International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) 2011 Draws Record Crowds and Gives Insight Into Brand Strategy, Industry Rebound
Now in its 14th year, the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) had an impressive showing of 1,600 attendees from 62 countries, a strong indicator of an improving economy this year. As the largest international grouping of senior business decision-makers in the hotel investment industry in one place, IHIF shed light on many key issues including future brand strategies and how global economic stimuli has affected the industry.
"There is momentum building and there is deal flow," said Kerry Gumas, chief executive officer of Questex Media Group, co-organisers of IHIF. "It's a testament to the industry that we've bounced back so strongly and I feel we can be optimistic about what the future holds for us."
As the conference kicked off 7 March, that sentiment was also heard from keynote speaker Douglas McWilliams, chief executive officer of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, who believes the "trampoline bounce" of the economy happened in large part to the strategies world leaders had put in place to stimulate their economies. Although a positive future outlook was predicted to IHIF attendees overall, McWilliams also cautioned that inflation could affect the industry if global goods prices rise, which in turn could affect consumer spending.
The theme of the 2011 IHIF annual conference, "Stand out from the crowd", resonated most strongly with the brands as the consensus from large hotel companies such as Starwood, Hilton and Accor is that they will be going "asset light" in coming years.
"There are strategies around real-estate ownership, and moving toward being asset light is driven by compelling business strategies," stated Frits van Paasschen, president and chief executive officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. "It comes down to two things. First of all, for a large organization to be very good at something, it has to be very focused. Our focus is on managing global hospitality brands, which is very separate from real-estate ownership."
This year's IHIF also showcased a new series of country-specific forums to rave reviews. Held 9 March, the forums delivered strategic information about exceptional investment opportunities for the hotel industry focused on Spain, Russia and the Ukraine, North Africa and Brazil, Columbia and Argentina. Tourism Ministers from the countries attended the IHIF to meet with delegates and discuss opportunities and highlight the importance of hotel development within their countries.
Special awards were also given out during the 3-day event to Amy Carter-James, owner of Guludo Beach Lodge and co-founder of Thin Cats Thinking, for winning the 2011 Young Leader Award and also to Alan Parker CBE, Chief Executive of Whitbread plc for his lifetime achievement in the industry.
"Global performance is strengthening and emerging markets continue to help drive growth, said Jonathan Worsley, co-organiser of IHIF. "The industry has great opportunities coming to light but we can't forget about challenges we are facing including inflation and political unrest. In addition, we're also seeing the beginning of an evolution in hotel room distribution where hoteliers have to be more reactive and savvy than ever before to deal with the new channels that have been appearing daily. The great news however, is that we obviously have an exciting year ahead of us and perhaps a world hotel recovery unlike any seen before."
Questex Media Group LLC is a global, diversified business-to-business integrated media and information provider, headquartered in Newton, MA. Questex serves multiple industries including technology, telecommunications, beauty, spa, travel, hospitality, leisure, home entertainment, landscape design, building services and natural resources through a range of well-established, market-leading publications, events, interactive media, research, information and integrated marketing services. The company's media properties include over 100 print and digital media publications, 45 conferences, tradeshows and events, as well as a range of research, data and information products. The company's businesses are managed through operating companies including Questex Media Group; InfoTrends, Inc., Imaging Networks and; McLean Events International, Ltd, a world-leading producer of appointment-based events. The company's combined operations include more than 400 employees in offices throughout North America, South America, Asia and Europe.
As organisers of top conferences for the hotel and investment industry, Bench Events is a growing entity which currently hosts hotel investment conferences in Berlin, Dubai and Moscow in partnership with other leading providers. Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of Bench Events, is one of the organisers and founders of the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) held each year in Berlin. In 2005, he was responsible for launching the successful Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) in Dubai and in October 2008, the Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference (RHIC) in Moscow alongside Questex Media. Worsley is also Chairman of Bench Event's sister company, JW Bench, a benchmarking company that has successfully launched the Conference Bench and the Productivity Bench.