Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts President to be Keynote Speaker for 4th Annual BAHA Conference and IT Exhibition
Thursday, 19 November 2009 at the Sofitel Hotel, London Heathrow at Terminal 5
One of the world’s leading hoteliers – Meinhard Huck, President, of Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts – is to be a keynote speaker at the 4th Annual BAHA (British Association of Hospitality Accountants) Conference and IT Exhibition, due to be held on Thursday, 19 November 2009 at the Sofitel Hotel, London Heathrow at Terminal 5.
At the one-day BAHA conference – entitled ‘The Essential Toolkit for Managing the Bottom Line’ – delegates will be treated to an interview with Meinhard Huck about his illustrious career (see biography in ‘Notes to editors’) and his current role as President of award-winning Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, which presently owns, or operates, hotels in 16 countries.
Since joining Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, Meinhard has driven the expansion of the international hotel chain’s portfolio. Between 2007 and 2008, the brand has opened deluxe hotels in China at Shanghai, Kunshan and Foshan; in Estonia at the capital Tallinn; and in Turkey a ‘Leading Hotel of the World’ at Izmir. Under his leadership, the company continues to earn the highest accolades – including ‘The World Travel Award’, ‘The Five Star Diamond Award’, and ‘The Top Employers Award for China’ and ‘The Best International Hotel Management Group Award in China’.
“We are delighted that Meinhard has agreed to be interviewed at the conference. This will provide delegates with an invaluable opportunity to learn from one of the world’s most experienced and successful hoteliers,” said BAHA Chief Executive Carl Weldon.
Supporting the conference, as in previous years, will be a superb exhibition of IT suppliers to the hospitality industry – providing delegates with a ‘one stop shop’ to view the latest technologies relevant to the hospitality profession. In addition, the IT exhibition – featuring some of the ‘best in class’ products and services – will enable people to interact with these newest technological developments.
Following their success at last year’s conference, there will be again a programme of highly topical education workshops – designed to meet the needs of today’s hospitality financial, IT and revenue management professionals in the current challenging economic climate.
“In short,” concluded Carl, “the 2009 BAHA one-day Conference and IT Exhibition promises to be invaluable for professional updating, earning Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points!”
The event’s grand finale will be one of the traditional social networking highlights of the BAHA Conference – the drinks reception and sumptuous three-course Dinner with entertainment.
For regularly updated information on the 2009 BAHA Conference & IT Exhibition and attendance pricing options, visit the BAHA Conference Website: . For bookings and further details, contact: Phillipa Graham, BAHA Conference Co-ordinator, on telephone: 01202 889 430; fax: 01202 887 967; or email: [email protected] .
Since joining Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, Meinhard Huck has driven the expansion of the international hotel chain’s portfolio. Between 2007 and 2008, the award winning brand has opened deluxe hotels in Shanghai, Kunshan and Foshan (all in China), in Tallinn (Estonia) as well as a ‘Leading Hotel of the World in Izmir (Turkey). Under his leadership, the company continues to earn the highest accolades – including ‘The World Travel Award’, ‘The Five Star Diamond Award’, and ‘The Top Employers Award for China’ or The Best International Hotel Management Group Award in China.
Prior to becoming the company’s President, Meinhard was the Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East & Mediterranean of Raffles International Hotels & Resorts, as well as the Senior Vice President, Europe for Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts. In earlier stages of his career, Meinhard assumed the position of Vice President, Europe, at Scotts Holdings Ltd., where he was responsible for developing and acquiring serviced apartments and all-suite hotels in Europe. He successfully re-structured three of the company's subsidiaries and negotiated a total of four property acquisitions in the UK, France and Switzerland.
Meinhard's experience includes appointments in various capacities at Holiday Inn International from 1969 to 1989. Since 2004 he has served as an Honorary Member of the Cornell Hotel Society, a renowned American College of Hotel Management. Meinhard was conferred the title for his remarkable entrepreneurial performance, which he has proved during his career in the hotel industry and also for his long-standing commitment to promoting and developing training and career opportunities in the hotel industry among aspiring hoteliers.
About BAHA | BAHA is a non-profit educational organisation, formed in 1969 with the aim of bringing together those professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT within the hospitality industry. Since its inception, the membership has expanded to over 800 members and is recognised as the United Kingdom's authoritative voice in the hospitality industry on financial management, technical accounting issues, taxation, and hotel valuation. BAHA is also the leading arena for debate on hotel systems and Revenue Management topics through their annual Conference and meetings programmes. BAHA provides the only industry specific Hospitality Finance qualification and is currently developing similar qualifications for Revenue Management and IT within Hospitality.
For more information, visit:
