designer with extensive experience in designing for travel, she was responsible for leading the design strategy for IHG’s brands in the Americas. Kavitha and her team of design creatives collaborate closely with brand, development, and operations to imagine and define the personality of each brand to ensure distinctive guest experiences.

With an emphasis on shaping compelling and memorable spaces for guests, Kavitha and her team lead various brand design initiatives across the portfolio, ranging from ideation and testing new concepts to creating comprehensive design guidance to implement projects. In her past few years at IHG Hotels & Resorts, she has been responsible for creating distinct visions to develop new Hotel brands like Garner, Atwell Suites, and Voco, while leading creative direction for Lifestyle, Luxury, and Premium brands like EVEN hotels, Hotel Indigo, InterContinental Hotels and Crowne Plaza.

Before joining Choice Hotels and IHG Hotels & Resorts, Kavitha was the Director of Global Design Strategies at Marriott International where she led and launched various high-profile design initiatives that focused on transformative next-generation experiences for multiple brands. Kavitha’s love of art and travel fuels her continued passion to spend her free time painting, appreciating new and old destinations, and being inspired by the everyday.

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Past Jury