Plenary Asset Managers Panel
What technology should hotel owners invest in 2021
With industry consensus pointing to a lengthy recovery from COVID (years, not months), the panel will discuss what technology should be on owners’ radars for 2021 – to enable the recovery. The panel will also discuss the role each of the stakeholders including owners, operators and technology suppliers can play for greater adoption of new technology, what obstacles exist – and how they can be overcome.

Moderator:
Julian Bish, Director Jaybee Hospitality

Panellists:
Grant Alchin, Head of Asset Management, Capitaland
Ross Beardsell, Executive Vice President – Strategic Advisory, Hotels & Hospitality Group, Project & Development Services, JLL
Nigel Greenaway, National Director Hotels, Collier International

International Plenary
Reinventing Hotel Distribution for a Different World – A Post COVID-19 Situation Assessment and Five Key Action Items
We are mid-journey through the COVID-19 crisis.  We know that hotel survival will depend on selling effectively to our prospective and repeat guests.  That means attracting their attention, informing them, reassuring them, and converting their “looks” to “books”.  That means updating our distribution processes to meet the current challenge.

How do we sell effectively when our entire business environment is changing dramatically?  Who we sell to, the words we use, the options we offer, the restrictions we apply, the prices we charge, and the sales channels we employ, are all changing before our eyes.

How do we finetune our distribution program for today?  How do we prepare it for tomorrow?  In large part the answer is to be alert, agile and creative.  It is to anticipate, and spot changes and then adjust quickly and effectively to them.

This session will help you do just that.  We will identify changes that have occurred (and are occurring and probably will occur) in the distribution landscape – in travelers, preferences, partners, and sales channels.  Then this session will suggest five specific actions to deal successfully with them.

John Burns, President, Hospitality Technology Consulting

Plenary Session & Panel
Sustainability – the way of the future for hotels and its importance post COVID-19

Moderator:
Tina Perinotto, Founder & Publisher, The Fifth Estate

Panellists:
Dr Jerry Schwartz, Schwartz Family Trust
Andy Goonesekera, Director Engineering, Intercontinental Sydney
Francesca Muskovic, National Policy Manager – Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, Property Council of Australia