(From L to R) Rolf W. Schmidt, Rose Murray, Ed Murray and Shelley Reiner at the Creative Spark presentation ceremony at TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR London 2020. Photo by Rahul Venkit.

TOPHOTELPROJECTS’ boutique networking event TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR brings together the biggest names of the regional hotel industry at the Conrad St. James in London on February 6th.

2020 begins with the inaugural TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR event of, not only the year, but the decade, returning to London on February 6th. The event was held at the iconic Westminster hotel, the Conrad St. James. We take a look inside the event to see what happened on the day.

2020 starts in London

2019 was a huge year for TOPHOTELPROJECTS and their now-famous TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR series of boutique networking events, and 2020 hopes to build on this success, starting with the inaugural event of the year in London. Industry professionals from across Europe gathered in the Conrad St. James on February 6th to get some hard hitting insights into the post-Brexit hospitality landscape, exchange information and build relationships at the change-table networking sessions.

The art of networking

“Change table” sessions peppered throughout the morning and afternoon, designed to allow every delegate to meet every other attendee. Heather White from Smarter Networking kicked off the day with a networking warmup, giving some tips and tricks to maximise networking opportunities and learn some new skills. She highlighted the value of genuine connections in building relationships, and invited attendees to ask themselves, “What is your message, and what is your value to other people?”

Keynote Presentations

The day featured keynote presentations around the topics of trends in the economy and innovation. TOPHOTELPROJECTS CEO and Founder Rolf W. Schmidt addressed the audience on the status of the European market in terms of hotel development, the continent’s pipeline and who the biggest players in the industry are at the moment. The UK is still in good shape it seems, despite years of Brexit uncertainty, and statistics from the TOPHOTELCONSTRUCTION database showed that the UK is still the top country for hotel development in Europe.

Charles Leon, Director of Leon Black, gave a fascinating presentation on how designers should be thinking about creating experiential spaces, with a key insight being, emphasising that “Designing for experience is about manipulating emotions through design.”

A panel discussion on the aftermath of Brexit brought some expert insight into the debate, with the key takeaways being how the hotel market can benefit from the decline in the retail sector, and how co-living, student accommodation and aparthotels presented the most significant investment opportunities. Moderated by James Chappell, Global Business Director, Horwath HTL, the panelists were capital analytics expert Simon Mallinson, Executive Managing Director, Real Capital Analytics; strategic advisor Ali Borhani, Managing Director, 3Sixty Strategic Advisors; and Melvin Gold, Hotel Industry Consultant, Melvin Gold Consulting.

Creative Spark

Creative Spark is a competition between three architects/interior designers where the delegates act as judges. Candidates present their projects and further discuss their work as part of a panel discussion. It’s the perfect opportunity for delegates to catch up on the latest hotel projects and hospitality design trends in general.

In London, the three Creative Spark finalists were Nordelaia presented by Rose Murray, Director of These White Walls; The Westin Hotel & Residences presented by Ed Murray, Associate, Dexter Moren Associates; and Quest Liverpool presented by Shelley Reiner, Director of Suited Interior Design. All entries were innovative and captivating in different ways, but the winner on the day was Nordelaia.

Speaking to TOPHOTELNEWS after her victory, Rose said: “It was brilliant to take part in Creative Spark. For designers, it’s absolutely worth it as it’s an opportunity to talk about the things that go into your design. There’s so much thought and creativity behind everything. You get to communicate that and people love it.”

Throughout the day, delegates could also browse through the “Supplier Showcase” in the foyer, being welcomed by suppliers who sponsored TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR London.

To attend, address or sponsor our boutique hospitality networking conferences in 2020, please get in touch with TOPHOTELPROJECTS’ Head of Global Events & Conferences Kayley van der Velde.