Members of Bird & Bird’s Hotels, Hospitality & Leisure team (Karen Friebe, Charlie White, James Fowler and Matthew Vance) attended the 2023 Annual Hotel Conference in Manchester.
Over 1000 delegates took part, representing the major global hospitality investors, hotel brands, developers, suppliers, and funders.
There were some interesting panel discussions over the two days of the conference. Some of the main themes picked up by our team were as follows:
Innovation and Inspiration: Companies which are leading the way in the turbulent economy and through rapidly changing guest demands are using insights and trends to implement new services. For example, Peloton has identified that 50% of travellers want their next trip to have a component of physical or mental wellness integrated into their stay. Therefore, the company has established partnerships and installed Peloton devices into several hotels to provide more options and flexibility for guests.
Technology: Investors and operators are looking at how technology can offer them opportunities to optimise hotel performance, as well as enhancing customer experience. For example, this ranges from tools to analyse customer trends, through to adapting to guests’ needs by simplifying temperature control, lighting, and occupancy sensors.
ESG: ESG is a key agenda item for those in the industry, with delegates seeking to assess how best to align the interests of owners and operators. and what the industry needs to do to promote good ESG practices (such as legislation or industry codes of practice). It is clear that customers want more planet-friendly hospitality.
During the conference, the Bird & Bird team also hosted a successful roundtable discussion with the Energy & Environment Alliance on the topic of ESG in the context of hotel management agreements. The discussion generated many interesting points and we plan to hold further discussion groups with key stakeholders soon. Please do contact us if you would like to be a part of these discussions.
