Hostelco 2014 showcases the whole world of hospitality in a single venue

At the upcoming edition of Hostelco, the event is set to consolidate its international vocation, create more themed areas, embrace new sectors and add new activities for professionals working in the hospitality, restaurant and mass catering industries to find new business opportunities, creative ideas and innovative formats. For the first time, the show will be held simultaneously with the Gastronomic Forum in order to create the biggest international platform for the industry, featuring the sector’s entire value chain from equipment through to product preparation.

Hostelco 2014 will be showcasing the products of around 500 companies, 25% of which come from over 30 different countries, headed by Italy and followed by Portugal, Germany, Turkey and the United Kingdom, along with the top companies in their respective sectors such as Lavazza, Carpigiani, Nardi, Angelo Po, Vista Alegre, Hobart and Charvet, amongst others.

This extensive offering is matched by the high calibre of the show’s visitors. This year there will be more than 300 buyers, half of them international, selected from professionals with the greatest purchasing such as business owners, purchasing managers and executives with decision-making power from major hotel groups and restaurant chains. The foreign VIP buyers mainly come from North Africa, countries in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar), the USA and Canada, Latin America and Europe, all of which are areas of high commercial interest to the sector.

Hostelco, organized by Fira de Barcelona and the Spanish Federation of Hospitality and Catering Equipment Manufacturers (FELAC), is one of the benchmark European trade shows in this specialist area. This year it takes place on 20-23 October in Halls 2 and 3 of Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via Exhibition Centre.

New sectors to broaden the offering
The traditional range of products at Hostelco comprising machinery and equipment for the hospitality sector will be joined for the first time this year by the new sectors Bakeries, Ice-Cream Parlours, Franchises ¿ featuring the big names in the restaurant sector ¿ and Fitness, with specific ideas for hotels.

Another new feature is Cook Trends, held in collaboration with the Gastronomic Forum, where various concepts of commercial and social restaurants will be recreated based on the furniture, decoration and equipment provided by exhibitors at the show.

Meanwhile, the new products zone will be the main hub of the exhibition, with the display of the most innovative products. The show is also hosting the Hospitality Business Event, with more than 24 conferences and over 50 prominent national and international speakers from the worlds of hotels, restaurants, fitness and wellness. The HBE will also feature mentoring activities and networking lunches, providing participants with a unique opportunity to broaden their network of professional contacts.

The areas dedicated to cocktails, coffee, bread and fitness will include demos, workshops and competitions, making a visit to the show a fun and educational experience for trade professionals interested in gaining more in-depth knowledge of each of these sectors. Hostelco is also offering buyers and visitors an activity entitled ¿Be Moving’ which involves tourist/gastronomic routes with stops at the most interesting visitor/professional sites in Barcelona.

Expertise, guidance and networking at Hostelco
According to the show’s director, Isabel Piñol, ¿we’re not only designing a trade show but a total platform of products, knowledge, expertise, guidance and networking at the service of a sector which is reinventing itself and constantly exploring new concepts and business models’. Meanwhile, Jordi Roure, the president of Hostelco and the Spanish Federation of Hospitality and Catering Equipment Manufacturers (FELAC), believes that ¿Hostelco is an absolute must for professionals in a sector that is constantly evolving and is capable of reinventing itself and innovating to continue as a competitive force both nationally and internationally, as demonstrated by the export share of 46% of the Spanish hospitality equipment industry’.

Gastronomy will be another of the major features at this year’s edition of Hostelco thanks to the organization of the show at the same time as the Gastronomic Forum, the meeting point for people involved in professional catering and a cohesive event for the different wine and food agents, with live cooking workshops by some of the world’s top chefs and the up-and-coming talents currently carving out a name for themselves in the world of professional catering.

Barcelona, 9 July 2014