'United Skills of Hospitality'

The leading theme emphasized the interdependence of the individual commercial disciplines in the hospitality industry.

More than 300 hospitality professionals attended the industry event. On a total of four stages, around 50 expert speakers shared in more than 40 sessions the latest news and trends in e-commerce, distribution, technology, digitalization, revenue management, and MICE & sales for hoteliers.

Zeèv Rosenberg, hotelier and Vice President of HSMA Deutschland e.V., was pleased with the positive outcome of the event: "It's fantastic to see the enthusiasm with which everyone accepted our offer of a future-oriented communication and learning platform. We were overwhelmed by the feedback from the participants, especially on social networks. The spirit of optimism in the hotel industry was noticeable. And that is an important and correct signal for all of us."

HSMA e Stage - Industry insights around e-commerce, revenue Management, hotel distribution and digital marketing

Digitizing with a brain

Sebastian Purps-Pardigol, an expert in modern brain science and leadership techniques, spoke about how brain research helps us to tap into new potentials. He explained about the different stages of our brain when in phases of change or uncertainty, the importance of communication, and the recipe for great teams.

[Video] Interview with Sebastian Purps-Pardigol about the main messages of his keynote.

Beyond the room - Customers want more than just a bed and breakfast

Jan-Frederik Valentin from HOWZAT ennea Group spoke about how hotels can play a more critical and active role in the travel value chain.

The future of leisure distribution

Jan-Frederik Valentin from HOWZAT ennea Group, Carmen Rieskamp from Upstalsboom Hotels and UPtours, and Remzi Aru from Hotech GmbH discussed about the future of leisure distribution.

[Video in German with English subtitles] Interview with Carmen Rieskamp about main statements of the panel discussion and how it is as a hotel company to become a tour operator.

The end of the rate parity saga

Markus Luthe, CEO at IHA - the German Hotel Association, shared background information on the final ruling by the German supreme court that the antitrust authority in Germany was right to prohibit booking.com from applying the wide and narrow rate parity clauses. The legal case started in 2010 and ended 11 years later, and Markus Luthe invited the hoteliers in the audience to use the newly gained liberty in distribution.

[Video] Interview with Markus Luthe about main messages of his keynote.

Distribution 4.0 and the end of the PMS

Wilhelm K. Weber from SHS Swiss Hospitality Solutions spoke about why the hotel industry should rethink how to use the Property Management System and what opportunities he sees in reviewing the existing hotel systems architecture and removing the decentralized tasks from a central system like the PMS.

[Video] Interview with Wilhelm K. Weber about the key messages of his speech, digital transformation in the hotel industry and why he sees opportunities in particular for the segment of luxury hotels.

Hotel revenue management - like a phoenix from the ashes

Daniela Hupfeld from Pierre & Vacances and Sergio Sartori from Ruby Hotels, and both HSMA Revenue Management Expert Circle members shared insights about which areas of the revenue management & pricing process hoteliers need to focus on and become active in now.

[Video] Interview with Daniela Hupfeld about priorities for a current revenue management and pricing strategy, and the role of wholesalers and tour operators.

Legal update

Peter Hense, Partner at Spirit Legal LLP at the HSMA e MICE Day 2021

Peter Hense from Spirit Legal highlighted the most important legal developments and aspects for hoteliers to consider. Brand protection - hoteliers should check their digital trademark rights on Google and all other metasearch channels. Copyright issues should be taken seriously too. A topic of rising concern is data protection and security.

[Video] Interview with Peter Hense about key takeaways of his legal update, and why hotel companies are such an easy target for data breaches.

Other topics addressed on the eStage were conversational marketing, social media marketing, attribute-based selling, guest data management and opportunities of a single guest profile, guest data segmentation, and the future of leisure distribution.

HSMA MICE & Sales Stage - Keynotes and panels, focusing on current trends and developments in the convention and events sales space

The meetings and events market in transition and MICE trends

Alexandra Weber from the Lindner Hotels AG and a member of the HSMA MICE advisory board gave an overview of how the meetings and events space is changing and the current challenges and opportunities for convention hotels. Together with Katja Reisch from Accor, who introduced the use case of the Accor Hotels, she discussed in a panel what trends are impacting the MICE segment.

[Video - in German with English subtitles] Interview with Alexandra Weber and Katja Reisch about key take aways from the MICE trends sessions.

Automated bookings and yield management in the MICE segment

Gerhard Wasem, CEO at MiceRate at the HSMA e & MICE Day 2021

Gerhard Wasem from MiceRate spoke about opportunities for revenue management and yielding in the meetings and events business for hotels.

[Video - in German with English subtitles] Interview with Gerhard Wasem about key take-aways from his keynote.

Sustainability and climate protection within the meetings and events industry, destination marketing trends, networking, social selling, and hybrid corporate events were other topics discussed on the HSMA MICE & Sales Stage.

The attendees had the opportunity to join interactive workshops, deep dives, and bar camp sessions in separate break-out rooms. Topics addressed here were, among others, guest experience design, automation in revenue management, e-mobility in hospitality, MICE pricing strategies, CRM best practices, virtual site inspections, metasearch platforms, Facebook marketing for travel companies, remote hotel operations, digital marketing, and how to select hotel technology solutions.

Download - Find most of the HSMA e & MICE Day presentations available for free here.

All video interviews from the HSMA e & MICE Day 2021:

Images by Thomas Loris