ITB 2008: Third "Hospitality Day" to touch five thrilling issues
Berlin (January 25, 2008). ITB in Berlin, the largest tourism fair in the world, is starting its marketing campaign at full speed: from Wednesday, March 5, to Sunday, March 9, 2008, professional visitors will meet at the trade fair in Berlin to learn new details about current trends. In addition, the hotel industry will meet for the third time at the 3rd "Hospitality Day" in hall 7.1a, room New York 3. As in the previous years, hospitalityInside.com will again be responsible for the content of this hotel conference. Last year, it was among the three most frequented professional events of the ITB congress programme. For the first time, the ITB Hospitality Day comes with a focal point with some more time for discussion: the so-called "Hospitality Hot Spot". This year, it will take a close look at environmental protection concepts within the hotel industry. Every visitor of the ITB is welcome: admission is free and there is no advance booking.
The five panel discussions have a common goal: highlighting the background of current trends. That is why the Hospitality Day asks why the Chinese prefer shopping to sightseeing, why re-defined service can mean more turnover for hotels, how the fields of industry and research help to build efficient hotels, and what factors push up the values of hotel real estate. We would like to introduce you, dear readers, to these topics and our competent discussion partners in the next few magazine issues.
Today, we will turn our attention to the "Hospitality Hot Spot": this is what the panel discussion about a "hot" issue will be called. It will be 30 minutes longer than the other discussions. "Green Hotels - Umweltkonzepte der Hotellerie unter der Lupe" ("Green Hotels - A Close Look at Environmental Protection Concepts of the Hotel Industry") will be the title of this up-to-date panel discussion. No congress can any longer do without this topic, and the Hospitality Day will set a new direction in this respect.
The "Green" panel with Marriott, Elmau, Emirates,
Siemens, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
The high-profile panel alone will take care of that: Ed Fuller of Marriott, President of one of the biggest hotel chains in the world, will explain feasibility of environmentally friendly commitment for 3,000 hotels in 67 countries. What can be standardised, how many can be motivated?
In terms of group size, Dieter Mueller-Elmau will introduce the opposite pole. He owns Elmau Castle, a unique piece of real estate that was re-opened after a fire and is located in the middle of the environmentally protected valley near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria. The two spas of the hotel, two separate, spacious and luxurious facilities for families and couples consume a lot of energy. What investments can and should a private hotelier make to avoid the costs swallowing him up?
Tony Williams is one of the few scientists in the world with an ecologic background who is working in the management of a hotel group. As Vice President Resorts and Projects of Emirates Hotels & Resorts, he deals with the specific contrasts between environmental pollution and protection in Arabia's boomtown of Dubai, but also in other countries. His closeness to the Dubai government lets us assume that he does not only know details about concepts of Emirates Hotels, but also about Dubai's understanding of the environment.
Michael Hartmann, Head of Hospitality Solutions at Siemens Technology in Munich, will contribute the perspective of the industry. His company and he himself discuss problem solutions concerning environmental protection with the hotel industry all over the world. He knows how innovative and flexible hotel companies are in reality.
The "Hospitality Hot Spot" about "Green Hotels" will take place on the ITB Thursday, March 6, 2008, from 11:45 am to 1:15 pm. The session will be moderated by Welf Ebeling, The Leading Hotels of the World, and Maria Puetz-Willems, hospitalityInside.com.
Please find the entire programme (subject to change by the participants) under the following link: http://www1.messe-berlin.de/vip8_1/website/MesseBerlin/htdocs/www.itb-kongress/de/Kongressprogramm/EDB-ProgrammDetails/index.jsp?amp;fairID=50201&
eventDateId=51528&eventBundleId=51531&lang=de. / map
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