Following my blog last week in which I stringently hoped the International Hotel Investment Forum would be moved permanently to the gorgeous temperature and sunshine of a Berlin in May, there were many comments from the stage and at networking receptions that underlined my sentiment.
I did not put anyone up to the task, but it was evident it is more enjoyable not to have to sprint along Budapesterstrasse to the InterContinental Berlin in order to keep warm.
I did hear commentary that the traditional date of March would be coming back, so we can only wait, or hope the groundswell of opinion moves the needle — the Mercury needle — farther forward in the calendar.
One highlight was the Accor reception held at its beautiful So Berlin hotel, as attendees moved to the patio garden (not possible in early March, hint, hint!) where there were several things to enjoy, mostly the company and the Brittany oysters.
What impressed me was the private entrance from that patio directly to the Berlin Zoo.
How cool is that? I should add it does not lead you directly into the hyena pit, but to a walkway with a fence between the guests and the beasts.
Also impressing me in Berlin was the extraordinary efficiency of the staff at the hotel I stayed at, the Mercure Berlin Wittenbergplatz.
I have probably stayed in fewer hotels than have readers, but I have stayed in enough to have been impressed.
All that said, the biggest joy of this year’s IHIF was attendees, some 2,400, were back to normal ways. Everyone remains sensible about COVID-19, but I did not sense the fear and the treading on tiptoes that marked 2021’s edition in September.
How wonderful was it that Questex organized that September bash; I am sure they were overjoyed with the way the 2022 event transpired.
Good job all around.
As for last week’s blog when I mentioned I would love to see a Kirtland’s warbler in the U.S. if a conference was organized in May, I received a very kind email from William Rapai, executive director for the Kirtland’s Warbler Alliance.
Yes, such an organization exists, and it is an invaluable one.
This warbler requires a definite breeding area, of burnt jack pine scrub that is regrowing — new life from the ashes, so to speak — and because of the limited expanse of such areas, conservation has been vital to the bird’s fortunes.
Its numbers are looking good right now.
Rapai wrote to me, saying, “let me know if you’re ever in Michigan between May 15 and July 15, and we’ll get you a Kirtland’s warbler. … In the meantime, safe travels.”
The above note tells me of Rapai’s hospitality, but it also tells me that important hotel-industry conferences now have a little more scope time-wise.
Conference organizers please take note of the above destination and timeline.
Back at IHIF, good health was evident, too.
The happiest hotelier might have been Giorgio Manenti, managing director of Eastdil Secured, who literally bounced on to the main dais.
“This is my 19th IHIF, and I finally have made it to the stage,” he beamed.
I also enjoyed a quote from Sharan Pasricha, founder and co-CEO of Ennismore, who said, “young people are asking me what our focus on sustainability is. You have to live and breathe your values. It is far more than bartenders with tattoos.”
All told, the sunshine illuminated the positivity of the entire three days of IHIF, so much so that Robin Rossmann, managing director of STR, CoStar’s hospitality analytics firm, added the warning that hoteliers need to be wary that all this exuberance might need to be tempered further through the year in terms of underwriting and valuations.
Rossman said STR’s data underlines current confidence.
It is always good to have a note of wariness. After all, too much sunshine can burn.
Just a reminder. HNN was represented at IHIF by myself, editorial director Stephanie Ricca and news editor Sean McCracken, and we had the great pleasure of being joined by Andrew Marquis, senior producer and editor at CoStar, so please scan our pages in the next few weeks for IHIF wrap-ups, news and panel coverage and video interviews.
The videos look great!
Until next May, or March.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.