Outform Unveils Hospitality Unit to Remake Hotel Design & Delivery

CHICAGO, IL – January 19, 2026 – Global innovation and experience agency Outform Group, Inc. today announced a significant expansion into the hospitality sector with the launch of Outform Hospitality. The new, dedicated business division aims to provide a comprehensive, end-to-end solution for hotel owners, operators, and brands seeking to design, source, and construct guest environments with greater speed, cost transparency, and global consistency.

The move positions Outform to address long-standing challenges in the hotel development lifecycle, which is often fragmented across separate design firms, procurement agents, and logistics providers. By integrating these functions into a single, streamlined service model, the company intends to simplify a notoriously complex process.

A New Blueprint for Hotel Development

The core of Outform Hospitality's offering is an integrated model that spans the entire project lifecycle, from initial planning and consulting to design services, Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FF&E) procurement, manufacturing, technology integration, global logistics, and final installation. This “one-stop-shop” approach is designed to eliminate the inefficiencies and communication gaps that can plague traditional hotel projects, leading to budget overruns and delayed openings.

The hospitality industry has long grappled with supply chain volatility, a lack of pricing transparency in sourcing, and the immense challenge of maintaining brand standards across a diverse portfolio of properties. Outform Hospitality is purpose-built to tackle these issues head-on. By assuming single-source responsibility, the division promises clients a clear line of sight into costs and timelines from conception to completion.

This new venture extends Outform’s proven “Think, Make, Run” operating model into a new vertical. This philosophy—which combines strategic ideation, in-house production, and comprehensive execution—has been the engine behind the company's success in other design-intensive sectors. "Hospitality is evolving rapidly, and success today depends on how effectively vision can be translated into buildable, scalable solutions," said Ariel Haroush, CEO of Outform, in the company's official announcement. "Outform Hospitality extends our proven Think, Make, Run model into a category that demands speed, precision, and global consistency."

From Retail Success to Hospitality Innovation

While the move into hospitality is new, Outform is building on a foundation of over two decades of experience creating complex, design-led environments for some of the world's most recognizable brands. The company has a substantial footprint in the retail sector, where it has transformed physical spaces for giants like Google, PUMA, Sephora, and PlayStation. Its work, which often involves intricate technology integration and demanding global rollouts, has earned numerous industry accolades, including multiple prestigious Shop! Awards for projects like the Ray Ban Stories In-Store Display and the Intel Experience Zone.

This background in creating immersive brand experiences is directly applicable to the modern hospitality landscape, where guest experience is paramount. Hotels are no longer just places to sleep; they are critical touchpoints for brand storytelling. Outform's expertise in translating a brand's essence into a physical environment, honed in the competitive retail arena, gives it a unique perspective. The company argues that the same principles of operational performance, cost certainty, and brand integrity are essential for success in hospitality, making it a natural extension of its core competencies.

Strategic Alliances and Technology at the Core

To accelerate its market entry and ensure deep domain expertise, Outform has fortified its new division with a strategic joint venture. The partnership brings together SZ Design, an award-winning firm known for its creative leadership in hospitality design, and Mejor Group, a company with deep expertise in FF&E procurement and supply chain management. This collaboration immediately embeds specialized knowledge into the Outform Hospitality platform. Saar Zafrir of SZ Design will serve as the division's Creative Director, ensuring a strong focus on aesthetic and functional excellence.

At the heart of the operational model is a proprietary, technology-enabled procurement system. This platform is a key differentiator, designed to streamline FF&E specification, provide unprecedented pricing transparency, and leverage a global network of suppliers. In an industry often hampered by opaque sourcing processes, this technology promises to deliver real-time procurement intelligence, allowing for data-driven decisions that can reduce risk and accelerate project timelines without sacrificing design vision. This integrated tech solution stands in contrast to the disparate software tools and manual processes that characterize much of the industry's current procurement landscape.

Redefining the Guest Experience at Scale

The ultimate goal of this streamlined backend process is to deliver a superior and more consistent guest experience. For large hotel brands, executing a multi-site rollout or a portfolio-wide renovation is a massive logistical undertaking. Ensuring that the guest experience in a hotel in Paris is consistent with one in New York is crucial for brand equity. Outform Hospitality's global footprint—with operations across the U.S., Europe, Israel, and China—is structured to support these large-scale initiatives, delivering regional consistency while adapting to local market needs.

By managing the entire process from design to installation, the division aims to protect the integrity of the original design concept, ensuring that the final built environment faithfully reflects the brand's vision. This holistic control allows for the seamless integration of technology and custom fixtures, creating the kind of memorable, high-quality spaces that drive guest loyalty and positive reviews. The ability to execute this vision faster and with greater cost certainty provides a significant competitive advantage for hotel owners and operators in a fast-moving market.

Outform Hospitality is led by Johan Holm Thornhammar, who serves as Senior Vice President of Hospitality. With its multidisciplinary leadership team, strategic partnerships, and a robust global infrastructure already in place, the new division is launching with the stated ambition of not just participating in the hospitality market, but fundamentally transforming how guest environments are brought to life.