Operations
and, therefore, information is key and proves a great way to engage and motivate both staff and guests. Sustainability is something that we must start taking seriously and thanks to the help of Duncan, we have created a sustainability toolkit that offers digestible and actionable advice for those hoteliers looking to better understand their carbon footprint and make positive strides towards a greener future for the industry.
Getaway 2.0 The metaverse, although an alien term to many of us, was also a key talking point of the day, with a discussion between Peter Gould from RendezVerse and Jon Davis from the Ivy Collection proving a particular talking point on the day. This highlighted the rate of technological development and the impact this will likely have on the guest experience in the future. It was discussed that the metaverse and education are naturally compatible spheres, something that tied in with Harry Murray’s sentiment about education being paramount for encouraging young people to enter the industry – perhaps the metaverse could be a vessel to do so? Pigi Mattaiou and Weirong Zheng from Google were
also among the speakers, who revealed that 29% of customers are more likely to consider purchasing from businesses with a more detailed profile, for example, offering free Wi-Fi or being dog friendly. They also suggested that interest in intra-European travel has reached its highest point (62%) since 2020 and that it’s never been more important to optimise your Google presence. To truly optimise your online presence as a hotelier, it’s so important to understand how your guest is likely to encounter your business – which will become increasingly significant as we continue into a digital age. Other notable contributors throughout the day included Michael Clitheroe, the general manager of Balmer Lawn Hotel, who was part of a panel discussion on building a strong work culture, and when reflecting on his own experience of the pandemic at Balmer Lawn Hotel, said “coming out of Covid-19, no one had a recovery manual”. This was echoed by all the delegates in the room and highlighted just how versatile we are as an industry to have faced what is arguably the biggest challenge in the history of hospitality and still be back, bigger and better than ever. Matt Broom, the head of customer technology
at Pizza Express also shared innovative ways that businesses can encourage repeat custom and loyalty – something that is traditionally difficult to achieve in hospitality, especially as we see more and more guests seeking new and unique experiences.
Onwards to prosperity We can confidently say that this year’s HOSPACE event was our most successful to date. Not only did we have
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a record number of delegates in attendance but we also had a fantastic array of contributors, who relayed their expertise and engagingly tackled some of the biggest issues facing the industry. Of course, no HOSPACE would be complete without our highly anticipated Gala Dinner, which once again saw us celebrate some of the best leaders in our sector through our Inspirational Leader awards. This shone a light on those hospitality professionals that have continued to go above and beyond during what has been yet another challenging year in hospitality. As much as this was a recognition of individual brilliance there was a residual feeling of collective celebration for what the industry as a whole has achieved and how it has continued to bounce back following the pandemic. We are always grateful for the opportunity to bring hospitality professionals together and there really is no substitute for face-to-face engagement. The team at The Royal Lancaster were fantastic once again, and their efforts are the backbone of a successful HOSPACE — for which we are all very grateful. ●
Above: Guests of HOSPACE 2023 enjoy themselves at the Gala Dinner.
Below: Adrienne Hanna, Sabine Reise, David Parker and Jane Griffi ths discuss what the future holds for events.
Opposite page: Jane Pendlebury, CEO of HOSPA, addresses the crowd.
HOSPA
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