Briefing: lifting the lid on the industry’s biggest event

As you know, we have been sending you regular briefings featuring key people from right across the hospitality industry. These briefings are produced in conjunction with our good friends, yourBusinessChannel who launched The Hospitality Channel 3 years ago. A channel which we have been a key partner for since the outset. We have had some great feedback to these interviews.

One of the great opportunities for the yourBusinessChannel team to capture a lot of this content is the annual International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) held in Berlin each year. This week’s briefing is a video that they put together from comments people made about last year’s conference as they thought it would be interesting for those who have never been IHIF conference to understand why people attend.

These comments are not scripted and yourBusinessChannel’s interviewees were not expecting to be asked this question so it’s a great insight into why people attend the conference and why there is so much buzz and business done over the 3 day event.


Briefing: Risk vs. Reward on the African continent

Africa has been an inherently risky market for the hospitality industry. The diversity of countries means that understanding one particular area in which to invest can be time-consuming and difficult. However, countries like Kenya and the Ivory Coast are making it much easier to open the door for international investors.

There is still a long way to go, but with compelling figures of ‘a billion middle-class citizens by 2050’ it is no wonder hotel companies are looking to secure assets for the long-term now. Videos in this briefing include clips from:

  • Chief Edem Duke, Minister for Tourism for Nigeria on investment becoming easier
  • Alex Kyriakidis, President – Middle East & Africa for Marriott International on one billion middle-class citizens
  • Roger Kacou, Minister for Tourism for Cote d’Ivoire on balancing the risk and reward of investment
  • Bani Haddad, Regional VP – Middle East & Africa, Wyndham Hotel Group, on the new rules for the African market
 


If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: embracing the mobile world

The escalation of mobile technology is something to be admired. The speed in which the digital world moves is often very hard to fathom. However, getting the basics right when using these tools is essential and the best hotel companies are grasping the opportunity that mobile technology gives them.

Uptake of mobile technology is nothing new, but with more and more guests using their devices to research, understand and make decisions on where to stay, embracing this new world of communication is integral. In this briefing we hear from experts about the mobile world, including:

  • Alex Kyriakidis, President – Middle East and Africa for Marriott on why hospitality should grasp mobile technologies
  • Nigel Huddleston, Industry Head of Leisure for Google on the information mobile technologies can provide
  • Ewan Cameron, CEO at Lonhro Hotels on the African market being more sophisticated than many Western markets when it comes to mobile
  • And Cyril Ranque, SVP of Global Market Management for Expedia on the likelihood of mobile overtaking laptops in terms of usage.
 


If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the most recent IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: China’s ground-breaking demand

The unrelenting growth of all industries in China is too much to ignore for the big hotel brands. Entering this market isn’t as simple as cut and pasting Western philosophies into the new cities. Strategic alliances need to be sought and alternative business techniques understood.

Of paramount importance is capitalising on a fast-growth market. Whether that be creating new brands or twisting existing ones, many brands are attempting to be malleable in this Chinese market.

In this briefing we hear from key experts on their thoughts about China. Including:

  • Ed Fuller, former President and Managing Director of Marriott International on the unprecedented growth in hotel development.
  • Yann Caillère, COO of Accor Hotels, on Accor’s strategy for tackling the Chinese market
  • Chris Boulton, CEO of yoo on demand for hotels, particularly branded ones.
  • And James Chappell, of Horwath HTL, on a different development perspective in Asia.

If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the most recent IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: The changing face of the consumer

Growing complexities in the contemporary environment don’t help in trying to paint a picture of your consumer. Technology, and more specifically the Internet, has opened up a wealth of opportunities but, some would argue, also a plethora of headaches.

Consumers are being seen to completely change the way they purchase everything. Hotel brands have to be malleable to this in order to retain loyal customers as well as attract new ones.

Experts this week discuss this change in the way consumers behave and the new ways of appealing to them:

  • Sir Nigel Knowles, co-CEO of DLA Piper on the fundamental shift consumers have taken, away from traditional behaviours.
  • Ed Fuller, former CEO & MD of Marriott International on appealing to a consumer with multiple brands.
  • Kingsley Seevaratnam, of Westmont Hospitality Group, on the new found sophistication consumers bring to the table.
  • And Prof. Ian Goldin, of Oxford University on the fine line organisations walk when using technology.
 


If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by yBC.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the most recent IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Dragon breathing fire on Chinese market

The emergence of China as a dominant global player is no secret. Capitalizing on this new opportunity is something which many hospitality brands have been looking to tackle for some time.

Many questions have arisen due to the assumption that Western products will appeal to Chinese consumers. This is not the case. In this briefing we hear from key executives on tackling this exciting and growing marketplace, including:

  • Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Trade Organisation (UNWTO), on the wrong perception of the Chinese market but the opportunity that lies there
  • Ed Fuller, Former President & CEO of Marriott International, on the markets that the brand are looking to enter
  • David Scowsill, President & CEO of the WTTC, on the growth seen in China
  • And Yann Caillère, COO of Accor Hotels on appealing to the Chinese consumer.
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If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

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