HSMA eDay 2020 l Berlin, Germany

Overcoming the Crisis in the Hotel Industry together.

The leading theme of this year's HSMA eDay was 'Overcoming the Corona crisis in the hotel industry together'.

HSMA Deutschland e.V. hosted the event for the German-speaking hotel market at the Mercure Hotel MOA in Berlin. Digital Marketing, eCommerce, new technologies, and Revenue Management were the focal topics of the hybrid conference for hoteliers. The industry event was streamed live and hundreds of attendees joined the hybrid event virtually, as well.

25 acknowledged industry experts joined as speakers for the HSMA eDay 2020, and shared their insights and expertise with the audience. Christian Meissner, Senior Director Distribution Products & Digital Payments at Deutsche Hospitality and Director and Member of the HSMA Marketing & Distribution Board, hosted and guided the audience and speakers through the day.

Now what?

Dr. Silke Seemann, Owner of Hallstatt Hideaway Private Suites and Austrian Hideaways, opened the event with her presentation about the specifics of the current situation and how the hotel industry can manage and benefit from those.

Download Silke's handout here.

Automate or Die - Automatization in the Hotel Industry

Felix Undeutsch, ex-Head of Product Expedia MeetingMarket at Expedia Group and now Member of the Board at hivr.ai spoke at the HSMA eDay 2020 about "Automate or Die - Why Automation is becoming a Necessity for Survival"

Download Felix's handout here.

Watch the video interview with Felix here.
Felix summarizes the three main take-aways of his presentation, shares insights about his own background and his professional journey so far, and what hivr.ai is all about.

Alexandra Weber, Sales Director and Key Accounts MICE at Linder Hotel AG and Felix Undeutsch discussed with Tobias Köhler, Group Director Systems & Commerce and Member of the Board at Ruby Hotels and Director of the board for Hotel Technology at HSMA Deutschland e.V., about challenges and opportunities regarding digitization

Watch the video interview with Tobias Koehler here.
Tobias is sharing insights about his own professional background and explains what the Board of Technology at HSMA Deutschland e.V. is planning and aiming at.

About the German Hotel Industry's Battle Fields

Tobias Warnecke from Hotelverband Deutschland (IHA) shared insights about the current projects of the association: "What are the current distribution battlefields of the hotel association? …from Best Price Clauses, Compensation to P2B Regulation & Direct Distribution"

Social Media Marketing for Hotels

Laura Kensbock, CEO at outta space media and Marketing Manager at BIG MAMA Hotels, spoke about Social Media for Hotels and shared valuable practical tips with the audience.

Digitization in Hotels & Communication

Nadja Dahlmann, Head of Marketing & PR at the Empire Riverside Hotel and Hafen Hotel in Hamburg spoke about digitization in hotels. Hotel software and systems should support or simplify communication with guests. Nadja shared why according to her a common mistake when selecting a system is that communication is rarely considered as a main selection criterion.

Download presentation here

Zeév Rosenberg, General Manager at the Boutique Hotel i31 in Berlin and Vice President and Member of the Board at HSMA Deutschland e.V. discussed with Laura Kensbock and Nadja Dahlmann about how, from a hoteliers perspective, to deal with the various, new technology solutions and channels. Does every solution really add value, do hoteliers have to respond to every trend and how to approach this strategically best?

Legal Updates

Peter Hense, Lawyer and Partner at Spirit Legal LLP gave a legal update, covering topics such as distribution law between hotels, tour operators, whole sales and online travel agencies (OTAs); his perspectives on data protection - from annoying nuisance to motivating element in terms of quality assurance; prices, law and competition - discussing opportunities and limits of personalized pricing through loyalty programs and dynamic pricing.

Download Peter's Handout here.

Watch the video interview with Peter at HSMA eDay 2019 here

Female Leadership in the Travel & Hospitality Industry

Svenja Mennerich, Owner at Next Generation Coaching and Senior Manager at Egencia spoke about Female Leadership.

Download Svenjas Handout here.

Watch the video interview with Svenja here.
Svenja is sharing the main take aways from her keynote, sharing some insights about her own background, why female leadership is that important, and more.

Female Leadership - that was discussed in the panel with Svenja Mennerich, Owner at Next Generation Coaching and Senior Manager at Egencia, Lea Jordan, Co-Founder at techtalk.travel and Carolin Brauer, Founder & CEO at Quality Reservations. Anna Heuer, Managing Director at HSMA Deutschland e.V. hosted the panel.

Watch the video interview with Carolin Brauer here. Carolin shares insights about her own professional background, about Quality Reservations and her instinct in terms of future consumer demand - what does the hotel of the future look like, the hotel from 2021, and how she is seeing the likely stages of a rebound and more.

Revenue Management & Pricing

Wilhelm K. Weber, Vice President Global Revenue and Digital Strategy at Kempinski Hotels spoke about "Revenue Management & Pricing - from Planning Efficiency to Action Efficiency".

Watch the video interview with Wilhelm here.
In this brief interview Wilhelm shares the three main take-aways from his presentation; speaks about how Kempinski as a luxury brand is adjusting the luxury experience in a COVID-19 world; and how he perceives the levels of industry partnership and collaboration at the current time.

More content co-created with Wilhelm:

• Video Interview (recorded 2018)
• techtalk.travel Collective #hoteliers l Findings
• Wrap Up Swiss Innovation Day 2020

Education and Knowledge Management in the Hospitality Industry

Our own Lea Jordan, Co-Founder & Head of Marketing at techtalk.travel shared her takes on the "Knowledge is power - Why education in the hotel industry has to adjust and how."

Download Lea's Handout here.

Digital Payments

Marcus Mosen, former CEO of Payment Service Provider Concardis and acknowledged Payment Expert, gave an overview about the current status and developments regarding Digital Payments.

Download Marcus' Handout here.

Watch the video interview with Marcus here.

Outlook Inbound & Outbound Travel

Michael Buller, Vorstand at Verband Internet Reisevertrieb VIR e.V. spoke about the outlook for the tourism industry.

Download Michael's Handout here.

Watch the video interview with Michael here.

Ullrich Kastner, Founder & CEO at myhotelshop gave an overview about the current status of the industry, distribution landscape and digital marketing for hotels.

Download Ullrich's Handout here.

Watch the full length video interview with Ullrich Kastner (recorded in 2018) or tune in to the podcast version.

Conclusion by Anna Heuer

Anna Heuer, Managing Director at HSMA Deutschland e.V. concluded: "We were pleased that despite the current crisis, which is challenging our industry, many colleagues are full of hope and full of energy once again. With the HSMA eDay, which was also one of the first in-person events in the hotel industry, we wanted to show above all that we have to move on. We hope that all participants were able to take away as much as possible from the extensive knowledge transfer provided. The first feedback we received clearly indicates that this is the case."

Watch the video interview with Anna here.

Effective Networking despite Social Distancing

Around 100 hoteliers and industry professionals attended the event in Berlin, enjoyed the knowledge transfer and networking.

In the picture left Laura Kockott, from Gorki Apartments in Berlin; Tini Diekmann from the Oderberger Hotel Berlin; Jan Brettschneider from Orania.Berlin and Juliane Westphal, also from Gorki Apartments.

#ready4events - A Remarkable Best Practice Case

The HSMA eDay 2020 took place in the Mercure Hotel MOA in Berlin.

The team around General Manager Paolo Masaracchia and Conny Doß showed to an entire industry how to host a hybrid conference with more than 100 attendees during a pandemic.

At the Mercure Hotel MOA Berlin, digital and hybrid events can be realized whilst adhering to all social distancing guidelines.
Thanks to 7.500 sqm total meetings area with high-end conference technology and a total of 40 event and function areas on 3 event levels. Learn more here.

We felt safe at all times and enjoyed the great hospitality of the Mercure Hotel MOA team at HSMA eDay with 100 attendees on-site.

Thank you to our partner HSMA Deutschland for having us and the great partnership. We are looking forward to many more insightful HSMA projects to come.

Other Sources

• Wrap Up HSMA eDay on HSMA Website
• Tophotel, Germany: HSMA eDay 2020: Gemeinsam die Corona Krise in der Hotellerie bewältigen
• Watch the video interviews from last year's HSMA eDay

Watch all Video Interviews from the HSMA eDay 2020

About our partner HSMA Deutschland e.V.

The HSMA (Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association) Deutschland e.V. is the association for professionals and executives in the area of sales and marketing in the hotel and tourism industry. The objective of the association is to promote the professional interests of its over 1,400 members. HSMA is eager to establish close contact between its members to maintain and improve knowledge and competencies in the areas of distribution, e-commerce, revenue management, sales, employer branding, and marketing through the exchange of information and experience.

In addition to a large number of educational events in the form of specialist congresses, roadshows and barcamps on current industry topics, the members of HSMA particularly appreciate the top-class network and direct contact with each other, which is indispensable in the hospitality industry.

Follow HSMA Deutschland e.V. on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.