IH&RA INAUGURAL LEADERS SUMMIT TO OFFER LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

Top executives from the hotel industry worldwide will debate the major trends influencing the industry’s future and how they plan to respond to them at a first ever “Hospitality Leaders Summit” to be convened by the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) in London this November.

The full day programme is the first of what is planned to be an annual forum for ceos, chairmen and presidents of hotel and restaurant chains where industry positions on key forces driving change can be determined, updated and reviewed.

The initiative has drawn widespread support from industry leaders. According to Eric Pfeffer, ceo of Cendant Hotel Division and IH&RA past president who will chair the inaugural event, “While there several conferences that focus upon multinationals, there is currently no organized opportunity for senior executives to engage in meaningful debate on the forces which will influence the future of the industry in an “off the record” environment. As the only international association exclusively devoted to representing hospitality interests, the IH&RA offers an ideal ‘neutral’ forum for this.”

IH&RA has been overwhelmed by the positive response to its invitation, with attendance confirmed by the chiefs of Le Meridien Hotels, Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, Hilton International, Marriott International, Meristar Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Golden Tulip International, Preferred Hotels Worldwide, Orient Express Hotels, Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts and a number of other global lodging companies.

While participants won’t be expected to disclose their own firm’s strategies, they will be expected to formulate industry positions on the key forces driving change. In so doing they will help the IH&RA to identify and develop strategic directions for the industry by anticipating not only the needs of the multinational corporation but all stakeholders in the industry value chain.

Participants in London will share in the findings of a number of IH&RA Think-Tanks on themes ranging from assets and capital, technology, capacity control and marketing/distribution and new management paradigms. These have been integrated into the IH&RA’s new white paper on the global hotel industry, “Leading Hospitality into the Age of Excellence: Expansion, Competition and Vision in the Multinational Hotel Industry” published in September.

This will inspire an interactive brainstorming session led by facilitator Michael Olsen, professor of strategic hospitality management at Virginia Polytechnic Insititute and State University, who directs the IH&RA’s research programme and is principal author of its white papers.

The event, is hosted by the investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Benson whose Director of Corporate Finance, Paul Slattery, will assist in leading the discussion.

The summit is held during the IH&RA Annual Congress “The Age of Excellence Dawns” from 16-20 November at the London Hilton Metropole, the premier event for the global hospitality industry.

“The IH&RA congress will also provide a unique opportunity for leaders of international companies to meet face to face with hotel association executives from countries all over the world whose main interest is the success of the hoteliers within each of their respective territories,” said Pfeffer.

The congress programme features consultant Peter Yesawich and Mike Jones, VP Distribution for Hilton International in a session, “Who’s afraid of the World Wide Web?”; Sal Dickensen from Meristar Hotels & Resorts, and Wizcom ceo Flo Lugli sharing advice on E-Business Strategies, plus “Global Perspectives for the Hospitality Industry” from PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Bjorn Hanson.