No Vacancy Sydney - March 30, 2012

Accommodation industry conference No Vacancy was held in Sydney on Friday. It featured a fast-paced, issues-based program and excellent networking. Images of the event will be posted soon.

PROGRAM: NO VACANCY SYDNEY 2012

8.20am - 9.00am Registration, Tea, Coffee

9.00am - 9.25am Real Time – Prediction, Trends, Opportunities: Life is just getting faster. Consumers are making major decisions quickly and at the last minute. It’s having a big impact on the way we do business. Throw in the now standard dose of economic uncertainty and you have a volatile mix. A thought provoking session that will examine consumer trends, bookings patterns and platforms, marketing, mobile, online travel agents and global hotel markets.

• Julio Bruno, Global Vice President Sales, TripAdvisor

9.25am - 9.45am Aussie Accommodation Market Update: Performance snapshot of the key Australian markets, accommodation sectors and customer segments. This session examines trends in rate, occupancy and RevPAR.

• Bryon Merzeo, Analyst, STR Global

9.45am - 10.05am Domestic Dispute: Australia’s domestic leisure markets have been going through a prolonged slump. Is it cyclical or structural? Consider this an opinion piece from one of Australia’s industry analysts who examines whether or not flat demand for domestic leisure accommodation is the new normal.

• Dean Dransfield, Director, Dransfield Hotels and Resorts

10.05am - 10.35am Leader’s panel: Wrap of the big issues impacting Australia’s hotel industry. These include consolidation, the re-emergence of Asian owners as a major force in this market, evolving consumer trends, discounting in leisure markets, evolving role of the internet and OTAs, booking patterns, distribution, brand and product control. 

• Simon McGrath, COO, Accor Australia
• Bob East, CEO, Mantra Resorts
• Paul Constantinou, Chairman, Quest Serviced Apartments
• Jonathan Wooller, Executive Vice President - Operations, SilverNeedle Hospitality

MORNING TEA

11.10am - 11.30am Googling The Future: Google is having an enormous impact on the hotel industry with most travel bookings starting with the familiar clean white page. How you play in this forum can make or break your business. This session look at accommodation search trends plus insights into the latest Google machinations.

• Nikolai Pitchforth, Head of Online Travel, Google

11.30am - 11.50am Online Case Study – Hamilton Island: North Queensland icon Hamilton Island has done a great job in revamping its website and online marketing strategy, improving web visibility, boosting visitation and increasing booking conversion. In doing so, the team at Hamilton has been able to dispel the myth that consumers don’t shop and – crucially – buy resort product online.

• Bernard O'Keefe, Group Online Marketing Manager, Hamilton Island

11.50am - 12.10pm Stealing Banksy – A Marketing Case Study: It was the hotel marketing heist of the decade: a competition to steal a $15,000 “masterpiece’ by the artist Banksy generated enormous PR through traditional and social media. A great idea well executed, and one that tied in perfectly with the Art Series Hotel brand. Find out more here.

• Will Deague, CEO, Art Series Hotels

12.10pm - 12.40pm Marketing and Distribution Panel - Deals Discounts, Doubters, Distribution and Rate Parity: Topics include the impact of daily deal sites on brands and marketing, evolving booking patterns, rate parity, the direct/indirect sales split for hoteliers, channel management, digital marketing, branding and how best to connect with today’s time poor consumers.

• Ryan Tuckerman, Sales and Marketing Director, Art Series Hotels
• Rachel Argaman, CEO, Toga Hospitality
• Leah Lipman, Director Revenue Management Australiasia, IHG

LUNCH

2.10pm - 2.30pm Online Accommodation Overview: Up to the minute insight into online accommodation trends. This session will cove, CEO r everything from search through to hotel websites and OTAs. The focus here is on the consumer – where they’re going and why.

• Dave Audley, Head of Consulting, Experian Hitwise

2.30pm - 3.10pm Holiday House Market Heats Up: It’s been a transitional year in the rapidly emerging online holiday homes market with global player HomeAway buying the Realholidays business from Realestate.com.au. That’s a big shift to the market dynamic. This session also takes a look at the online accommodation scene in NZ from the perspective of Trade Me, the country’s biggest website, which owns the Holidayhouses.co.nz and Travelbug.co.nz websites and the BookIt booking engine.

• James Cassidy, General Manager, Homeaway.com.au
• Anton Stanish, General Manager, The Stayz Group
• Daniel Bridges, Head of Travel, Trade Me (NZ)

3.10pm - 3.30pm Case Study - Club Med: One of the definitive tourism brands which over the past few years has been quietly reinventing itself with great success, although the move upmarket has required some tough decisions such as the closure of Lindeman Island. Case study and questions.

• Marc Letourneau, National Sales Manager, Club Med Australia

AFTERNOON TEA

4.00pm - 4.30pm Q&A With The OTAs: Another big year for the online travel agents. Update and discussion from leading players on key issues including market behaviour, supply, demand, rates, commissions, consumer trends and - of course - opportunities.

• Robbie Cooke, CEO, Wotif.com
• Jeremy Bellinghausen, President, HotelClub.com

4.30pm - 4.50pm Challenge The Process: We take so much for granted these days, increasingly accepting the status quo with the excuse “that’s just the way things are done”. What’s the point of that: a safe life, a dependable business? But companies are organic, if they don’t evolve, they ultimately wither away. Challenge the process, grow and make a difference.

• Rachel Argaman, CEO, Toga Hospitality

5.00pm - 6.00pm Drinks at Inbargo Bar: Time to unwind.