Dear reader,

First, I would like to extend my thanks for taking an interest in this year’s Hotel Leadership Conference. Whether you have attended one of our conferences before or you are looking to attend for the first time, I’d like to take a moment of your time to tell you a little more about why this year’s conference offers delegates something a little bit different than normal.

Focusing on the present is important, but one thing I had noticed in recent years when it came to hospitality conferences there was little focus on looking forward. When I was asked to be this year’s Hotel Leadership Conference chairman, I knew right away I wanted to ensure this year’s conference had a focus on the future, with the goal of empowering hoteliers to embrace it and all the new approaches and ideas it can provide.

Every year, the Hotel Leadership Conference has a central theme throughout. With this focus on the future in mind, this year’s theme is ‘Breaking Boundaries.’ Between utilising new technology, the need to change our approaches to recruitment and retainment as well as understanding changing customer needs, we will all need to break our own boundaries as we head into the future.

The future brings change, and our speakers this year are equipped with the latest findings and trends so you are ready to face these changes head on. Our speakers will not just technology coming in the future -  but technology that can be used in your hotels today. From AR to AI, our goal is for you to be able to return to your hotels afterward feeling empowered and with the knowledge needed to implement this technology in your own hotel.

There will also be presentations on economic predictions for the future, leadership skills, ethics and more, all helping to ensure you and your hotel are prepared for what the future will bring.

And prepared we will need to be. We can already see some of these changes emerging since the pandemic and these will continue to gain pace alongside the fast-paced development of new technology. This is slightly unknown territory and with technology developing so quickly, hotels will need to be able to adapt and utilise it to empower team members, improve efficiencies and improve the overall guest experience.

As well as learning from our guest speakers and presenters, the Hotel Leadership Conference allows you to network with senior hoteliers from across the UK as well as get to know our various exhibitors who help support our conference each year. I would urge all attendees to make the most of the experience by meeting faces both and old, sharing your own experiences and helping us all learn from one another.

I have enjoyed working with the dedicated group of people that form the conference committee. It has been an eye-opening experience and very enjoyable putting together a line-up of passionate speakers who are passionate in their own field. I look forward to seeing you all for an exciting conference in which we can all break our own boundaries for a successful 2024 and beyond.

Kind regards,

Adrian Ellis FIH MI – Hotel Leadership Conference 2024 Chairman