The biennial NEWH Leadership Conference heads to San Francisco, January 25-26th at the Grand Hyatt Union Square in San Francisco. With the tagline Bridge to Success, the two-day event will boast a variety of preeminent speakers and expert panel discussions that will explore the new challenges and opportunities of the ever-changing hospitality industry. “There’s a great variety. Everyone will be able to take away a nugget of knowledge—from social media to trendsetting to sustainability,” explains Leigh Mitchell, the San Francisco chapter president.
Each day will feature a keynote speaker. The conference will kick off with Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, now JT Hospitality/Commune Hotels, who is also a well-respected speaker and author of PEAK Organizations and Transforming the Way Business Is Done. His talk with focus on the “intersection of psychology and business and how it is relevant to hospitality,” Conley says. On Saturday, Roger Thomas, executive vice president design, Wynn Design and Development, will discuss designing “for the experience from the very beginning,” he says. “We get a chance to expand into the edges of fantasy and we have an enormous opportunity to create a memorable and unique experience.”
Other highlights of the conference include Hotel Interactive’s Editor-In-Chief Glenn Haussman moderating the opening panel discussion entitled “Trendsetters: Current and Future Trends of the Hospitality Industry” featuring an energetic exchange of dialogue with Tom Trout, Carlson Company; Jim Hamilton, Graven Images; Ted Hunter, Wyndham Worldwide; and Roger Hill, Gettys Group focusing on design trends with new brands—Radisson Blu, Tryp by Wyndham and Marriott Autograph Collection.
Other companies attending the event include InterContinental Hotels, Wyndham Worldwide, MGM Resorts International, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Marriott International, among others; and panels delving into sustainable meta-trends, social media, color and industry trends, and the state of the industry.
“The conference offers both personal and professional growth opportunities,” says NEWH, Inc. president Julia Marks. “We really try to make each event interesting, informative, and hopefully spark something that hits home on some level. And of course the networking…you don't want to miss the networking!”
As an extra incentive for attendees, a complimentary ticket to the 2013 Lodging Conference (a $2,195 value) in Phoenix in September will be raffled off during the State of the Industry panel from 2:45-3:45 p.m. on Saturday, January 26th. You must be in attendance to win.
For more information on NEWH and the Leadership Conference, log on to www.newh.org.
About NEWH
NEWH—The Hospitality Industry Network is the premier networking resource for the hospitality industry, providing scholarships, education, leadership development, recognition of excellence, and business development opportunities.
Members of NEWH, Inc. are professionals actively engaged in development, management/operations, architecture, communications, design, distribution, education, manufacturing, production, purchasing, and sales of the hospitality, foodservice, senior living, and related industries.
