Connor Phillips attended this year's conference
It was great to be able to attend this year's Annual Hotel Conference. An industry that has been hampered in the last few years, the theme of the conference was very aptly ‘Charting the Course’, and it explored how the industry can navigate through recent national and global issues, and come out stronger as a result.
The key discussions were the need to continually innovate and find solutions to existing problems such as website booking systems, the need to integrate food delivery services into room service options, and being able to offer the customer a better all-round experience with more flexibility in key areas such as check in / check out times.
There were concerns raised over how the industry will cope in the 12 months with recent surveys showing people are more likely to cut back on leisure travel in the bid to save money during the cost of living crisis which we face, with the mid tier of hotels those that will likely suffer the most. Many speakers offered some points of hope within this, though, with Simon Calder of The Independent stating that “pent-up demand is there in spades,” and that people are "desperate to make up for lost travel.”
As well as taking in the many interesting talks and discussions, it was a great opportunity to meet with main contractors, sub-contractors, architects, M&E engineers, construction lawyers and hotel management firms on the day, too.
We're looking forward to continuing to support our leisure and hospitality clients through this time of uncertainty and to play a part in seeing this industry recover and grow.