Against a stunning Adelaide skyline backdrop, the 16th Asia Pacific Hotel Industry Conference & Exhibition (AHICE) took place at the iconic Adelaide Oval with more than 1600 delegates from 40 countries in attendance and a stellar lineup of speakers and exhibitors, including the Premier of South Australia, the Hon. Peter Malinauskas.
With the aroma of Vittoria coffee wafting through the vast auditorium, the breakfast session kicked off with Baker McKenzie’s Dora Stilianos taking her panel on a deep dive into Hotel Management Agreements (HMA) which tackled such gnarly subjects as the relevance of Key Money and Performance Tests. JLL’s Ross Beardsell noted that such tests were crucial in identifying lagging GOP and how to plan around such pain.
In a logical progression, HM Editor Ruth Hogan was joined on stage by Bousserind Comson of Hotstats and Matthew Burke of STR to crunch the numbers, revealing continued demand despite a ‘noisy’ market.
Marriott’s Rajeev Menon joined James Wilkinson for a Q&A where he observed that markets in Asia remained reasonably robust.
Howard Kemball stepped in to convene an Australasian panel for their outlook on trends and challenges in the market to which Trent Fraser was quick to identify regional leisure’s double-digit growth as driving his demand.
When the Premier, Peter Malinauskas, joined James Wilkinson on stage for a much-anticipated keynote chat, he was quick to thank the AHICE team for bringing some much-needed rain to his dry state. Topics such as the very welcome UA direct flights to Adelaide were covered. The overwhelming success of AFL’s Gather Round and SA’s bid to co-host 2026 UN climate change meeting with Federal support were also discussed.
Howard Kemball was back on stage to chat with James Doolan (NZ) and James Goodwin (AU) to gauge their respective associations’ expectations for the year ahead. Doolan highlighted Auckland’s challenges, noting success in Rotorua and Queenstown balanced the scale somewhat. The spectre of a ‘lazy’ bed tax was another topic for anguished discussion.
Sonia LeFevre of Hotellerie hosted an energetic power session, tackling the trend to smaller ‘micro’ hotels. AHICE regular Caspar Schmidt of QCC Collection was at ease in this sector with his prefabricated units, while panellists like TFE’s John Sutcliffe acknowledged his low-cost model. MM:NT was able to preserve a guest experience while offering rooms as small as 11 sqm. To the amusement of the audience, it was noted that a jail cell was typically 12 sqm.
Following the Expedia-sponsored morning tea, Ruth Hogan was joined by Hilton’s Mary Hogg to talk all things HR on the occasion of the brand’s 50-year anniversary in Australia. To some surprise amongst the audience, Hogg revealed that TikTok was the primary recruitment source for young candidates. She also defended Gen Z, noting that they have zero tolerance for poor employer behaviour and have clear career expectations.
In another Q&A with James Wilkinson, Crown Resorts CEO David Tsai noted that a properly functioning casino property can have a catalysing effect on growth in its immediate area. He also mentioned that the Sydney casino, particularly the feature rooftop bar, was in line for improvement.
Investment outlook occupied much discussion throughout AHICE and Part 1 of the panel discussion was hosted by CBRE’s Michael Simpson. Always good for a quote, Dr Jerry Schwarz maintained he was currently “holding” despite his recent $25m acquisition of NSW’s Leura Gardens. Julian Clark of Lancemore examined several topics, observing that while investment seemed to be heading back to the cities, his regional investments were meeting expectations.
The subject of franchising has waxed and waned over the years, but Ruwan Peiris of THSA assembled a panel to examine its current relevance in this volatile market. It was Sam Davies of IHG who identified that franchising held particular relevance to conversion properties, while Accor’s David Silcock agreed, adding that it was an easier choice for first-time owners who needed the massive distribution available through big names.
Regional tourism was one of several consistent threads throughout the two-day program and experienced Joost Heymeijer gathered a panel to examine the outlook.
Savills Nick Lower observed that the pandemic elevated regional tourism here in Australia, while Grant Wilckens, founder of the G’Day Group, noted his Discovery Parks were certainly benefiting from this market refocus, often outperforming hotels in the regions. If anything was impeding growth in the regions, it was red and green tape, as pointed out by Mandala’s John Zeckendorf.
Following another excellent networking lunch sponsored by Ecolab, Jesper Palmqvist of STR examined the Asia Pacific development outlook with his panel of experts.
While it was clear much of the market activity was stable, it was the conference’s hottest topic, wellness, that was identified as the standout growth sector. In terms of expansion, it was branded residential that was agreed by the panel as ‘ripe’.
IHG’s Rajit Sukumaran then joined James Wilkinson for another probing Q&A where he reinforced the growing demand for branded residences. While he shared the sentiment with many other operators that Tokyo was continuing to attract development interest, he stressed that construction should be for the future with less emphasis on the ‘now’.
Robert Williams of Watson Farley and Williams and his expert panel again discussed the sometimes contentious topic of White Label. While Trilogy’s Scott Boyes cannily observed that franchising would always be a lesser cost than a conventional HMA, Thomas John of Panache raised eyebrows with his unique ‘Lanchise’ concept, a strategic hybrid of leasing and franchising.
The outlook for Australasian Capital Markets was examined by Duane Keighran, looking at where transaction demand is headed.
Real estate broker Sam McVay said that while easier, smaller deals were predominant, and a sudden boost in private wealth over the last five years was pushing investment capital across traditional sectors. Karen Wales of Colliers added that Asia was a fertile source of funds and that investors saw Australia as a safe haven in these uncertain times.
It was time for James Wilkinson and Dillip Rajakarier from Minor Hotels for their regular Q&A. The OAKS brand redesign was noted, while he also remarked how the so-called ‘White Lotus effect’ had boosted booking and enquiries for Anantara’s Thailand properties by more than 100 per cent while enhancing Thailand’s profile as a luxury destination overall. Upcoming destination? Saudi Arabia.
The outlook for New Zealand and the Pacific came under the microscope with a panel helmed by JLL’s Nick Thompson. Again, it acknowledged that while Auckland was lagging,, Queenstown was promising and, as Ifti Hussain from Sudima noted, he saw gaps waiting to be filled in Wellington. Outrigger’s Jason Zvatora said his newly acquired Beachcomber and Treasure Island properties were about to undergo a long-overdue refurbishment.
Rock’n’rollers rejoiced with a surprise appearance of Toby Rand, Ashenmoon lead singer and live music advocate, who reinforced the concept of adding live music to hotel venues as a tangible way to add ‘vibe’ and energy to hotel in-house venues.
In a quick and sharp presentation, JLL’s Andrew Langsford gave an expert overview. He said traditional real estate investments had been turned on their heads, with retail and office space being replaced by hotels as safe investments. He was also confident that interest rates would ease in the next few weeks.
Are mid- and upscale hotel segments driving growth? That was the question Baker and McKenzie’s Sebastian Busa asked of his panel. Trent Conroy of Choice quickly mentioned that, especially in regional areas where conversion opportunities existed. Minor Hotels’ Craig Hooley backed that by adding people were often travelling for value not necessarily for experience in many regional markets. IHG’s Cameron Burke said White Label branding was also conducive to this sector. He also identified SE Queensland as a region with great potential.
James Wikinson invited Accor’s Camil Yazbeck to look at this sector as well. He believed that building for the community is a way to use local activity to attract international guests and that branded residences could also be valuable in this sector.
As an adjunct to AHICE’s Rising Star program, a select group of top young executives, moderated by Ashurst’s Emmy Ko, shared their vision for the future, reexamining several topics from the previous day. The overriding sentiment being that personal fulfilment was more important than professional achievement in many cases. Josie Hungerford from Trilogy reminded upcoming executives to be mindful of their own path and take responsibility for it.
Rod Salter chatted with James Wilkinson in the next Q&A where the growing demand for wellness experience bolstered his recent acquisition of the Spicers Retreats portfolio, following a value-add philosophy.
To conclude, Ruth Hogan chatted with Acott Limited’s David Mansfield, who outlined the growth strategy for Lyf’s co-living brand and Oakwood’s exciting move into Adelaide’s CBD.
Delegates enjoyed a rock-n-roll filled Gala Networking Event with Toby Rand and local Adelaide musicians playing up a storm, before AHICE After Dark at Luma, The Playford.
Discover the highlights from Day 2 of AHICE Asia Pacific.