On a bright April morning, Tangen Hall felt less like an academic building and more like a meeting point for a wide mix of ideas. The inaugural Designing the Future of Hospitality and Retail 2026 conference, co-hosted by The Wharton School’s Jay H. Baker Retailing Center and Paul Hastings LLP, convened a cross-disciplinary group of hotel developers, retailers, brands, wellness leaders, club operators, and sports-district planners to examine the evolving nature of the spaces where people stay, socialize, shop, eat and aspire.
What stood out wasn’t just the range of speakers, but how naturally conversations unfolded when those different worlds intersected, with a recurring theme across panels and side discussions alike being that the traditional boundaries between industries are beginning to blur. What follows is a selection of highlights from the day, offering a snapshot of some of the key conversations rather than a comprehensive account of every speaker or discussion.
Bashar Wali, Founder & Chief Executive of This Assembly, captured that shift early on. He pushed past the usual industry language — classifications, star ratings, and familiar descriptors like “curated,” “authentic,” or “experiential” — and instead pointed to something more fundamental: whether a guest feels that someone genuinely cared. Framed this way, the conversation moved beyond hospitality as a category and toward a broader exchange between industries that are increasingly shaping one another. Retail’s deep focus on customer experience and hospitality’s emphasis on service are beginning to merge, quietly reshaping what people expect from physical spaces.
That overlap is especially visible in branded real estate. Serena Rakhlin, Special Projects, JDS Development, described how brands are no longer confined to stores or showrooms—they’re being translated into fully realized residential experiences. As she explained, their value goes well beyond name recognition: “A lot of it is creativity… they’re bringing their brand to life in a way that they can’t in a store,” exploring how elements people already connect with can be thoughtfully integrated into daily living “without feeling like you’re living in a store.” What emerged from the discussion is that branding only works when it’s intentional. The strongest projects don’t simply showcase a name; they express it through subtle, livable details in the materials, design choices, and the way a space feels day to day.
Wellness surfaced throughout the day as well, but in a more nuanced way than the typical “spa and gym” conversation. Increasingly, guests are thinking about sleep quality, recovery, and long-term health when they travel. Speakers like Mark Rivers, CEO of Canyon Ranch and Simone Gibertoni, Group CEO of Clinique La Prairie emphasized that wellness is shifting toward something more continuous and personalized, less about one-off experiences and more about ongoing care. As the space becomes more crowded, credibility will matter more than trendiness, especially when it comes to evidence-based approaches.
Private members’ clubs offer a different perspective, one centered on community. While the model has expanded rapidly in recent years, operators emphasize that creating a genuine sense of belonging is harder than it seems. As James Gersten, Founder of Silver Street Hospitality, puts it, “you’re creating an ecosystem, but that ecosystem really starts with A.) a vision and B.) training your team and creating a real passion around your project….” That sense of connection is built through small but meaningful interactions—the familiarity of being recognized and welcomed back, like at a favorite bar, but elevated in a club setting where members visit multiple times a week. Building that level of rapport requires intention, which is why investing in the team is so critical. In this context, membership numbers matter little if people don’t renew. What drives retention is consistency—the kind developed over time through relationships, atmosphere, and the quality of everyday experiences. As several speakers noted, more traditional institutions offer a useful model, suggesting that longevity and familiarity can be just as valuable as novelty.
Sports and mixed-use developments are no longer anchored by a single attraction. A stadium alone isn’t enough; these projects have to function as real neighborhoods, active throughout the week, not just on game days. As David Carlock, Founder & Managing Partner, Machete Group, explained, earlier models were “really driven by the arena or the stadium or the ballpark,” whereas a place-driven approach focuses on “developing a neighborhood that can stand on its own two feet… without relying completely on the traffic that’s being driven by the public assembly venue.” In practice, that means thinking beyond the venue itself—integrating housing, retail, green space, and walkability from the outset. Just as importantly, it requires a shift in mindset. As Katie Savarise, Founder & CEO, NOVA Innovation Group said, putting “the community… at the forefront of all the planning exercises” ensures the district is built “in partnership with, rather than happening to the community.”
Across all of these conversations, what made the day unique was the willingness to learn across disciplines. Hospitality leaders borrowing from retail. Developers taking cues from wellness operators. Sports executives thinking more like urban planners.
By the end of the conference, one idea felt clear: the projects that will stand out in the next decade won’t just be defined by scale or branding, but by how well they reflect the way people actually want to live, travel, work, shop, and gather.
View the full video recap and photo gallery from the conference below.
Save the date for next year’s conference on Friday, April 9, 2027 in Philadelphia.