More than 125 people attended our seminar on 29 October on The Evolution of Hotels, which HVS London co-hosted with lawyers Bird&Bird, the European Hotel Managers Association and EP Magazine. Delegates commented on how 'refreshingly different' the programme was to the typical hotel conferences, focusing in particular on F&B, Wellness and Wellbeing, Sustainability and Customer Service, as well as a round-up of hotel performance, investment, value and supply trends presented by HVS London's Russell Kett, and a crystal-ball-gazing presentation by Tom Patterson of Alix Partners on the prospects for some distress in the UK hotel market on the horizon. With UK hotel RevPARs coming under pressure, especially in the regions, as well as operating costs rising, and with values at or near to their peak, Tom indicated the importance of reviewing a hotel's financial engineering and ensuring that "the operator is fantastic".

From an F&B perspective, we discussed the need for hotels to accept that guests - especially millennials - increasingly want to be able to have meals delivered to them but also that hoteliers need to make their own restaurant offerings a lot more exciting and interesting - examples of Firmdale's Ham Yard Hotel, Hoxton Hotels and The Ned being regularly cited. "You can make a shed-load of money if you are passionate about F&B," according to James Robson (Mews of Mayfair).

Anni Hood of Well Intelligence reminded delegates that wellness is the route to our wellbeing goal, and that a 1% drop in hydration can lead to a 12% fall in productivity. She also emphasised the importance of sleep and encouraged companies to develop a proactive mental health policy for its employees.

Robin Sheppard, chairman of Bespoke Hotels and a passionate champion for the disabled, urged hotels to maximise revenue by focusing more on the needs of the disabled traveller - "does any hotel have a suite which is specifically tailored to the needs of those with disabilities?" asked Robin. Sadly, no one could think of any.

For more information on our conference, please view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hffy0brBUmQ.

About HVS

HVS is the world's leading consulting and valuation services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 4,500 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of over 50 offices staffed by 300 experienced industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com.