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Stuart Bowery, Chairman of the Master Innholders and GM of Grosvenor House, concluded the conference and thanked all those who made the conference possible:“ Thank you to all of the delegates, our valued sponsors, the brilliant team at Hilton London Bankside and Conference Committee led by Debbie Taylor for all of their support.
A breakdown of supply and demand of the global hotel industry was provided by Sarah Duignan, Director of Client Relationships at STR Global. According to reports by STR Global, RevPar has risen the highest in South Africa and the Middle East, with the Middle East experiencing a 4 % rise in supply – Dubai holding
100,000 rooms alone. RevPAR for London in 2016 compared with 2015 is down with 15,000 new hotel rooms in the pipeline. Manchester has planned for 3,000 new hotel rooms and currently has the highest occupancy in the UK for its luxury and upscale hotels.
“ This year’ s conference has been a brilliant stepping stone for 2018 which is the 40th anniversary of the Master Innholders and the 25th Annual General Managers’ Conference. I have no doubt we will utilise the insight and strategy we have learnt over the last two days to continue to evolve and revolutionise this brilliant industry.
“ Funds raised from conference ticket sales will now go towards funding the Master Innholder Scholarships and Aspiring Leaders Diploma, helping the next generation of hospitality leaders learn and develop in their careers.”
IM17-Panel:‘ Stretching the Boundaries’- a panel discussion chaired by Jonathan Raggett.
The closing keynote speaker was Geoff Ramm, the creator and author of Celebrity Service and OMG Marketing. Ramm entertained and inspired guests with his uplifting stories and celebrity service strategy, which is“ the gap in service most people don’ t know is there”.
Ramm explained the three fundamentals to offering celebrity level service to every guests: build excitement into every customer touchpoint and go the extra mile to put a smile on your guests face; engage more with your guests and ask questions to enable you to provide a more personal service; and create an experience that guests can’ t get anywhere else.
The 25th Annual General Managers’ Conference will be held at Principal’ s De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms on 15th to 16th January 2018.