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As hospitality undergoes a sea change and lines continue to blur between industries and technologies, WIT Hospitality (March 20, Hong Kong) will gather hoteliers, investors, innovators and future leaders to imagine what “Better Hospitality” will look like. A CEO panel, comprising Oliver Bonke, president, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts and Symon Bridle, Group COO of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, will kick off the day with their vision of “Better Hospitality”. For the first time, an investors panel will take centre stage to discuss the impact technology has had on asset value and a showcase of innovators will highlight the solutions out there to solve hoteliers’ pain points. A Future Leaders Forum, held the day before March 19, will address the talent challenge facing an industry in flux. Aimed at nurturing outstanding individuals to become future leaders in the digital travel space, the half-day event will be held at The Murray, in partnership with Wharf Hotels, and a summary will be presented at the conference the day after. “We believe better answers come from a diversity of voices,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, Founder, WIT. “There’s so much cross-learning to be done – investors can learn from technologists and vice versa, future leaders can learn from chief executives and vice versa, hoteliers can learn from startups and vice versa.”
“We must take examples from other industries to think and act differently at a time when our customers demand it.” Claire Hatton, co-founder of Full Potential Labs, Australia, who used to work in travel with Google, will share insights from her experience in starting her own coaching business and consulting with global companies. Fritz Demopoulos, CEO of Queen’s Road Capital, who launched a science fiction event, Melon, in Hong Kong last year will extrapolate from the literary genre to offer lessons for travel. Said Siew Hoon, “We want to take the conversation where it needs to go – towards new horizons. What are OTAs doing that can add value to hoteliers? What are hoteliers doing to create Better Hospitality, not just in the online journey but in customer experiences? What new technologies are out there to help hoteliers distribute and manage revenues better? How is private accommodation developing in new markets? “What are startups doing that can open up opportunities for hoteliers? What are the trends that are unfolding in key markets like China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan? “Asia is on the ascent, innovation is on the move, we as an industry must ride this wave together for the betterment of travel.” |
