Home Tradeline Events Hotelivate announces the 16th edition of HICSA

Hotelivate announces the 16th edition of HICSA

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Hotelivate will host the 16th edition of its Hotel Investment Conference – South Asia (HICSA) at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi on 28-29 September 2021. India’s largest hospitality investment conference is back, indicating a key turning point in the industry’s recovery.

For the first time ever, HICSA will be conducted in a blended format with delegates being able to opt for either in-person (limited seats) or online attendance. A collection of presentations, keynotes, interviews and panel discussions will cover a plethora of themes and topics as industry stalwarts address the challenges hospitality has faced this past year and highlight the growth potential and investment opportunities going forward. The two-day hospitality focused conference is aimed at providing a much-needed boost to one of the worst-affected industries in the country with some of its most prominent thought leaders and trend-setters uniting under one roof.

Commenting on the 16th anniversary of HICSA, Manav Thadani, Founder Chairman of Hotelivate said, “The unprecedented challenge of the last year has left the hospitality industry in dire need of upliftment. We hope that the exciting return of HICSA will bring our industry’s stakeholders together and foster a sense of progression and recovery. We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from our delegates, patrons, speakers and sponsors.”

Day 1 of the conference will be exclusively for interviews and keynote addresses in an endeavour to make the event more content rich. It will feature speakers such as Jesper Palmqvist, Area Director Asia Pacific STR, Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, Deep Kalra, Founder and Group Executive Chairman, MakeMyTrip and Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and CEO, IHCL. The day will close with the ‘HICSA Hotels of the Year Awards’ presented by MakeMyTrip, that recognise the most remarkable new hotel developments in the South Asian region. The nominations include hotels across six categories: Luxury & Upper Upscale Segment; Upscale Segment; Upper Mid-Market Segment; Mid-Market Segment; Budget & Economy Segment and Conversion Hotels. The winners will be determined via an online voting process by HICSA 2021 delegates and announced as part of the conference programme.

Consistent with the HICSA tradition, Day 2 of the conference will feature ‘The Leaders’ Panel’. To be moderated by Nirupa Shankar, Executive Director, Brigade Group, the panel discussion will feature Dimitris Manikis, President – EMEA, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts; Haitham Mattar, Managing Director, IMEA, IHG; Mark Willis, CEO – India,

Middle East and Africa, Accor; and Rajeev Menon, President – Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China), Marriott International. Day 2 will also see relevant discussion topics such as “What Works and Where? Leisure vs Urban” and “Judging the Investor Sentiment” to name a few. Lastly, the conference tradition of concluding the event with the “Hot Seat”, will take place on Day 2 as well.