Taking a positive leap into the future of the luxury and boutique hotel industry, the Independent Hotel Show 2019 has announced its full two-day seminar programme, brimming with pioneering ideas and innovation.
On 15 and 16 October at Olympia London, guests are invited to join the extensive programme of sessions, from balancing wellness and success, to sharing best practices, with panels of the most influential hoteliers and designers.
Over at the Hotel Vision Stage, designers Graham & Green are creating a space that is both inspiring and homely, with an aesthetic balance of ‘eclectic statement furniture and homely finishing touches’. Aptly named, the stage will host hotel visionaries sharing their views on effectively sustaining and growing the industry.
Britain’s most influential hotelier, Robin Hutson, founder and chief executive of Limewood Group and the acclaimed Home Grown Hotels, will take to the stage on the first day to be interviewed. The Pig Hotel Group has helped revolutionise the British hospitality industry with its stunning country-side retreats, phenomenal food and truly authentic experiences. The interview assures an enlightening and thoroughly inspiring conversation.
Also at the Hotel Vision Stage, the Competition and Markets Authority will lead a discussion titled Online Practices: The Good, The Bad and The Illegal. Drawing out what harmful online sales practices look like, why the wider industry must be alert to them and how to do the right thing, the session will give insights to marketing, IT and general managers into the preservation of their hotels’ reputations online.
Other sessions at the Hotel Vision Stage include:
- Hotel Dynasties – Will Ashworth, Watergate Bay Hotel; Peter Hancock, Pride of Britain Hotels; Paul Milsom, The Milsom Hotels
- Collaboration is Key: Building Successful Partnerships – Petra Clayton, Custard Communications; Laura Sharpe, Ham Yard Hotel; Chris Ward, Hotel Makers UK
- Community Business – Nick Davies, The Cottage in the Wood; Tim Holloway, The Manor at Sway; Julio Marques, The London Bridge Hotel; Adam Raphael, The Good Hotel Guide
- The Good Story: How to Combine Doing Good with Doing Business – Marten Dresen, Good Hotel Group
Moving to the Innovation Stage in partnership with eviivo, designer House of Sloane will bring to life the brief of ‘modern eclecticism meets maximalist glamour’, by kitting the stage out with bold hues, luxurious velvets, a dash of animal print and eclectic accessories. Over the two days, this stage will provide a space to discuss the latest trends in digitalisation, design and consciousness set to storm the hotel scene.
Guests will be treated to a discussion with four esteemed hoteliers focusing on how to make wellness a revenue stream, showing how guest well-being and customer engagement are intrinsically linked. The panel will include Nadira Lalji, founder of Inhabit Hotel, a new urban wellness-focused hotel in London, alongside fellow panellists David Connell, general manager of South Lodge, Harry Cragoe, owner of The Gallivant, and Rohaise Rose-Bristow, director at The Torridon.
Other sessions at the Innovation Stage include:
- The Conscious Hotel Bedroom Report – Alex Harris, Harris & Harris; Hamish Kilburn, Hotel Designs; Sue Williams, Whatley Manor; Xenia zu Hohenlohe, Considerate Group; Olivia Richli, Heckfield Place
- Social Media 2020 – Alison Battisby, Avocado Social
- The Dark Art of Digital – Olivia Byrne, Eccleston Square Hotel; Julie Grieve, Criton; Steve Lowy, The Hotel Marketing Association
- The Main Ingredients: Digesting the Latest Trends in F&B – Juan Diego Farah, Deliveroo
To view the full programme, visit independenthotelshow.co.uk/sessions-2019.
