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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 .