PRESIDENT ’ S LETTER
Greetings hoteliers ,
Trusting that 2022 is off to a good start and that you had a wonderful holiday season .
The International Luxury Hotel Association closed 2021 with the annual INSPIRE conference , which took place at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows .
Chris Gabaldon , Senior Vice President , Luxury Brands , Marriott International opened the event with a keynote on The Business of Brand Culture , and leaders in the industry spoke on trends and challenges facing the luxury hotel industry . Highlights were Feisal Jaffer , Global Head , LXR Hotels & Resorts , Hilton , Jeff Katz , CEO , Journera ( ex founder of Orbitz ), and Sara Glenn , COO , Canada , Mexico , Central America , and the Caribbean for Accor .
The European Chapter of the ILHA recorded multiple sessions to view on-demand on topics around staffing , the digital experience , and ESG . “ Own and away ? Will investors seek to be closer to assets post-pandemic ?” took a deep dive into how the industry can go from here , looking at improving flexibility for staff as well as pay , career growth , and training .
Read the conference report back on page eight for more highlights of the conference which followed a hybrid format , hosting the recorded sessions on the ILHA website
here
In this issue of Luxury Hoteliers magazine we have interviews with Jennifer Barnwell , President , Curator Hotel & Resort Collection and Michael Grove , Chief Operating Officer , HotStats and their article “ The Pandemic has Been Tough on Luxury Hotels . The Upside is Great .” Kalibri Labs looks to the future for luxury hotels .
The ILHA is excited to announce that the 11th INSPIRE conference will take place at the Arizona Biltmore , A Waldorf Astoria Resort , in Phoenix , Arizona , December , 14 & 15 . Save the date as our team starts to work on an event to bring industry professionals together to discover , connect and have fun .
My best ,
Barak Hirschowitz , President , International Luxury Hotel Association
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