ATLANTA, Ga., February 4, 2010—Attendees at the 22nd Annual Hunter Hotel Investment Conference, scheduled for March 17-19 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, will have access to more than 100 experts to help them craft their game plans in anticipation of opportunities and challenges facing the industry as it begins to recover from a historic downturn.
“Sentiment at the ALIS Conference last week points to optimism that the industry is about to begin its recovery,” said Bob Hunter, CEO of Hunter Realty and conference co-chair. “We are seeing two main owner groups registering for the conference. The first is those owners who continue to struggle to preserve their hotel investments, who are seeking insights on how to deal with lenders and special servicers. The second group consists of investors who are looking to acquire assets at this phase of the cycle, to take advantage of the expected rebound.”
The conference is the only one of the four major industry conferences that focuses primarily on hotel owners, who account for nearly half the attendees. In keeping with its value orientation, “early bird” registration discounts of $100 are available to those who register on or before February 19, 2010. Hotel owner registration up to February 19 is $795; non-owner registration to that date is $995. Proceeds from the conference benefit the scholarship fund at Georgia State University’s Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality.
The March conference has assembled 108 speakers, from 26 states, in 16 breakout sessions, 9 roundtables and 10 main tent sessions. They will address the critical issues of recovery and recapitalization, with 19 speakers in seven sessions addressing hotel finance matters. Fifteen speakers will discuss distressed hotel issues in five sessions. Leading special servicers will speak on panels regarding their role and how to best deal with this specialized group.
Other key sessions include Finance Friday, which provides an opportunity to focus on hotel finance issues in a credit-starved environment. David French, Vice President of Government Affairs for the International Franchise Association, will provide an insider’s view of what the headlines don’t reveal. Upcoming changes in hotel values will be covered in multiple sessions.
Closing out the conference will be a panel of corporate trend observers/analysts whose job it is to identify cutting-edge trends and determine how to use them to boost business not only in the current environment but how to apply them to the rebound. Participants include Regina Lewis, Vice President Global Insights, Intercontinental Hotels Group; Neil Cantor, Global Brand Management, Marriott International Inc.; Tom Laforge, Global Director of Human and Cultural Insights, The Cola-Cola Company; Mark Greiner, SVP and Chief Experience Officer, Steelcase Inc. and Don Abraham, Managing Director, Social Technologies.
For more information on the program and to register, please visit the conference website at www.HunterConference.com, or contact Bob Hunter or Nancy Petenbrink, conference coordinator, at 770-916-0300 or by email at nancy.petenbrink@hunterhotels.net. The conference headquarters are located at 300 Galleria Parkway, S-620, Atlanta, Ga. 30339.
