The
6 | Hospitality Today
Master
| Feb / March 2017
Innholders 2017 GMs’ Conference
The Master Innholders welcomed 450 of the country’ s top hoteliers to Hilton London Bankside on 16 and 17 January for its Annual General Managers’ Conference. The conference titled‘ The Next Generation. An Industry Revolution.’ was the highest attended event of its 24 year history.
This year’ s conference was designed to“ inspire and educate the delegates on the future of the industry and the cyclical evolvement of the hospitality industry and the generations of strategies, design, leadership, staff and customers”. The two-day event was inimitably chaired by Peter Hancock( inset), Chief Executive of Pride of Britain Hotels, who( as always) entertained guests with his wry anecdotes.
Speaking on the future, sustainability expert( and brother of Boris) Leo Johnson,( below), discussed how empowering local
communities will help to futureproof the hotel sector for future guests. He went on to explain that all future technology won’ t disrupt the industry, and some will help to boost tourism by creating experiences including virtual reality and using mega drones as transport.
Ufi Ibrahim,( right), Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association, spoke about the future of the economy and industry landscape. She warned that incoming leisure spend was falling, whilst outbound spend is up 10 %.
Outlining the imminent challenges and opportunities for the industry after the Brexit vote and she urged the Government not to damage our industry with immigration caps.“ Out of 700,000 estimated EU nationals employed in the hospitality industry, 96 % would not receive a working visa after Brexit has been enforced based on current stipulations. Any decision that restricts the movement of people is a huge threat for the industry.”
She warned:“ the Government must be careful about messages- we must be open and welcoming to tourism”.