The industry’s finest will take the stage at this year’s Independent Hotel Show

Posted in Business, Events, News on 4 September, 2018

Tech, design, wellness, guest experience, F&B, recruitment and more to be discussed, debated and analysed at the Independent Hotel Show on 16 and 17 October 2018.

Designed to be focussed, relevant and loaded with content for the UK’s best hoteliers, the Independent Hotel Show, taking place on 16 and 17 October at London Olympia, is excited to announce its complementary seminar programme for visitors. On-trend, topical and thought-provoking, this year’s collection of talks, led by hotel industry stalwarts, movers and shakers and entrepreneurs, promises to reveal, inspire, impress and excite.

In addition, find further enlightening discussion by thought-leaders in design-led spaces and engage with peers at facilitated networking events during the show.

With a whole host of exciting talks and design-related discussions, SPACE magazine’s very own Can Faik will be taking centre stage on the Innovation Stage on Tuesday 16 October. Shining a light on trends in hotel interior design, Can will be taking part in a panel discussion in association with NEWH to explore the options available to hotel owners and interior designers when it comes to defining looks.

Some of the event’s highlights include:

Tuesday 16 October (Innovation Stage in partnership with eviivo)

Designing the 21st Century

We look at the future of hospitality design with SPACE magazine and in association with NEWH (Network of Executive Women in Hospitality). Will the trend for quirkiness and authenticity define our hotel interiors for decades to come, or is a new, defining look about to emerge? What are our options as owners and interior designers? Find out at this intriguing panel discussion.
Speakers: Can Faik, Editor SPACE; Caroline Cundall, Director Interior Design – Europe, IHG; David Morris, Creative Director, Studio Proof; Dennis Irvine, Director, Dennis Irvine Studio.

The Hotel Room of the Future

With design and innovation at its core, the Independent Hotel Show will this year reveal ‘The Hotel Room of the Future’, in partnership with Two’s Company Interior Design. A sequel to 2017’s ‘Perfect Hotel Bedroom’ installation, ‘The Hotel Room of the Future’ will be designed to incorporate technology and products that will become the norm in the next decade. Learn about the creation of The Hotel Room of the Future in a dedicated report presenting forecasts, opinions and comments from tech, hotel and media experts, and learn how it all came together in a stimulating talk.
Speakers: Petra Clayton, MD, Custard Communications; Rodney Hoinkes, Chief Insight & Innovation Officer, Fresh Montgomery; Gilly Craft, BIID President and Partner & Designer, Two’s Company Interiors.

Lessons from the Master of Customer Service

The fine art of service is now more important, and arguably more mercurial, than ever. So we’re honoured to feature a keynote interview with Diego Masciaga, the consensus top maitre‘d in Britain, if not the world. Diego has recently stepped down after three decades as GM at The Waterside Inn to focus on speaking and mentoring, and we’re pleased to be one of the earliest beneficiaries of this decision. Rather marvellously, Diego will be interviewed by Peter Hancock, Chief Executive of Pride of Britain Hotels. Don’t miss what’s bound to be an enlightening, and thoroughly uplifting, conversation.

Tuesday 16 October (Business Theatre in partnership with Sky)

What Do Guests Want?

Tom Bell, formerly ‘The Hotel Inspector’ from Sawday’s acclaimed guides, discusses the results of our consumer research with a group of top hoteliers. The expert panel will explain how Stylus’ findings can be relevant to your hotel business, by applying them to the situations they themselves face every day too. Join us all at the start of the show and hit the ground running with some fresh inspiration from the top of the trade!
Speakers: Tom Bell, former Sawday’s Hotel Inspector; Fiona Adams, Co-Founder, The Know; Daniel Rich, General Manager, Barton Grange; Harry Cragoe, Owner, The Gallivant; Rob Paterson, CEO, Best Western.

The Reservation Game

Your own website is potentially your most profitable bookings channel. Plus it provides some splendid opportunities to both obtain data, and communicate your hotel brand. Take a look at the latest room reservation technology, including an expert guide to the ‘funnel’ system that converts website users to paying guests. In association with NewBook.
Speakers: Steve Lowy, Director & Co-Founder, Umi Digital; Chris Petty, Managing Director, NewBook; Frank Reeves, Co-Founder and CEO, Avvio; Alan Thompson, Founder & CEO, hi-impact.

Wednesday 17 October

Meet UK Hospitality

Kate Nicholls is the CEO of UK Hospitality, a new lobbying body formed from existing hotel and pub associations. Kate is granted fantastic access to the UK government’s culture secretary and other key decision makers – find out which way the wind is blowing, and get a firm grip on the kind of language required to negotiate productively with civic bodies.

Win on the Web

What are your guests really looking for when researching their stays online, and how can you best engage with them? Our panel of industry experts give practical tips on how best to present yourself online and communicating with guests via email to maximise your bookings. And award-winning hoteliers highlight how taking the theory and putting it in to practice really works. No jargon, nothing too techy, just stuff you can go back and do straight away!

Experience Points

‘Guests want experiences’ is the phrase you’ll hear over again in topical conversations. But what actually is an ‘experience’? And how might it differ from the atmosphere, and the activities, that your hotel offers already? Is it about more than just a social media opportunity? We’ve brought together some of the most refreshing minds in UK hospitality to guide you through this nuanced shift in consumer needs.
Speakers: Holly Tuppen, freelance travel writer.

The New Wellness Revolution

So many new health-related products are emerging, that it’s become more straightforward for your hotel to make wellness a revenue stream. And that’s without major spa investment in a spa! Many new wellness products are technology related – from hiking (or ‘forest bathing’ as it’s known in the field) smartphone apps, to ‘sleep machines’ that generate snooze-friendly noises and regulate patterns. Our panel separates the panaceas from the placebos.
Speakers: Liz Holmes, Founder and Director, Commercial Spa Strategies; Beata Aleksandrowicz, Founder, Pure Massage Spa Training Method; Sarah Morris, Spa Manager, Spa 15 at Great Pulteney; John Walker, Director, Walker Simpson Architects; Tara Moore, Spa Manager, Galgorm Resort & Spa

Social Media for 2019 & Beyond

The world of digital communications evolves at the most rapid of rates. What do you need to know, to make your social media activity both impactful and economical? Has the algorithm change wrecked Instagram – or has Snapchat-style Instagram Stories saved it? Is Facebook fake? Is Twitter having a revival? Is it just not right for you, like Wetherspoons decided? Find out today!

For more information on the Independent Hotel Show 2018 and to register your attendance, visit www.independenthotelshow.co.uk