Online Hotel Technology Forum 2020

The leading Metasearch & Online Marketing software for hotels, with over 2500 hotels.

Special times create special formats. As we had to cancel many of our local HTF events, and after watching the first „Bits & Pretzels Event“ end of March, we decided that we have to do something similar.

On the 8th of April the idea of running an online HTF event with a selection of executive level industry figures in a relaxed online interview environment was born.

Moderation will be done by Ullrich Kastner – Founder of HTF and CEO myhotelshop and we are very happy to confirm our first time Co-Moderator Constantin Rehberg CDO Prizeotel.

Setup & Topics:

We will do 15 minutes interviews with the below mentioned speakers – one after the other. The agenda can change up to 2 days prior the event as new speakers might be added. So stay tuned!

Listen or log in and out of all interviews as often as you want!

Of course topics will be the current crisis management, but also tons of up-to-date data across the globe to understand where we are and how the industry is reacting to this unusual situation. What can be more useful than opinions of some of the smartest minds of our industry!

It is a once in a lifetime chance to get a comprehensive overview of how top executives judge the current situation, how they act and what they recommend for the future.

Program:

12.30pm – 12.40pm: Intro by Ulli & Constantin

12.40pm – 12.55pm: Press Round Table (In German only)

These speakers will discuss the current role of the media & most requested topics and give their views on the future of the industry.

• Nina Fiolka, Chief Editor Tophotel
• Rolf Westermann, Chief Editor AHGZ
• Gery Nievergelt, Chief Editor HTR Switzerland

1.00pm – 1.15pm: Markus Luthe, HOTREC Member Executive Committee & CEO of the German Hotel Association IHA

Markus will give a comprehensive overview of their discussions with politicians and decision makers.

• What government support is need for the hotel industry?
• How do current programs help or not help?
• How do countries differ in the way they support hotels and our industry?

1.20pm – 1.35pm: Michael Struck, CEO of Ruby Hotels

Ruby has been a hotel concept build on many pillars, incl. selling co-working spaces and hotel rooms. Michael himself has been a true hoel innovator for many years and will give us some insight on how Ruby deals with the situation by being innovative one more time.

1.40pm – 1.50pm: Max Waldmann, COO Invisible Pay part of HRS Group

Max founded Conichi, which was recently bought by HTS Group. Now being COO of Invisible Pay, he has some great inside views on how business in the corporate market develops worldwide.

• Will big corporates change their way of travelling?
• A large hotel segment with pessimistic outlook?

1.55pm – 2.15pm: Benjamin Jost, Founder & CEO trustyou

Trustyou has more than 30,000 hotel clients worldwide. With their review index they have a deep insight on how occupancy developed acros the globe, by monitoring the reviews written after a stay. He will share with us some fresh data on the developments in Asia and other continents.

2.20pm – 2.40pm: Women in charge – listen to three female hotel innovators and their ideas on execution and communication during the lockdown and their ideas for the time after

Uwe has been an internet pioneer for many years and founded a camping OTA with ADAC recently.

• Caroline Spatz, GM Golf Panorama Hotel
• Nadja Dahlmann, Head of Marketing & PR Empire Riverside & Hotel Hafen Hamburg
• Sigi Gübeli, GM Platzhirsch Hotel Zurich

2.45pm – 2.55pm: Uwe Frers, Entrepreneur & CEO Pincamp ADAC Camping Portal

Uwe has been an internet pioneer for many years and founded a camping OTA with ADAC recently.

• How is this industry affected?
• What are his projections for this summer and what innovations has he come up with in the crisis?

3.00pm – 3.10pm Olga Heuser, CEO Dialogshift Chatbot

One of the few female startup CEO’s in our travel tech industry: she created an opportunity out of a crisis situation and developed a hospital chatbot out of a previous hotel chatbot within a few days. A great example on how startups react and do something good at the same time!

3.15pm – 3.30pm: Andreas Kroekel, Managing Director Lindner Hotels

Lindner Hotels are a family owned hotel chain based in Düsseldorf.

• How does a family company react to the crisis?
• How is their outlook to the hotel labor market?
• And what is their best and worst case scenario for post Corona?

3.35 – 3.45pm: Tracy Cosgrove, Founder Passport to Myanmar

As a true digital entrepreneur, Tracy is at the forefront of digital learning. Listen to her amazing approach of educating hotel students in Myanmar via technology and digital concepts during time of corona. Some reading up front on Skift you can find here.

3.50pm - 4.05pm: Daniel Marx, CEO Urlaubsguru

Urlaubsguru is one of the largest leisure travel portals in Germany and beyond. Daniel – one of the founders – on his view of the leisure market and possible changes to the travel behaviour of Germans into the world.

4.10pm – 4.20pm: Laurent Duc – President UMIH (French Hotel Association)

Laurent will be available for some compelling answers.

• How is the situation on the French Hotel & Restaurant Market?
• What is the government doing for the hotel business and what is UMHI trying to achieve for their members?

4.20pm – 4.45pm:PMS Tech Panel – Matthijs Welle, CEO Mews Systems & Krasimir Trapchev CEO Clock PMS+

The PMS world has been turned around in the last years. Millions of funding being paid to startups like Mews, while PMS vendors like Clock PMS+ have been funded by their own turnover.

• How are those tech companies affected?
• What is their outlook on post-Corona?
• What data do they have to share with us?

4.45pm – 5.00pm: Gino Engels, Founder & CCO OTA Insight

Gino and his colleagues founded on oft he most successful tech startups in the last 7 years. Providing thousand of hotels with rate shopping data worldwide.

• How did ADR’s develop in different continents due to Corona?
• What developments have they seen in the last days?
• What data do they have to share with us?

Expect some real time data and great content here!

5.05pm – 5.20pm: Sascha Hausmann, Startup Investor & CEO Busyrooms

Sascha has been on of the early investors at trivago, previously CEO of rate tiger and an investor in many travel tech startups over the last years.

• How will the investor landscape develop?
• Will we see a consolidation?
• Is startup innovation at risk?

5.25pm – 5.40pm: Ralf Denke, VP e-business Deutsche Hospitality Group (Steigenberger, etc.)

Ralf is one of the smartest e-commerce executives of the industry and managing the distribution of all Steigenberger Hotels and various other brands.

• What is his view on the online hotel business?
• What do hotels need to get ready for?
• What have been the mistakes in the past?

5.45pm – 6.00pm : Matthias Tillmann, CFO (trivago)

We are happy to close the day with the new CFO of trivago, who will give an update on the latest demand developments across the globe and how a company with 1300 employees deals with the current changes.

6.05pm – 6.20pm: Vanessa de Souza Lage, CMO (Rentals United)

With her longstanding experience in the vacation rentals market, Vanessa will give some brilliant insights into the this vast market and how property owners handle low occupancy.

• Will more apartments fall back into the regular rental market?
• Will citiziens of large cities find affordable rooms again?
• How badly are tech providers hit by this development?

6.25pm – 6.50pm: Kathleen Chiechi Flores, EVP Trump Hotels and Daniel Del Olmo, President Sage Hotel Management

Kathleen and Daniel will give some great insights on the strategy they apply.

• How is the US hotel market affected by the current crisis and which innovative measures can be taken in the meantime?
• Will citiziens of large cities find affordable rooms again?
• What role does marketing play in a world running out of cash?

6.50pm –7.00pm: Closing

Costs & Charity Project

Tickets for hoteliers will be for free!

We would appreciate donations to be able to cover our costs but we are very much invested in our Charity Project "Frauenhaus Leipzig".

30% of all donations shall go to the Frauenhaus Leipzig. Particularly in times of an overall lockdown, women and children are suffering from an increasing amount of domestic violence, desperately trying to escape and find shelter. Please help us in this human cause to ultimately fund accomodation (Hotels!) for all those in need and accordingly give them a chance to find a little bit of peace and recover from a potential act of violence.

Thanks a lot in advance for your support!

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