Curtain Call

Lights, Camera, Action

Yeoh Siew Hoon, Founder, WIT

Reimagining The Future: The View From The Top

A panel of chief executives who lead owner-run companies get together for a discussion on how they are reimagining the future of hospitality amid the disruption taking place, the blurring of boundaries and consolidation.

Jennifer Cronin, President, Marco Polo Hotels
Lim Boon Kwee, Chief Operating Officer, Dusit International
Symon Bridle, Chief Operating Officer, Rosewood Hotel Group
Markland Blaiklock, Managing Director, NH Hotel Group China

Trends That Matter

Many trends are playing out in hotel distribution and marketing. Our expert from Phocuswright delves into the research and pulls out the gems that matter to you.

Lorraine Sileo, Senior Vice President Research, Phocuswright

The Future of Distribution & Marketing: The Opportunities

The WIT Hospitality Think Tank 2.0, powered by Expedia and Travelclick, and facilitated by WIT’s founder Yeoh Siew Hoon, scheduled for March 27, will bring together leading hoteliers to focus their thinking around the new opportunities that have come about as a result of the changes taking place in the market. This follow-up panel will delve deeper into the key findings of the Think Tank. 

Panel 1:
Mieke De Schepper, Vice President, APAC, Expedia Lodging Partner Services
Maria Taylor, Regional Vice President, South-east Asia, TravelClick

Panel 2: 
Colman Ho, VP Group Marketing, Century City Holdings
Widhadh Waheed, Director, E-Business, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
Debrah Pascoe, Senior Vice President, Commercial, Onyx Hospitality
John Toomey, Vice President, Sales & Distribution, Marriott International

Moderator: Puneet Mahindroo, Corporate Director Revenue Management APAC, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts

Outside In: Reimagining Hospitality

Over the past 12 years, Circos Brand Karma has used their tech, marketing, and creative backgrounds to help hospitality clients win fans and clients through new media. Now, they're developing new customer experiences in SilverNeedle, and Morris will share what it's like to re-imagine hospitality as an outsider with a start-up mentality.  

Morris Sim, Chief Marketing Officer, SilverNeedle Hospitality

Intermission, sponsored by SHR

Beyond Distribution: Different Parts of The Value Chain

We bring together a panel of suppliers to the hotel industry to find out how they are staying relevant in their product and service offerings amid the increasingly complex and competitive market.

Sarah Kennedy, Vice President Global Marketing, Sabre Hospitality
Hichame Assi, CEO, HotelsCombined
Bianca Loo, APAC Sales Director, Sojern
Charlie Osmond, Chief Tease, Triptease

Moderator: Lorraine Sileo, Senior Vice President Research, Phocuswright

Behold The New Models

As the hospitality market gets more fragmented and new types of travellers emerge, new models have popped up, offering alternatives to hotel owners and guests. Meet some of the new kids on the block.

Dan Lynn, Co-founder & Co-CEO, ZUZUHOTELS
Olivier Gemayel, Partner & Head of Business Development, Dayuse.com
Ryan Kangjoon Lee, Head of Travel, Leisure and Culture Business Group at Ticket Monster, Inc. (a.k.a., TMON)
Akina Ho, Executive Vice President of Global Hospitality, Tink Labs

Coffee with Jeff Hurst, Chief Commercial Officer, HomeAway

Behold The Owners' Perspective

Meet the hotel owners who are out to create unique and different experiences for their customers, and learn about how they are doing it, and marketing it to a new generation of travellers. 

Andrew Dixon, Owner, Nikoi & Cempedak Islands, Indonesia
Kittisak Pattamasaevi, Chief Commercial Officer, Montara Hospitality Group, Thailand
Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, Executive Vice President, Sukosol Hotels

Lunch

Deep Dives: Choose Your Own Coach/Topic

An opportunity to host your own coaching table by which participants get to choose the coaches/topics of their choice. There will be up to 8 Deep Dive tables on offer, and participants will have 45 minutes at each table, before moving to the next. Size of your table depends on relevance of topic/coach to the audience. Think Coach Dating.

Click here for Deep Dives

Intermission

Hospitality Reimagined: Beyond The Hotel Walls

What are the trends hoteliers should be watching to reimagine their business as boundaries blur between live, work and play? A perspective from the top by a veteran hotelier.

Giovanni Angelini, Chairman, Angelini Hospitality

Loyalty Reimagined: Reward-U's perspective on Loyalty

The CEO of reward-U, the loyalty/lifestyle programme that had its genesis in HK Express, shares its digital strategy and how it is reimagining loyalty to drive benefits for its partners.

Steven Greenway, CEO, Reward-U

Case Study: Technology reimagined to delight customers

There is often a wall between technology and marketing, and technology and operations. Yet in today’s world, it is imperative all disciplines come together because working in unison, it can delight customers and drive profits. And happy customers usually mean happy owners. In this case study, the three perspectives of management, IT and sales and marketing come together to show how this one-for-all and all-for-one approach has worked for Hotel ICON.

Terence Fong, Digital Marketing Manager, Hotel ICON
Jason Pang, Director of Innovation & Technology, Hotel ICON
Patrick Sin, Director of Marketing, Sales & Revenue, Hotel ICON

The Disruption Opportunity

Every piece of the hospitality business is being disrupted – from concierge services to potentially laundry and room service – with the appearance of on-demand services. How can hoteliers work with these new players? 

View From The Top & Moderator: Fritz Demopoulos, CEO, Queen’s Road Capital

Panel:
Eric Gnock Fah, Co-founder, Klook
Wesley Tang, General Manager, HK, Chope
Roland Yau, Managing Partner, Cocoon Ignite Ventures, Hong Kong
Blanca Menchaca, Co-founder & COO, BeMyGuest
Lucy Werner, Head of Performance, Hong Kong, Google

The Other Side Of The Universe: Private or Alternative Accommodation

It’s been the biggest shakeup for the hotel industry, the rise in private and alternative accommodation and it’s spreading throughout Asia. This session will examine the latest trends in this space, including new regulations, and ask how the industry can respond to this new phenomenon.  

Q & A with Robin Kwok, Country Manager, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Airbnb
Q & A with Hai Zhuang, President, Tujia

Panel: 

Prashant Kirtane, Vice President, Emerging Markets, HomeAway
Kei Shibata, CEO, Venture Republic
Moderator: Lorraine Sileo, Senior Vice President Research, Phocuswright

Closing

Cocktails

Sponsored by Hotel ICON