MEDIA CENTRE - Events

3rd Hospitality Summit EMEA 2014

3^rd Hospitality Summit EMEA 2014

For the 3^rd year in a row, Philip Camble was chairman of the Hospitality Summit EMEA, held in Montreux, Switzerland. The event was well attended and a wide range of excellent speakers had been lined up. Philip's "takeaway nuggets" from this year's Summit include:

• Antonio from NH Hotels showed us that implementing innovation need not suffer from any limitations, not only with regard to technology but also in the execution of major works involving major new innovations (reference the speedy remodelling and refurbishment of the NH Collection Eurobuilding Hotel in Madrid and the first execution of NH's new Living Lab concept).
• Siegfried from Atlas Hospitality in Dubai revealed the secrets behind German football and their formula for winning the World Cup, but failed to give any explanation for the delays and cost over runs in developing the new airport in Berlin.
• Badr from Dur in Saudi Arabia taught us how to asset manage hotels effectively.
• A panel session hosted by Hakan of IHG highlighted the need for flexibility in design and getting building design right from the start, rather than fixing mistakes retrospectively with technology.
• Thierry of Club Med highlighted that children are not only our future, but also a key differentiator for Club Med and a valuable source of income with 1,000+ sqm spaces dedicated to giving them a good time.
• Globetrotting Ken from HDC in Qatar picked out a key aspect of luxury hotels, that being privacy. As a result, the proposed location of the Four Seasons on the Pearl Doha is to be reconsidered, as the island ringed by high rise apartments was, in hindsight, deemed to be too amphitorial.
• Martin from Lindner Hotels coined a new phrase that works in English, not sure about in German - "sustainability" could be more accurately referred to as "successability" - which captures much more than the environmental elements of sustainability and incorporates the social and economic issues.
• Hakan (our double-biller) showed us some amazing insights into design ideas for the future, and I am very much looking forward to the flexible, multi-functional bed.
• Alaeddin (great name by the way) from Amplio in Turkey highlighted the importance of people management, not just within a company, but also without (reference the master plan being executing in the Golden Horn of Istanbul, where some 900 families have been successfully relocated on a temporary basis during the works and where some 50,000 families may need to be moved during future phases of regeneration in the heart of the city).
• Amin from Aldar in Abu Dhabi took us on a master planning master class highlighting the importance of attractions within integrated resorts and the high value of walking experiences in large schemes. Amin also taught us the value of a name. Rather than name a hotel the Graves Hotel, the authorities on Sentosa Island in Singapore named the property Hotel Michael (after Michael Graves who led the master planning of this highly successful integrated resort).

Great event and Philip hopes to see you there next year when he chairs the 4^th Summit.