38 | OVERVIEW WORDS | John Howell One David, two Goliaths
This month has been so busy and full of key events that it has been almost impossible to keep pace. We’ve seen MIPIM in Cannes, the International Hotel Investors Forum in Berlin and ITB (Internationale Tourismusbörse), also in Berlin. We’ve also seen a much smaller, more specialist event: the Leisure Real Estate Summit
W
e’ve had a busy couple of months when it comes to exhibitions. This month we
look to Europe, which has hosted some events well worth attending...
So what are these events and why should they be important to us? MIPIM is, probably, the best known to our industry. It is a huge event, combining a four-day conference, an exhibition and networking opportunities galore. Held in Cannes in the south of France, the show covers nearly 20,000 square metres and attracts 20,000 delegates, including many government bodies, cities, associations, all of the major international accountants and law fi rms, planners, architects, estate agents etc. Many send large teams. Nearly 2,000 companies and bodies, from 80- odd countries, exhibit. MIPIM focuses on introducing projects to investors – generally larger projects to larger investors, but does much besides. It covers all property categories in the real estate industry.
MIPIM
It is expensive to attend – various deals are available – and even more expensive to stay in town for what is its second most important event of the year. The event is so large that
getting the best out of it requires great organisation.
ITB
If MIPIM is huge, ITB in Berlin is gigantic. It lasts for fi ve days – the last two with a slightly different focus, as the public is admitted. It is the world’s largest tourism event, covering 160,000 square metres and attracting 11,000 exhibitors and 170,000 visitors. The concept is much the same as MIPIM – a combination of conference, exhibition and networking opportunities. Just nearly 10 times as big and not as directly relevant to most of our industry. This show is big enough to bring Berlin to a virtual halt and to double the price of many hotel rooms.
LREIS
The Leisure Real Estate Investment Summit is the David to their Goliath. In fact, it’s even smaller than David. Some 50 delegates, mainly from the Fractional Ownership part of our industry, gather for a one day event in London. They are a combination of resort operators, exchange companies, trustees, lawyers and selling agents.
Why should you be interested in any of these events?
Our industry is changing fast and these
so many in our industry are exploring new areas of activity and opportunities. Resorts (and hotels within ‘ordinary’ developments) are increasingly important to the viability of many developments and developers. Golf and marinas are as important as ever. Finding (or putting together) fi nance packages is uppermost in many people’s minds. Agents are becoming involved not only in the sale of these new types of properties but also in new markets. Acquiring new knowledge and up-to-
shows are now of greater importance to most of us than they ever have been. They share one main feature. They are all ways of the industry – albeit, different segments of the industry – getting together to share knowledge and ideas and to try to make sense of a very confusing and complicated world. Companies that do not keep on top of these developments are unlikely to thrive. Companies that do not seek new opportunities are unlikely to prosper. This is particularly true today, when
“The events share one main feature. They are all ways of the industry sharing knowledge”
date information has, therefore, never been more important.
Of course, there are other such events around the world – including our very own OPPLive. How do you decide which to attend? After all, few companies will attend them all. OPP Connect will continue to tell you what events are coming up - www.
opp-connect.com/events. However, In our updated OPP, coming soon, we will be shifting the focus of our ‘Coming Events’ column to give it a longer focus, to look at events several months in advance and to guide you as to the target markets for and the strengths and weaknesses of each event. We hope this will help. We will also be adding a forum to
OPP Connect to deal with each event. This will give you the opportunity to post your experiences of attending the previous years’ events and your assessment of whether it was worthwhile for you – and why. Just as importantly, give us your suggestions about where to stay, eat and enjoy yourself whilst you are there. After the event, you will also be able to use the forum to tell us what you thought about the show. Genuine user feedback, not fi ltered ‘testimonials’. Of course, to be useful, this depends upon you doing your bit!
EVENTS
www.opp-connect.com | APRIL 2013
Goliath | ITB overwhelms Germany’s capital
Experts | Discussing and sharing knowledge
Leaders | London’s mayor joins in at MIPIM
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