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By HSMAI Europe

Ingunn Hofseth
President & CEO, HSMAI Europe

Erik Tengen
President Hospitality Upsell at Plusgrade

In his inspiring keynote, Dr. Florian Ilgen explores how to awaken the drive to take action and embrace transformation in times of rapid digital and AI-driven change. With humor, science, and engaging storytelling, he reveals how passion fuels progress, how to overcome limiting beliefs and loss aversion, and how adopting a true growth mindset can empower individuals and organizations to thrive.

AI is the most disruptive and enabling force in every industry around the world, including our own. This talk will explore opportunities and threats created by generative and agentic AI against current and projected market dynamics. Del will share insights and observations from his work as an industry insider, advisor and disruptor for the past three decades.

A forward look at the forces shaping travel, guest expectations, and hotel performance in 2026

David Goodger
Managing Director
EMEA at Tourism Economics
(an Oxford Economics company)

Javier Campo
SVP Europe
Amadeus Hospitality

Sarah Duignan
Director, Client Relationships
STR

Hotels have long managed performance through Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR), but the next frontier is Revenue per Square Metre, a metric that reflects the full commercial potential of an asset. This session examines how a real estate lens is reshaping hospitality: from owners and asset managers who “do the deals” to developers and design teams redefining how every square metre can drive return on investment.

Bringing together investors, asset managers, and non-traditional hoteliers, the debate explores how design, concept development, and operations can connect to deliver attractive revenue per square metre across all spaces: rooms, F&B, wellness, retail, and social areas. Speakers will discuss how the market is evolving beyond traditional hotel management to holistic space optimisation, how ownership models and investment logic are shifting, and what this means for operators and developers alike.

Expect an authentic, cross-disciplinary discussion of ROI, asset strategy, and experiential design, where creativity meets commercial acumen. Both owners and operators.

MODERATOR
Dimitris Manikis
President EMEA for WYNDHAM Hotels & Resorts and a member of HSMAI Europe Board of Directors.

David Anderson
President at  Aimbridge Hospitality EMEA

Nicholas Mellis
Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at Highgate

Alex McEwan 
Project Director, Gleeds

Aniruddha Barua
Director, PJT Partners

It’s an HSMAI tradition: Executives will share their best practices, strategic insights, and big ideas for driving revenue and profit… in 6 minutes and 40 seconds each.

You’ll leave with best practices and practical takeaways that you can use to sharpen your every-day skills and boost property performance, and strategic insights that broaden your perspective and help you better understand key issues and concepts that impact the strategic and leadership aspects of the revenue optimization discipline.

Topics: Ancillary Revenue | Social Media Reinvented | Storytelling | Consumer Trends

 Marcel Stiller
VP EMEA at TrustYou

Topic:

When Guests Speak, Brands Must Answer: The Rise of the Always-Reply Experience

Alexandra Koukoulian,
Senior Director of Enterprise Sales at Rategain

Topic:

Direct Business: Errors That Quietly Reduce Revenue and Direct Share

Kshitij (Konrad) Pant
Regional Sales Director UK & Europe, Supplier & Venue Solutions at Cvent

Topic:

From Signals to Strategy: Emerging demand trends for M&E business in Europe

Nicola Graham
Chief Marketing Officer at Cendyn

Topic:

Will guests find you? Cracking the code to AI Search visibility.

A sharp look at standout commercial strategies from industries beyond hospitality — revealing fresh approaches, disruptive tactics, and cross-sector ideas that can unlock new growth and advantage.

MODERATOR
Brian Hicks
President & CEO HSMAI America & Global

Linda Nordheim
CEO & Founder at Maverix

Magnus Wrahme
Chief Expansion Officer at Dreamlake

A new, high-energy breakout format debuting at the HSMAI Europe Commercial Strategy Conference 2026, inspired by a hackathon and HSMAI Europe Rising Leaders Council.

Instead of classic roundtables, participants collaborate to tackle real challenges facing hoteliers today. The result is fast-paced, practical problem-solving that produces actionable outcomes, stronger connections, and fresh insights for the future of commercial strategy.

Each Strategy Lab is held by specialists in their respective fields.

19 Curated Challenge Topics (Based on Hotelier Feedback – Please note that some changes may occur)

AI, Digital & Data

• Influencing AI/LLM search: How can hotels shape visibility in chat-based search and AI-driven travel discovery?
• Using AI for efficiency: Practical use cases for commercial teams (forecasting, segmentation, content creation, M&E response, etc.)
• RPA (Robotic Process Automation): What is it, and where can hotels apply it to reduce manual workload?
• Data accuracy & capture: What can be done at property level to improve data quality in a multi-system environment?
• Tech stack decisions: How to evaluate core systems (PMS, RMS, CRM, booking engines, M&E tools) and assess vendors effectively.
• Channel strategy in an AI-driven world: Direct vs. OTA when algorithms influence guest discovery.
• Speed of response in M&E: How AI can support enquiry management, lead scoring, and proposal turnaround.

Commercial Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Measuring Meetings & Events ROI: How do we properly quantify impact, beyond basic metrics? What benchmarking is needed?
• Maximising F&B performance: What levers genuinely work for profitability in an era of rising costs?
• Ancillary revenue optimisation: Golf, spa, wellness, parking, retail, activities — how to turn them into strategic revenue streams.
• Short lead times: How can revenue, sales, and marketing adapt to increasingly last-minute booking behaviour?
• P&L pressure: How do hotels maintain margin with rising energy, labour, and tax costs?

Marketing, Branding & Guest Engagement

• Social media mastery: Which platforms matter? How should hotels structure content to drive real commercial value?
• Influencers & content creators: How to choose them, measure return, and integrate them into broader strategy.
• Direct website conversion: What actually moves the needle — UX, pricing transparency, personalisation, trust signals, or content?
• Loyalty at a local level: How independent and branded hotels can bring loyalty to life beyond points and tiers.

Talent, Capability & Leadership

• Retaining commercial talent without rapid promotion paths: What motivates teams now and how do hotels compete?
• Recruiting the right commercial talent: What behaviours, experiences, and processes define a successful commercial hire today?
• Commercial structures (centralised vs. hotel-based): How to decide what model fits your portfolio and commercial goals.

Each table presents a 2-minute elevator pitch summarizing their challenge and proposed solution.

Visit our partners to learn how their products & services can help you and your business thrive.

The HSMAI Awards Europe 2025 will recognise the people and companies that deserve to be awarded for their great work in the hospitality industry in 2025.