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New York, NY — November 7, 2011 —The North America Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (NATHIC), an IHIF Summit Series event, presented by Hotel Management magazine and International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), concluded its third annual event in Washington, DC on November 2nd . With a topical focus on “Positioning for Profitability,” the conference delved into ensuring properties are positioned to obtain their share of profitability in the next cycle, discussed the recent ups and downs in the economy, the abundance of equity, the search for financing and the rekindling of stalled projects. The audience for the event included senior-level hospitality professionals such as investors, operators, developers, management companies, lenders, hotel owners, hotel buyers, lawyers, special servicers and industry players.
“Our theme of ‘Positioning for Profitability’ was right on target as the conference focused on market improvements that will be seen in 2012 and beyond,” stated Stephanie Ricca, editor in chief, Hotel Management magazine. “During the conference, we heard about the continued strength of the industry and that affluent, educated travelers are still traveling, which is good news for us. We can now look forward with great anticipation and optimism for the new year.”
The conference opened Monday, November 1st with “A Real World Picture”, presented by Patrick “JP” Ford from Lodging Econometrics and Robert Mandelbaum from PKF Hospitality Research. Both speakers spoke positively about the future for the hospitality industry in 2012 and determined that current downward economic trends would ultimately not affect the upswing in the market. Following the opening session, Scott Berman from Pricewatershouse Coopers L.L.P. led the high-level panel “Straight Talk from the Top” to debate the state of the industry today with industry experts representing hotel owners, management companies, developers and brokers. Attendees then broke into concurrent educational sessions “International Expansion: Are there profits to be made outside of the Americas” and “The PIPs are Back: How property-improvement plans affect your bottom line” with outstanding audience participation and questions for the panelists. The first day concluded with the first-ever happy hour with LIIC (Lodging Industry Investment Council), where the industry-respected think tank talked off the cuff about deals that worked, deals that didn't and their predictions for 2012. The conclusion of day one was a networking reception for attendees and sponsors to exchange ideas and discuss the educational sessions.
“NATHIC was a well-planned and focused event with informative panel sessions,” said Doug Dreher, president and chief executive officer of The Hotel Group and NATHIC speaker. “There were plenty of networking opportunities with industry colleagues and the venue and timeframe was extremely efficient for our busy schedules.”
The second day of the event, November 2nd, began the returning “Q&A with the Lenders and Servicers” panel led by Alan Tantleff from FTI Consulting, Inc. followed by a morning networking break and concurrent educational sessions “Money or No Money” and “Optimizing Revenue”. The afternoon continued with educational sessions “Buy, Hold, Sell, Build: What is your best strategy in today’s market?” and “Aligning your Asset: To brand, join a collection or go it alone?” moderated by Andrew Robbins from Proskauer Rose, Richard Pastorino from REVPAR International, Inc., Tara Gorman from Greenberg Traurig LLP and Anne Lloyd-Jones from HVS Global Hospitality Services respectively.
The conference concluded with an executive-level “Power Hour”, featuring some of the hotel industry’s most dynamic players including hotel owners, management companies, developers and brokers. The panel spoke on current events affecting the lodging and fielded live questions in a fast-paced, cable news-style approach.
About Questex Hospitality + Travel
Questex Hospitality + Travel drives demand for travel and hospitality organizations as the largest multimedia organization in the world dedicated to these related industries. It includes a dynamic collection of strategic investment and deal-making forums as well as tactical services such as powerful lead generation tools, interactive online business solutions, world-class events and industry-leading publications to help hospitality and travel organizations drive revenue, productivity and value creation.
Questex Hospitality + Travel operates throughout the United States and Americas regions, EMEA and Asia/Pacific through a variety of market-leading properties and services including International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Berlin, North America Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference, International Hotel Investment Forum Asia Pacific, Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference, Central Asia & Turkey Hotel Investment Conference, HOTEC Design and HOTEC Operations & Technology; lead generation portal HotelManagement.net; industry news delivery services in print, online and mobile worldwide via IHIF: Hotel Investment News along with Hotel Management magazine.
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