Submission Fee:
- $250 for professionals (per submission)
- Complimentary for students
Student Prizes:
- Student Design Winner receives $5,000 and the opportunity to qualify for university assistantship (see qualifying Universities above)
- Student Product Design Concept Winner recieves $2,500 and the opportunity to attend Blackfire Innovation
- Student Prototype Product Winner recieves $2,500 and the opportunity to attend Blackfire Innovation
Additional Information:
- Concepts or Built submissions must be truly innovative and offer the market something that is not widely available.
- Design/Concepts must include guestrooms and may include lobby/public areas. Including F&B facilities and other amenities is optional, but recommended.
- Product concepts may be applicable to any aspect of the hospitality industry.
- We encourage designs to include innovations in health and wellness, sustainability, and technology.
- Multiple entries by a single entrant (or company) are permitted - up to three per person.
- Built entries must have been completed within 18 months of the competition.
- Must be able to provide a notarized disclosure form and certification of project originality and authenticity, if your entry makes it to the final four or the Special Judges Award.
- Students will be considered alongside professionals.
- Requirements for submission: concept narrative, renderings of your concept. To be entered in a PDF less than 100MB.
- PDF must have no names of entrants or companies associated. The jury review will be a blind process.
Process:
Step 1: Our jury will review all entries in the design and product categories and shortlist 10 professional entries.
Step 2: The top ten will be reviewed in detail by the jury. Three professional finalists will be shortlisted in the design category. One winner in the design category will be selected and one student winner in the design category will be selected. In the product category, the jury will select one winner in the professional product category and one winner in the student product category.
Step 3: These finalists in the design category, as well as the winner of the product category and student design category, will be mentored by the Radical Innovation jury and team, in preparation for the live event in October 2023.
Step 4: Finalists in the design category will present their ideas in front of a live audience—and the jury. After presentations are heard, the audience will vote and select their favorite concept. Winners will be announced that evening and will be published across multiple news outlets.
All concepts will be judged based on design creativity, feasibility, viability, and impact.