'New Approaches to a Bright Future?' is the title of the one-day HOSPACE 2011 Conference & Exhibition – to be held on Thursday, 24 November 2011 at the Sofitel Hotel, London Heathrow at Terminal 5

The major issue for hoteliers of 'Making design pay: proving that capital expenditures (Capex) and refurbishment can pay off' is to be put under the microscope by a panel of top hotel practitioners and finance specialists at HOSPACE 2011 – the new name for the 6th Annual BAHA Hospitality Finance and IT Exhibition which will be held on Thursday, 24 November at the Sofitel Hotel, London Heathrow at Terminal 5. The title of this year's prestigious event will be 'New Approaches to a Bright Future'.

At HOSPACE 2011 – the one-day Annual Conference and Exhibition of HOSPA (Hospitality Professionals Association for Finance, Revenue Management and IT) – the team of experts leading the hotel finance session on 'making design pay' will include: Russell Kett, moderator for the discussion and Managing Director of leading hotel advisory firm, HVS; Kiaran MacDonald, General Manager at The Savoy, London; Diane Scott, Director of Business Development at Lloyds TSB; and Matt Rosenberg, Chief Finance Officer at QMH Hotel Group and Vice President Finance and Asset Management at Westmont Hospitality Group.

"This session will focus on the combined experience of three panellists whose companies are at the sharp end of making sure that capital expenditure, whether for new projects or refurbishments, truly pays off," explained Russell Kett.

"Kiaran MacDonald, the General Manager of Fairmont's The Savoy, London has already chronicled this iconic hotel's lengthy refurbishment on television, so the HOSPA audience will be able to drill down further into his experience of this most exciting project in the hotel's long history," he said. "Matt Rosenberg of Westmont will be able to bring his company's experience and perspective as a major owner and operator of hotels throughout Europe (and elsewhere in the world). And last – but by no means least – Diane Scott of Lloyds Banking Group has a wealth of experience to share, having provided debt finance to numerous hotels and hotel projects, all of which needed to pass the bank's exhaustive scrutiny."

HOSPACE 2011 will enable UK and international delegates to get an informed and cutting-edge view from an international line-up of inspirational experts – all icons in their own field – about the latest key financial, revenue and IT management issues and developments; as well as the commercial aspects that connect these together to maximise profitability.

For regularly updated information on HOSPACE 2011 (formerly BAHA Conference and IT Exhibition), visit the HOSPACE 2011 Website at: www.hospace.net . For bookings and further details for both HOSPACE 2011 and EHTEC (to be held the next day on 25 November also at the Sofitel Hotel, London Heathrow at Terminal 5), contact the HOSPA Administration Office on telephone: 01202 889 430; fax: 01202 887 967; or email: [email protected]

1. Highlights of HOSPACE 2011 include:

  • The first session of the day will be dedicated to top hospitality industry practitioners and analysts leading an industry 'state- of-the-nation' overview discussion, reviewing the current UK hospitality industry and examining the challenges and opportunities presented by the 2012 Olympics. The team of experts leading the session will include: Ciaran Fahy, Managing Director, The Cavendish London; Sarah Duignan, Director of Account Management, STR Global; Peter Martin, Founder, Peach Factory – a media, insight and networking business providing analysis, intelligence and market access in the UK eating and drinking-out market; and Liz Hall, Head of Research for Hospitality and Leisure, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
  • K
    ey current issues, trends and developments affecting all hospitality professionals will be examined by five of the industry's most influential figures in a special 'Leaders Panel' discussion.     The 'Leaders Panel' will comprise: Ufi Ibrahim, Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA); HOSPA President Robert Cook, Chief Executive of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin Hotels; Patrick Dempsey, Managing Director, Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants; Richard Lewis, the new Chief Executive of Best Western Hotels; and Casey McDermott, Vice President, Hotel Performance Support EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group). Under the skilful guidance of HOSPA Chairman Paul Dukes, they will be undertaking a highly topical and wide-ranging industry discussion – covering everything from branding, the sustainability of supply and purchasing, the impact of the 2012 Olympics, and the evolving role of the revenue manager, to the latest industry trends, guest expectations, and the economic issues of VAT together with the current state of the economy.
  • Rounding off the morning sessions will be a top level 'IT Debate' where the major challenges presented by hotel guest expectation regarding new technologies will be put under the microscope. A panel of leading hospitality industry IT experts – including Frank Wolfe CAE, Chief Executive Officer of HOSPA's strategic partner Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP); Jeremy Ward, Senior Vice President IT at Kempinski Hotels; Thierry Guiraudios, Vice President IT, Louvre Hotels; and Mark Read, Group IT Manager, Firmdale Hotels – will be debating the nature of new technologies expected by today's hotels guests, together with an examination of the investment and upgrades required to meet current demand. Overseeing proceedings will be HOSPA IT Community Chair Bryan Steele, who is Managing Director of Jireh-Tek. Today's hotel guests are expecting at least as much – if not more – in their rooms than they do in their own homes, as consumer electronic technology develops and becomes more and more accessible. Hotels have to anticipate guest demand in this respect and manage it across large numbers of rooms and spaces. The panel will discuss what can be done and what the technologies may be, as well as highlight some of the latest developments and key issues – such as the need for cost effective bandwidth – which are now so crucial to hotel guest offerings and branding. The IT debate will also focus on the nature of the role of IT professionals, who have to manage various convergences of the 'Web' of varying and different technologies, as well as their deployment throughout their businesses.

· Kick-starting the afternoon sessions will be one on Revenue Management, entitled: 'Rate Parity, pricing and the Office of Fair Trading Investigation - are your policies and practices putting you legally at risk?' with Warren Mandelbaum, Chair of HOSPA's Hospitality Revenue Management Community; Chris Cooper, Head of Commercial, Mint Hotels; Wilhelm Weber, Partner, Swiss Hospitality Solutions; Ian Miller, Professor, Lausanne Hotel School; Neil Baylis, Partner at K&L Gates; and Sally Richards, Managing Director, Raspberry Sky.

2. 18 afternoon 'Interactive Educational Workshops' to be held at HOSPACE 2011

The 18 'Interactive Educational Workshops' of HOSPA – the UK's leading educational organisation for professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT within the hospitality industry – will include:

  • 'The Unification and convergence of hotel technologies to provide hospitality solutions', presented by Daisy Hospitality
  • 'Case study of The Cavendish London and how its new Revenue Management system changed the way it does business', delivered by EasyRMS
  • 'Transforming businesses with e-invoicing and e-procurement', presented by Fourth Hospitality
  • 'Globe shopper trends', delivered by Global Blue
  • 'The risk of hidden credit card data storage in your hotel – are you endangering your business or your customers?', delivered by Ground Labs
  • 'How the impact of Revenue Management education is influencing our business decisions today and what the future holds', presented by IDeaS
  • 'Planes, Trains and iPads – how new technologies are changing the way we travel', delivered by Micros Fidelio
  • 'Zen and the art of Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance: a 10 step path to enlightenment', presented by Orthus
  • 'Emerging technologies to reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in hospitality', delivered by PAR Springer-Miller
  • 'Exploring your online competitive advantages', presented by Rate Tiger
  • 'Good Metrics – effective management and reporting on environmental and responsible business performance', delivered by Responsible Hospitality Partnership
  • 'Acentic Media – unlocking hotel advertising revenue', presented by RIEO
  • 'Payment Card Industry (PCI) – cutting through the confusion,' delivered by Servebase
  • 'Are you ready to migrate your financial data to the cloud?' presented by Softbrands
  • 'Hosted solutions – the way forward?', delivered by Solution Builders
  • 'Hotel networks – not so much cables and switches but arterial routes of communications that are essential for you and your guests,' presented by Swisscom
  • 'After 30 years of accounting systems, why is it that we still need to re-key so much?', delivered by TouchstoneNAV
  • 'The application of business metrics in the hotel industry – a case study,' presented by XN Hotels

Each of the 'Interactive Educational Workshops' have been placed into streams for Finance, Revenue Management and Technology. They 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.

About HOSPA

HOSPA - the Hospitality Professionals Association - is a not-for-profit educational organisation, formed to bring together professionals involved in all things commercial within the hospitality industry in the UK. HOSPA is recognised as the UK's authoritative voice in the hospitality industry on financial management, technical accounting issues, as well as the leading arena for debate on investments, hospitality technology developments, revenue management and marketing. HOSPA's Professional Development Programmes provide rigorous and relevant education for all those seeking to further their careers in these important functions. It will also be launching its new course in Asset Management in September 2020. A regular programme of workshops and seminars provides the perfect opportunity for members to continue to develop their knowledge and network with colleagues. HOSPA is on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @HOSPATweets. For more information, visit: www.hospa.org

Julian Demetriadi
+44 1725 552835
HOSPA

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