The ninth successive Annual Hotel Conference was held 3 – 4 October 2012 at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate, attracting 500 delegates from across the UK’s hotel sector.
H & C News will be taking a more detailed look at the opinions and discussions of some of the break-out panel sessions, but here brings readers the highlights of a very intensive day.
Sports Heroes lead the way
Former Manchester United Captain Gary Neville opened the Conference, which was closed after an intensive day of presentations and debate by Manchester-born Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell MBE.
The programme featured contributions from well known industry commentators and practitioners, as well as specialists from areas including banking, environment, finance, law, marketing, revenue management and social media delivering expert advice and analysis.
Neville’s hotel plans
Gary Neville, footballer turned hotel developer, was in conversation with David Bailey, Deputy Managing Director, TRI Hospitality Consulting. Neville confirmed that he had acquired a plot 100 yards from Old Trafford, the Manchester United Football ground, and has received planning permission for a 140-bedroom hotel with the aim of being on-site by February 2013.
Neville said that he was both “excited and nervous” about the project and stated how he felt it was important to “surround yourself with excellence and positive people in life”. He remarked on the “aura and presence” Sir Alex Ferguson had during the period he played for Manchester United and how he allowed the team to express themselves as both people and players. Much of this mentality and attitude has followed Neville into his business activities.
Campbell’s inspiring journey
Darren Campbell MBE, winner of Olympic 200m Silver in 2000 and Olympic 4x100m Gold in 2004 was the closing key note speaker. Campbell gave a compelling and inspiring account of his journey to Olympic success which started on a council estate in Manchester. Campbell became involved with one of the many gangs in the area in which he lived. Tragically, his best friend was murdered and it was then, as Campbell witnessed his lifeless body and his mother told him she knew his name was on a rival gang’s hit list, that they both came to the realisation that he had to leave Manchester if he stood any chance of a better life. He moved to South Wales at the age of 19, away from his family and friends, and started on a path to build the physical and mental strength, positivity and belief that has taken him to top of his sport, just as he knew he would when he was 12 years old.
Minister of State for Sport & Tourism takes centre stage for first time
In his first public speech since being appointed, the Rt Hon Hugh Robertson, Minister of State for Sport & Tourism followed the ‘sporting’ theme of the day with a preview of a moving and engaging film that highlighted the incredible events that took place in Great Britain during the summer of 2012. Of the Olympics, he said:
“I hope you’ll agree that it was a privilege to be amongst the very first people to view the heart swelling footage of a montage of team GB’s outstanding Olympic successes.”
The Big Picture: are brands always the right solution?
In this session, Ufi Ibrahim, Chief Executive of The British Hospitality Association asked the large hotel chains how they are addressing market challenges and to share their views on what the future holds. On the panel were: Tim Walton, Vice President – International Hotel Development, Marriott International; Nick Smart, Vice President Development UK, Ireland & Nordics, Hilton Worldwide; Andrew Shaw, Development Director UK & Ireland, Accor; and Richard Arman, Development Director UK & Ireland, InterContinental Hotels Group.
Ibrahim asked the panel whether they felt that brands were always the right solution for hotels. Walton replied that no two locations were the same and for a hotel with poor transport links, little footfall and no clear target market, a brand was not going to enhance its trading. Smart advised that there was a danger “we may be killing brands with our kindness”, implying that hotel chains should deploy their brand strength where there is a market need rather than just to demonstrate growth. Shaw felt that brands offered independents and franchisees a positive solution in difficult trading times, while Arman encouraged all those considering a franchise to undertake a full cost/benefit analysis so as to present a robust proposition.
Market Review
Jonathan Langston, Managing Director, TRI Hospitality Consulting and Chairman of The AHC presented the Market Review. Key trends included the divergence between Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) performance and Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room (GOPPAR) revealing that profit no longer grows in line with RevPAR increases. On that basis, Langston said:
“RevPAR has little relevance as a performance measure: the industry likes it because it is prevalent and can’t be bothered to change. But profit is what counts and is where hoteliers should be measured.”
Economic Review
Hamish Smith, Senior Economic Advisor with NatWest delivered the Economic Review and indicated that it would take the UK economy a further 3 years to return to pre-recession levels. Smith stated that reassuringly, “the hotel sector has done better than the economy as a whole”, and encouraged the delegates to “keep in mind that the long term trajectory is up”.
Break out sessions
There was a wide choice of 16 breakout sessions throughout the day for delegates to select. For a full summary of the day click here.
A consistently popular session is the finance focussed panel, this year titled “Establishing Relationships with Banks – The Special Relationships”. The key point to come from this session was the need to be thorough, honest and transparent with your bankers and to avoid any surprises!
The conclusion from the “Selling without OTAs – Exorcising the Dotcoms” session was that OTAs are here to stay and the importance of communicating with your destination manager.
The AHC panel on “Branding – What’s In a Name”, moderated by Dr Cris Tarrant from BDRC Continental, concluded that reputation management is vital for brands but also that brands are defined by consumers and it’s what they think about your hotel that really matters.
“Managing People – People Drive Profit” urged employers to be flexible in meeting the needs of the current generation.
Imran Hussain, Director of Marketing for myhotels group moderated “Technology – The future is upon us now” which discussed the need for hotels to understand the technological expectation of customers prior to their arrival, and stated that brands connecting the digital space with real space will be the winners.
Further details on the plans for the 2013 Annual Hotel Conference will be released by the organisers in the coming weeks.
The Annual Hotel Conference (AHC)
Is the only event targeted at the UK’s independent and small chain hoteliers. The conference attracts delegates from across the UK and is supported by leading industry bodies and advisors including the BHA, Marketing Manchester, The Princes Trust and the Manchester Hoteliers Association, the international law firm Squire Sanders. Industry leading consultants, TRI Hospitality Consulting and the real estate advisors Colliers International are the conference Patrons. The AHC is independently project managed by King Communications.
For more information click here
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