dall'08 al 09 ottobre 2008

«Initiators and speakers are in their starting blocks – on 8 and 9 October, hotelforum 2008 is ready to go. This year, the annual conference is taking place for the sixth time – with both GBI AG and Hilton as platinum sponsors. "We are very happy to have these international players on board with us", states Andreas Martin, one of the conference’s initiators. "Hilton, with its European expansion plans, is the perfect match for us as the central forum for European hospitality." There is also enhanced support in another section: "Business New Europe" is the new media partner and thus supplements the existing cooperations. As an addition to German magazines Immobilienmanager, Hotelbau, Cost & Logis, Tophotel and UK news service hotelanalyst, the new partner covers the Eastern European region with a focus on Ukraine and Russia, which, as Andreas Martin states, is "an extremely important market for us, where we are hoping to increase our popularity."

Information and exchange of ideas – the programme is set
The programme is set and one thing is certain: topics and speakers are outstanding. The showcases on Day 1 present Europe’s current hotel and resort projects (project showcases) plus – for the first time – new products and services for hotel properties (product showcases). Modern architecture at a glance follows with an excursion to the new BMW world in Munich. Later on, things get glamorous: the gala night with the Hotel Property Award 2008 and Hospitality Innovation Award 2008 marks the dazzling highlight of the conference – more than 300 tickets have been sold already. On Day 2, it is all about "New Players", "Markets", "Destinations", "Development", "Financing" and "Sustainability" with panels and discussions starting at 9 am. Reiner Nittka (Member of the Executive Board GBI AG) moderates the discussion on "Hotel Operators to notice" while Michael Widmann (PFK hotelexperts), Christian Michel (Wyndham Hotel Group International) and Christian Wagner (Raiffeisen evolution project development GmbH) give a "Market Overview Central & Eastern Europe". One topic in the afternoon: budget hotels; discussed by Matthias Niemeyer (STIWA), Jan-Oliver Meding (MPP) and Jasper Muller (Citizen M) with Christoph Hoffmann (25hours), Ulrich Widmer (Hilton) and Martin Bowen (InterContinental). Everyone talks about sustainability – so does hotelforum: Andreas Martin (hotelforum) reflects on this topic from the point of view of hospitality, supported by Jan Peter Bergkvist (Scandic Hotels) and private hoteliers Balthasar Hauser and Dietmar Müller-Elmau ». ( CS della Società).