Hospitality Net

MUMBAI, India – The inaugural Hotel Investment Forum India (known as HIFI) at the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Convention Centre closed Thursday, January 15, 2009 with an attendance of over 300 delegates. The larger than expected attendance brings encouragement that the future hotel industry in India will continue to flourish despite recent terrorist attacks and the world economic meltdown that has affected India’s previously robust economy.

The groundbreaking HIFI conference provided a meeting place in India for hotel executives, investors, lenders, developers and the professional advisory community. It is the first of what is scheduled to be an annual event each January.

The Forum brought together leading experts to discuss important trends and identify new opportunities in India such as: Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Lyndall De Marco, former Executive Director of International Tourism Partnership and K.V. Kamath, CEO and Managing Director ICICI Bank.

Amongst the 20 educational sessions, the first day Hotel Leaders Forum on January 14th was led by: Alex Kyriakidis, Managing Partner of Hospitality and Leisure, Deloitte. The panel included: Nakul Anand, Divisional Chief Executive, ITC; Ed Fuller, President & Managing Director, Marriott International, Inc.; Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman, Jumeirah Group; Martin Rinck, President – Asia Pacific, Hilton Hotels Corporation and Thomas W. Storey, President, Fairmont Resorts and Hotels.

Day two also included a Hotel Leaders Forum and featured moderator Vijay Thacker, Director, Horwath HTL India. Panelists included: Rajiv Gujral, Senior Vice President, Mergers, Acquisitions & Development, The Indian Hotels Company Limited; Anil K. Madhok, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd.; Vivek Nair, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Hotel Leela Venture Limited; and Vikram Oberoi, Joint Managing Director, The Oberoi Group.

The conference was also attended by renowned leader in the Indian hotel investment community, P.R.S. Oberoi. Oberoi who is the Chairman of The Oberoi Group, a top group of hotels and luxury cruisers, was the recipient of the first Hall of Fame Award. Upon receiving the award Oberoi was interviewed by Manvi Dhillon, Resident Editor and Senior Anchor from NDTV.

The HIFI conference hosts BHN and Horwath HTL donated a portion of the conference proceeds to the Oberoi Care Fund and the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust to help families of victims of the Mumbai attacks.

To find out more information about the Hotel Investment Forum India please visit www.HIFI-India.com.

BHN brings together more than two decades of experience in developing and organizing the world’s most prominent gatherings of the hotel and tourism investment community. At these events, nearly 70 conferences completed and/or in development, the investment community has come together to network, conduct business and to learn about the latest trends. They have become “must attend” events for those interested in hospitality real estate. In addition to HIFI, BHN events include: The Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in San Diego; the Central America Tourism & Hotel Investment Exchange (CATHIE) to be held in Managua in 2009; the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) to be held in Bermuda in 2009; the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) in Hong Kong, and the PATA CEO Challenge in Bangkok. The BHN website at www.Burba.com is the gateway for the information about the conferences BHN produces, as well as a direct link to important players in the hospitality investment world.

Horwath HTL – Asia Pacific since its establishment in 1987, has been involved with over 2,000 projects throughout the region in all phases of the property lifecycle for clients ranging from individually held businesses to the world’s most prominent hotel companies, developers, lenders, investors and industrial corporations. Horwath HTL – Asia Pacific currently operates out of offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Sydney, Auckland and Honolulu and hosts hotel investment conferences in Hong Kong, Australia, China and India.