The Astro Edit: Host Milan Recap & Hospitality Finds from Across Europe

You know it’s a big show when one hall takes a whole day to walk through.

We’re talking Host Milan...

Back in October, Reuben, Bryn and Rilla headed to Europe to visit Host Milan, one of the biggest hospitality shows on the planet. We also squeezed in hotel stays across London, Paris, Brussels and Milan, because if you want to understand where the industry is heading, you’ve got to see it up close.

And while yes, there were croissants, cobblestones and a few frantic airport sprints, there was also a stack of ideas we thought were worth sharing.

What Host Milan Showed Us

Table Lamps Are the New Centrepiece

If there was one design detail we kept noticing, it was table lamps.

Not just in fine dining, but in casual restaurants, lobby bars and hotel lounges. Table lamps aren’t just decor, they’re part of the experience.

They shape mood. They shape the pace of service. They shape how guests feel in a space.

Lighting has always shaped the mood, but table lamps are changing how you can do it. Rather than relying on overheads alone, operators are using lamps to, create intimacy without making the room feel dark.

We see table lamps as a simple, high-impact way to dial up atmosphere, and they’re a trend we expect to keep growing. Plus they look amazing!

The in-room tea and coffee ritual still matters

Even in 2025, one thing hasn’t changed, guests still care about the tea and coffee in their room.

Across our stays, we kept coming back to the same insight, sometimes guests don’t feel like going down to the restaurant or bar. They want a quiet, relaxing moment in their room on their own. That first cup of coffee in the morning, or a winddown tea before bed, five minutes to breathe, alone, in a space that feels like theirs.

It’s easy to think, “Most people grab coffee out anyway.” But in-room options are still, a comfort signal, “We’ve thought about you being here and enjoying your coffee”, a practical touch for early starts or late arrivals and a small detail that can either feel a bit sad… or quietly special

Picture a guest arriving late after a long-haul flight. They’re probably not heading back out to explore. A good quality tea or coffee option, presented well, can be the difference between “This will do” and “Oh, this is nice”.

That tiny moment with a cup in hand still plays a bigger role in guest satisfaction than it sometimes gets credit for.

Hotel Research: The Lobby Sets the Tone

One thing became very clear as we moved from hotel to hotel, the lobby sets the tone.

You walk in and instantly start forming an opinion. Sometimes it’s, “Wow, look at this,” or “Wow, that smell is incredible.” Other times it’s, “Hmm… this feels a bit tired,” or “Why is everything cluttered?”

The lobby is the first wow factor and the launchpad for the rest of the stay.

But it works both ways. If the lobby feels messy, unloved or poorly presented, guests can become apprehensive about what comes next.

Tidiness, presentation and small design tweaks in the lobby can quietly reset the entire guest experience.

Check-in, check-out and the power of easy

One of the most surprising things we noticed was how long check-in and check-out could take. In some cases, we waited 20 minutes or more just to check out.

It made us appreciate how advanced New Zealand is in this area, and how much work local operators have already put into streamlining those first and last touchpoints.

Check-in and check-out are bookends to the stay. They might not feel as glamorous as a rooftop bar or a beautiful lobby, but the process sets the tone at the very start and will leave a lasting impression at the very end

Getting this step right is one of the easiest ways to respect your guests’ time and finish strong.

Final thoughts:

There’s plenty more we’ll share in due course. For now, those are a few of the themes that stood out as we walked the halls of Host Milan and checked in and out of hotels across Europe.

Behind the scenes, we’re already working on some exciting new products we’ve brought back from the show, and we can’t wait to introduce them to the New Zealand market. You might even spot a few of them first in the new Astro Innovation Centre.

As always, if you’re rethinking how your spaces look, feel or function, Astro is here as the team behind your team, helping make exceptional hospitality just a little easier.