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Day 1 – Wednesday 23rd May
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| 08.30 | Registration
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| KEY OPPORTUNITIES – EXPLORING THE FUTURE FOR THE ECONOMY & BUDGET SECTOR |
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| 09.00 | Chairman’s opening remarks:
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Recent developments in the economy and budget sectors
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Current market conditions - are they likely to sustain the present trends?
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Expansion - where to from here?
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| 09.30 | Keynote Case study: unpeeling the layers of Travelodge’s journey over the last five years – where to from here?
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| 10.00 | Succeeding in Europe
- What is happening in Europe and where are the opportunities for expansion?
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Avoiding problems which have inhibited brand growth in Europe
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Unlocking the potential in key European markets
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Over the next five years to what extent is Europe heading towards a more centralised market place?
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| 10.30 | Refreshments
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| 11.10 | Keynote address: expansion in a mature market place – identifying the gaps in the UK market
- How do we see the UK marketplace?
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What are the key drivers of growth for Premier Travel Inn moving forward?
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Premier Travel Inn’s first venture overseas – the Gulf?
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How do we ensure the quality of our products and services for our guests?
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| Innovations – exploring new possible changes to the traditional model |
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| 11.40 | Panel session: exploring the changing nature of the economy & budget hotel sector – what does it mean for the future?
- Debating the importance of distribution intermediaries in today’s market
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How important is the features creep phenomenon to your business?
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As the sector segments, where does your business fall?
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Considering whether we are moving away from the original concept – how does this affect your offering?
Guy Parsons, Chief Operating Officer, Travelodge
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| 12.20 | Case Study: Sleep Inn - Developing a limited service brand in the UK
- What are the difficulties – how can they be overcome?
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How is a limited service hotel defined?
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Assessing the competitive landscape
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The next step – looking to the future
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| 12.50 | Lunch sponsored by Accor
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| 14.20 | Case Study: The advent of the super-budget/ lifestyle hotel – what is its relevance to the budget & economy sector?
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How do you define the product?
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Analysing the commercial trends at the root of their conception
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Are lines blurring? – Considering the consumer base of super-budget hotels and economy and budget hotels
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| 15.00 | Speed Networking
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| 16.00 | Refreshments
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| MAXIMISING REVENUE POTENTIAL |
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| 16.30 | Case study: giving people what they want - understanding what the economy and budget sector means to the man on the street.
- Where is the demand for economy and budget hotels coming from and how is this changing
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Sub-segmenting the economy travel market: supply-led demand or demand-led supply?
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Is delivering a happy customer experience all about the brand or all about the product?
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Why knowing your consumer has always been a critical success factor
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| 17.00 | The Internet as a distribution channel: leveraging the nature of the economy & budget sector
- Intelligently utilising intermediaries
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Getting direct business - what and what not to do.
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Will Web 2.0 change the importance of the brand?
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Can online dynamic pricing work for economy and budget hotels?
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| | Max Starkov, Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, Hospitality eBusiness Strategies Jason Price, Vice President Business Development, Hospitality eBusiness Strategies
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| 17.30 | Chairman’s closing remarks
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| 17.40 | Cocktail reception
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Day 2 – Thursday 24th May
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| 09.00 | Chairman’s opening address
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| BRAND BUILDING IN THE ECONOMY AND BUDGET SECTOR |
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| 09.10 | Keynote panel session: brand building in the economy and budget sector – how much financial value does it hold?
- How important is the brand in the economy and budget sector?
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Leveraging the brand as a distribution mechanism
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To what extent does a strong brand identity provide greater revenue raising opportunities?
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Examining the evolution of branding in the sector and where it is heading
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| 09.40 | Branding – weighing up the options
- What are the advantages of going with an international brand?
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Does branding make a massive difference in the economy & budget sector?
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How do you decide which brand is right?
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Overcoming the challenges in adapting an established brand in a new market
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| FINANCE GENERATION – EXPLORING THE OPTIONS |
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| 10.20 | Case study: franchising as a growth and finance-generating mechanism – lessons from the USA
- How and why has franchising developed so strongly in The Americas? How do brands appeal to owners?
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How has this environment influenced overall strategy?
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Why franchise at all? What are the risks compared with owning the whole brand equity?
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What are the keys to successfully franchising?
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| | Tim Muir, Senior Vice President, Franchise Sales and Development, Microtel Inns & Suites
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| 10.50 | Refreshments
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| 11.20 | Financing the development of the economy and budget sector – what investors are looking for
- Understanding the lending community’s views on the sector
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What makes economy & budget hotels a good investment
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Exploiting the best financial mechanisms for upgrading and refurbishment in the current climate
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The advantages of debt financing
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| 11.50 | Franchising - overcoming the challenges of raising finance and delivering growth
- Understanding the specific demands of the economy-budget franchise
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Exploring the advantages of utilising a franchise as a means of direct investment
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Uncovering where franchising is driving sector growth in 2007
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Aligning the interests of franchisor and franchisee to maximize return for both parties
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| | Richard Arman, Development Director, UK and Ireland, InterContinental Hotels Group
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| 12.30 | Lunch sponsored by VingCard Elsafe and Ariane Systems
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| ASSET DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMET |
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| 13.30 | INTERVIEW
Gain from this unique opportunity to listen to and put your questions to Patrick. In a relaxed, “talk show” style format, Patrick will give his views on the economy and budget hotel sector, explain why Hilton International merged and how Hilton plans to develop its economy brands in Europe the UK and through out the MEA and the Nordic in the years ahead.
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| | Patrick Fitzgibbon, Senior Vice President Development, Europe & Africa, UK & Ireland and Nordic, Hilton Hotels
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| 14.10 | Panel session: accelerating the pipeline - speeding up the hotel development process to keep costs down
- Overcoming the major time consuming stumbling blocks
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Getting through planning and council requirements with minimum delay
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Alternative ways of constructing to reduce your long term costs
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Examples of successful innovation in the field of design and construction
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| | Rynd Smith, Head of Policy, Royal Institute of Town Planners Andrew Shaw, Director of Development UK & Ireland, Accor hotels
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| 14.40 | Refreshments
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| CAPTURING THE VALUE IN DEVELOPING MARKETS |
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| 15.10 | Panel session: optimising potential in developing and emerging markets
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Where are the genuine hot spots for the next wave of economy and budget hotels
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What is happening in the key growth areas?
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Discovering the optimal capital structure for your market
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Achieving buy in from the local market for the budget and economy hotel concept
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| 15.40 | Case study: Istithmar’s development of easyHotel in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan
- What is the market potential?
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Why a budget brand?
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Facing the challenges of bringing a franchise into an emerging market – adapting the brand for the local market
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Overcoming operational, legal and technical challenges
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Examining the market reaction
Andrew Lavoipierre, Executive Director - Operations, Istithmar Hotels |
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| 16.20 | Case study India: internationalising budget and economy brands – penetrating emerging markets
- Choosing the right brand
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Raising finance to enter into emerging markets
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Overcoming construction challenges
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The advantages of entering the market with an established brand
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Moving into the next stage of the development cycle – what lies ahead?
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| 16.50 | Chairman’s concluding remarks and close of conference
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Pre-Conference Workshop A: Tuesday 22nd May
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| Innovative marketing for budget hotels – Hosted by The Hotel Business |
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| 09.00 | Promotional marketing for budget hotels
Make your marketing budget go further by forging strategic alliances with some of the UK’s leading brands! This session will show delegates how relationship marketing really can work to your advantage and can stretch your budget many times over. The importance of genuine creativity in your marketing and “outside the box” thinking in setting your strategy will be discussed, and UK and overseas case studies will be presented.
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| 10.30 | Coffee Break
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| 11.00 | Market Sector Spotlight
Budget operators know a lot about the independent UK business and leisure markets, but this session is designed to focus thinking on the latest trends and accommodation requirements in three market sectors which are also of great importance to economy and budget hotels: VFR (visiting friends and relatives), sports and media groups, and the commercial contractors market. Market statistics, buyer motivations and future trends will be highlighted, and exclusive research presented.
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| 12.45 | Concluding discussion
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| 13.00 | Networking Lunch
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Pre-Conference Workshop B: Tuesday 22nd May
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| Economy hotel branding strategies online – Hosted by Hospitality eBusiness Strategies
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Following best practices to grow the brand via Internet initiatives
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| 14.00 | Economy Hotels Brands and the Internet
- Big Picture in Internet marketing and distribution
- The effect of the Internet on economy hotel brands
latest trends in online travel
- Comparing US vs. Europe
- Defining the strategies in Online Marketing and Distribution
- Introducing principles of brand building initiatives via the Internet:
- Website optimization, search engine marketing, destination web strategy, strategic linking, email strategies, etc.
- Case study examples
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| 16.00 | Coffee Break
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| 16.30 | Building brand equity online in the economy hotel sector?
- Building brand awareness online
- Building emotional connections with the customers
- Building positive customer perceptions of the economy hotel brand ethics
- Best practices in growing the brand online
- Defining a Corporate and Franchisee Friendly Branding Strategy
- Building local brand value at the franchisee/property level:
- Value vs. price equation and brand building
- Methods to structure the budget and maintain control
- Tactics on putting the marketing budget to wor
- Introduce Case Study examples
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| 17.45 | Concluding discussion
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