'Growing Profitability in an Uncertain Market – The Challenges to Come' is the title of the 5th Annual BAHA Hospitality Finance Conference and IT Exhibition –to be held on Thursday, 25 November 2010 at the Sofitel Hotel, London Heathrow at Terminal 5.

A comprehensive programme of 18 interactive educational workshops – on topical subjects ranging from the effects of the Government's recent u-turn on financial incentives regarding the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), to the efficiency of electronic payments; and the benefits of social media in the hospitality and leisure industry – will make putting 'theory into practice' the order of the afternoon for hospitality finance, revenue management and IT professionals attending the 5th Annual BAHA Conference and Exhibition on Thursday, 25 November 2010.

The 18 Educational Workshops, all presented by specialists in their field such as the Director of the environmentally focused Considerate Hoteliers Association, have been designed to enhance Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and support the theme of the one-day 2010 BAHA Conference and Exhibition: 'Growing Profitability in an Uncertain Market - The Challenges to Come' – to be held at the Sofitel Hotel, London Heathrow at Terminal 5.

Topics and expert presenters for the afternoon 'Educational Workshops' of BAHA – the UK's leading educational organisation for professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT within the hospitality industry – will include:

  • 'What happens when you decide to design a Cloud Based PMS (Property Management System) from the ground up'? presented by Nigel Allport, Director of Business Development, Hotels and Resorts EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Agilysys; Jerry Peek, Product Specialist Manager, Agilysys; and Jo Gardner, Head of Services and Support, Agilysys
  • 'Electronic Payments…on time, every time', presented by Jacquie Powell, Marketing Manager, Albany Software
  • 'Customer Profitability Analysis (CPA) – test drive the new Spreadsheet Solution to the popular BAHA CPA guide booklet, developed by BAHA in conjunction with Dr Vira Krakhmal, co-author of the original guide, and change++'. The session will be introduced by BAHA Deputy Chair Chris Upton and presented by Dr Vira Krakhmal and Andy Best, Consultant at change++.
  • 'The tortoise or the hare – who will win the race to implement Total Revenue Management?' presented by Jennifer Keen, Member of the BAHA Hospitality Revenue Management Community steering committee
  • 'Social Media in the hospitality and leisure industry', presented by Peter Chadha, Director, BDO; and Duncan Calow, Partner, DLA Piper
  • 'Thinking of moving to a dashboard style reporting system?' presented by Della Payne, Managing Director of change++, and Jill Hall, Finance Controller at Bedruthan Steps Hotel, Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
  • 'What now for the Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC)? presented by John Firrell, Director and Secretary of the Considerate Hoteliers Association
  • 'Do you really need a Revenue Management System? Listen to the Wyboston Lakes experience,' presented by Craig Warner, Director of IT, Wyboston Lakes, Wyboston in Bedfordshire
  • 'Labour management in turbulent times', presented by Robert Crosby, Regional Operations Director, QMH UK Ltd.
  • 'HR scheduling and payroll – joining the dots', presented by Mark Pitcher, Sales Director, Fourth Hospitality
  • 'Generate cost savings from your overseas guests', presented by Liz Clarke, Marketing Manager, Global Blue UK
  • 'Moving from rooms to total asset revenue management', presented by Cheryl Hawksworth, Regional Sales Manager UK and Ireland, IDeaS; and Paul Van Meerendonk, Global Manager, IDeaS Advantage
  • 'Restaurants without walls – redefining the point of service through technology', presented by Tim Brown, Vice-President, Micros Strategic Accounts EMEA
  • 'How to turn your spa into a profitable asset?' presented by Anne-Marie Hubert, Sales Manager, SpaSoft EMEA
  • The roadmap to Revenue Management automation – do I need a system or not?' presented by Ally Dombey, Managing Director, Revenue by Design
  • 'Wi-Fi and High Definition and Entertainment Bundling and 802.11 a/b/g/n. What are the standards, where is it all going, and what does 'n' mean to you? What do you want to do?' The presenters will be Jim Stewart, Sales and Marketing Director, RIEO Communications; and Phil Campbell, Senior Account Manager, Acentic
  • 'What if you had corporate performance management software that helped you see your data clearly, shape it, control it, and share it?' presented by Kerry England, Director of Financial Planning and Reporting, Kempinski Hotels; and Calum McIndoe, Senior Sales Manager Channel and Corporate Accounts, SoftBrands
  • 'Hosted solutions – the way forward', presented by John Owen, Managing Director, Solution Builders

The educational workshops will be run in three half-hour, mid-afternoon slots at the Conference so delegates can attend up to three workshops of their choice from the above 18 sessions. In each half-hour time allocation, delegates will have the opportunity to select one from a choice of six available sessions.

Commenting on the 2010 Educational Workshops, BAHA Chief Executive Carl Weldon said: "This year's Conference has a huge educational content; and the 'Workshops' will help reinforce delegate learning in the key areas of wage cost, revenue management, purchasing, use of IT systems, business analysis and sustainability – making the Conference and IT Exhibition a truly productive, informative and enjoyable experience."

As in previous years, the BAHA Annual Conference will be supported by a growing and increasingly influential exhibition of IT and systems suppliers. They will be providing delegates with a 'one stop shop' to view and interact with the latest and 'best in class' technologies – covering all eventualities for hospitality businesses, whether they be start-up, established independent, or multi chain-owned, operations.

For regularly updated information on prices/packages and the 2010 BAHA Conference and IT Exhibition, visit the BAHA Conference Website: www.bahaconference.co.uk . For bookings and further details, contact Phillipa Graham and Wayne Gosden on telephone: 01202 889 430; fax: 01202 887 967; or email: [email protected] .

About BAHA | BAHA is a non-profit educational organisation, formed in 1969 with the aim of bringing together those hospitality industry professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT. Since its inception, the membership has expanded to over 800 members and is recognised as the UK'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 www.baha.co.uk

Highlights of the 5th Annual BAHA Conference and IT Exhibition include:

  • The first session of the day will be an 'Overview of the Hotel industry and Future Forecast' by PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) UK Hospitality & Leisure Leader Robert Milburn; Head of Research – Hospitality and Leisure Liz Hall; and Assistant Director and Hotel and Leisure Specialist Stephen Broome. In addition, STR Global's 'Latest Industry Status' will be presented by Sarah Duignan, Director of Account Management at STR Global.
  • In the current difficult economic climate, the changing relationship between financiers and hotel industry owners and operators has been a constant source for concern and scrutiny. BAHA has invited an illustrious and highly experienced Expert Panel on 'Hotel Financing' to offer advice and views on the key financing issues presently facing the profession. Under the skilful chairmanship of Russell Kett, Managing Director at HVS, the 'Hotel Financing' Expert Panel will comprise: Bob Silk, Relationship Director, Hospitality and Leisure Team, Barclays Bank plc; Ramsey Mankarious, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cedar Capital Partners; Marc Socker, Director – Hotel Fund Management team, Invesco Real Estate (IRE); Peter Anscomb, Senior Corporate Director & Head of Hotel Finance Corporate and Institutional Banking, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc; Jan Hazelton, Managing Director, Taylor Global Advisors; and Graeme Smith, Partner, Zolfo Cooper. They will be examining: Trends in hotel financing and refinancing; Critical success factors to securing debt and equity finance; Restructuring versus insolvency – survival of the fittest? Opportunities for the Mergers & Acquisitions market.

· Another major morning session will be a 'CEOs Panel Forum' – including some of the hotel industry's most distinguished leaders: Robert Cook, Chief Executive, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin; Michael Levie, a founding partner and Chief Operating Officer, citizenM hotel group; and Matt Luscombe, Vice President Performance EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), InterContinental Hotels Group – who will be examining the 'Challenges and Trends for the Hotel Industry's Future', under the adept chairmanship of David Clarke, Chief Executive of Best Western Hotels, who recently took part in Channel 4's TV series 'Undercover Boss'.

· An additional key morning session will be '
Revenue Management Question Time'
– entitled 'Revenue Management Drives the Commercial Success of an Organisation' – where the chairman's hot seat will be taken by Michael Prager, Senior Vice President Sales Hilton EMEA (Europe, Middle-East and Africa). He will present questions to a team of expert panellists – including: Revenue Management Specialist Warren Mandelbaum who was formerly Head of Revenue Management, Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants; Ciaran Fahy, Managing Director, The Cavendish London; Moz Shigdar, Group Revenue Manager, BDL Hotels; Fabian Specht, Regional Managing Director EMEA, IDeaS; and Heather Hart, Managing Director, RevExcel, and Chair of BAHA's newly formed Hospitality Revenue Management Community (HRMC) Committee.

· Kick-starting the afternoon sessions will be a keynote address on 'Tourism – the significance for the UK economy' by Ufi Ibrahim, Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA)

· In the afternoon, there will be an International IT Debate entitled: 'Why is it easier to prove a return on investment on Hardware - than an investment in a change of Culture? chaired by Richard Siegel, President and Publisher, Hospitality Upgrade/Hotel Online, and with the following participants: Carson Booth, Vice President Information Technology, EMEA, Starwood Hotels and Resorts; Ted Horner, International IT Specialist, E Horner & Associates; Ian Millar, Professor Information Technology, École Hôtelière de Lausanne; and Jeremy Ward, Senior Vice President-IT, Kempinski Hotels.

  • Frank Wolfe – US-based IT Hospitality Trend Specialist and Chief Executive Officer of Hospitality Financial Technology Professionals (HFTP) will be addressing delegates on '
    Social Networking'
    , which has changed the way the world (and hospitality) does business. He will be providing some real life examples of how Social Networking can impact everyone and how the industry should respond appropriately.

Debra Adams
Head of Membership and Education Services
+44 1202 889430