It goes without saying that 2020 has proved to be a challenging year for the hospitality industry. We’ve lived with these obstacles each day, doing what we can to survive the turmoil of the pandemic. But now, with a vaccine on the horizon, there’s reason to hope 2021 will see us all return to some form of normality. One thing to be said about the past few months is that we’ve learned an incredible amount about our industry. For us at HOSPA, amid the tumult, a persistent focal point was our annual conference, HOSPACE.
Normally, this sees hundreds of delegates attend, hearing expert input before mingling with our sponsors and other suppliers, followed by our industry awards dinner that recognises those who’ve excelled in their field. With Covid-19, however, our plans were thrown into disarray. An event in our usual format simply wasn’t possible. This is where HYRBID HOSPACE came into being – as we looked to host a small-scale physical conference, projected to a wider audience using virtual reality.
Having set out how we envisioned it would go back in March, our plans had to change frequently. Our plan to go hybrid was originally met with questions and scepticism. Some suggested we were overreacting, saying things like, “November is so far away”. Others were blunter, believing we were crazy to even contemplate an event in 2020. However, we were also fortunate to be surrounded by innovative hospitality business owners striving to keep their ventures afloat and staff employed. Inspired by this, we remained determined to stay positive, support the industry and prove it could be done. Thankfully, I had the commitment of the HOSPA team, who remained stoic and upbeat throughout.
This sense of purpose was maintained by constant encouragement and support from our sponsors. We are grateful to them for staying loyal to HOSPA, and for their patience as we chopped and changed plans. It’s one thing signing up to a hybrid event, where we envisaged more than 100 delegates live in the studio, and another thing going completely virtual.
With worry an overriding thought, a constant source of comfort was the venue. We felt safe working with The Royal Lancaster London, which had recently installined an Extended Reality Studio. Often, we’d make a decision one week only to have it kyboshed by factors outside our control the next. However, with the hotel team’s support and enthusiasm we were able to facillitate an insightful and engaging virtual event.
Up for discussion
The first virtual talk of the day was a link to HOSPA’s Harry Murray who was full of wise words and charm. As ever, Harry focused on the people in our industry. He talked of strong leadership and recommended investing time in every employee. Harry was followed by Sally Beck, GM of the Royal Lancaster London, who talked about our partnership and her brave decision to invest in the SmartStudio.
Robert Barnard and Mark Edwards of BDO offered a comprehensive review of hospitality’s position from a financial standpoint, covering everything from sentiment to business processes and regulatory compliance. Michael Grove from HotStats then reported on Q3 results, trying hard to find some positives among the figures – with a clear one being that Chinese hotels have emerged post-pandemic with increased profitability, giving us much needed hope. Chris Stock from Percipient then reported on market trends before the session was completed with a panel discussion led by Diana Mountain alongside Bob Silk from Barclays and Mark Edwards.
On to technology, and Ricky Kapoor from Palm Holdings reported on his Covid-19 experience, before Andrew Evers from Red Carnation Hotels and Andrew Evans of Keystep discussed technology during the pandemic. Despite technology being a huge asset, Andrew Evers cautioned against rash decisions to implement wholesale changes, lamenting the loss of the human touch, so often a staple of the luxury sector.
Next, we saw Kate Nicholls of UKHospitality talk to Chris Cowls, HOSPA board member and founder of Eproductive. Kate encouraged agility and innovation, and promised to continue as the voice of our industry, speaking with enthusiasm about the people within it and their need to stay connected with fellow workers, even if they have temporarily lost jobs.
Our pre-lunch session, led by Michael Heyward, then saw industry experts – in the form of Steve Lowy from The Residence Apartments, Liz Callaghan from The Cheval Collection and Kirsty Beasley from Profitroom – look at collaborative working. The debate centred on the value of teams working together, with revenue managers now having a new-found appreciation for sales and marketing.
After the break
Post-lunch, we heard Calum McIndoe from Infor explain how Apex hotels had successfully rolled out a new hotel management system during the pandemic. Meanwhile, Shoshanna Davies from Intel’s ‘internet of things’ (IoT) team delivered the company’s forecast on the future of hospitality, covering automation and digitalisation in what turned out to be an insightful presentation. From here we looked at the employee landscape and employer legal obligations amid furlough and the job retention scheme, with Carolyn Brown from RSM delivering a timely and clear explanation of the latest government support.
Michael Heyward from Heyward Hospitality Solutions then took to the stage with Sally Beck, Joanne Taylor Stagg from The Athenaeum, and Thomas Finn from Edwards and Finn, to discuss empowering employees and encouraging flexibility, looking at how it’s been key to their respective successes. The next debate focused on professional development – a central part of HOSPA’s offering. We looked at the courses we deliver, thanking the Savoy Educational Trust for their contribution to our learners. Chris Cowls steered the discussion with contributions from Debra Adams, head of HOSPA’s Professional Development team, Michael Heyward again and William Gibbs from Sir Richard Sutton who helped us put together our newest course on asset management.
The final topic, led by BT and their partners at Purple, looked at the analytics of the guest ‘journey’ – from planning the trip, to confirmation, to arrival and departure. It led to a fascinating discussion with Rob Payne from BT and David Pryde from The Strand Palace – another HOSPA board member – about GDPR and its potential security risks. The key takeaway? That as long as data is gathered with a view to using it safely in the interests of visitors, then it should be a mutually beneficial relationship. The value of a heightened personalised experience should encourage users to allow their often impersonalised data to be gathered and analysed.
And with that, the day was done. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our sponsors, the speakers, the team at the Royal Lancaster London, and the team at HOSPA who worked flat-out in the run up to HOSPACE 2020. It was a true team effort and we could not have been prouder to broadcast our event. From the feedback so far, it was the high point of many people’s 2020 hospitality diaries – and we look forward to making that the case in 2021 as well.
