44th Annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference Agenda

Fifth Floor, Westside Ballroom
Enjoy a great breakfast with reunited colleagues as you prepare for an enlightening day that will focus on changes and trends in the industry.

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom
Nicolas Graf, PhD, Jonathan M. Tisch Chaired Professor and Associate Dean, Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, NYU School of Professional Studies will provide opening remarks to kick off the first day of the Conference, which is packed with high-energy panels and informative breakout sessions. 

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom
An introduction on what is happening in the industry, why the Conference is important, and how it is structured to provide the most relevant and timely information.

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom
Learn from top hospitality executives about the evolving investment landscape and the changing consumer base, as well as the ways in which the competition is pressing these CEOs to lead their brands and to differentiate their companies.

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom
It’s been some time since the hotel investment markets have had to factor meaningful concerns about interest rate increases into their valuation calculus. Welcome to 2022: The cost of debt is increasing, not just for new acquisitions and development, but for all existing assets whose capital stacks include floating rate debt.  With equity investor demand for hotel assets still strong, how might higher interest rates impact required equity ROI’s, cap rates, the supply of assets available to trade, and, ultimately, asset value?  These major market players discuss their views on how, exactly, the “the leg bone’s connected to the thigh bone.”

Fifth Floor Foyer, Westside Ballroom and Sixth Floor Foyers
Meet Conference sponsors, as well as other industry leaders. Network as you reenergize with refreshments in the Exhibitor Areas.

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom
Data is a critical factor in the hospitality industry for planning, growth, expansion, and taking advantage of new and emerging opportunities. Learn from top industry research and consultation specialists about current trends, and hear their forecasts.

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom
Hotel owners are public and private, majority and sliver.  Hotel managers are branded and unbranded, investors and third parties.  Hotel lenders are conventional and unconventional.  The hotel brands include both multiple- and single-brand entities.  Add in investment bankers, OTA’s, gaming, alternative, and tech and it becomes clear:  the constituency of the lodging industry is diverse, with interests that are not always aligned. But when there’s a storm we all get wet.  How do leaders from various perspectives in the industry look at the broad issues, and at each other?  When concerns intersect, where is the strategic convergence and where is the divergence? And most importantly, what can we learn from each other?  Join these very smart thought leaders in a provocative discussion as major players from different parts of the industry compare and contrast their thinking about the big picture, the future, and what it will take to thrive.

The Conference’s concurrent workshops focus on specialized topics of interest, allowing attendees to customize their experience, while gaining critical industry information from interactive panel discussions.

Fourth Floor, Odets
The ongoing and growing development of residential, long-stay and the general “hotelization” of numerous forms of commercial real estate, ranging from Kasa and The Guild to subscription models like Inspirato and hybrids like Selina. So much money is pouring into this sector. What is the draw and what are the implications for more traditional hotel brands and developers?

Fourth Floor, Wilder
Separating your property from the competition starts with branding and developing the story to create a unique guest experience.  Panelists will explain the importance of branding, its role in developing the design, and how the two work together.

Fourth Floor, Ziegfeld
Whether they provide an environment of calm serenity and a safe cocoon, or one with cutting edge nightclubs and Instagram-able celebrity buzz, lifestyle hotels seem exceptionally well- positioned to capture demand from a traveling public that is pandemic-weary. How are the dynamics of this segment playing out in today’s environment? From the brands’ standpoint, what influences are providing creative inspiration, and what are the newest ideas? Operationally, how does one continue to offer cushy service levels and meet guest expectations with labor shortages and operating costs that are caught up in an inflationary spiral?  As investments, is there enough price elasticity to maintain profitability? And how – if at all - does new development pencil, with high construction costs and material shortages?  These experts are knee-deep in this segment as owners, operators, and brands, and they are here to share what they are seeing, and what they have learned.

Fifth Floor, Booth and Edison in the Lyceum Complex 
Experienced panelists discuss a myriad of pertinent topics including:
The key differences between affiliating and branding; when should an owner self-operate or hire a third party to operate? What relationships should you leverage to ascertain that you are maximizing your asset, beyond the brand or operator?
How are consumers influencing the franchising model and how are owners influencing the brands?

Fifth Floor, Salon 4 in the Lyceum Complex  
TPI’s are privately issued digitized securities that, after a prescribed hold period, may be traded in digital form on one or more Alternative Trading System exchanges.  The use of blockchain technology in digitizing the securities and providing a means of trading them on a secondary market using one or more ATSs provides an opportunity for liquidity not presently enjoyed by private placement real estate securities.  Are TPI’s the future of real estate investment offerings? Will this form of “De-Fi” investment attract non-traditional investors to hotel investments? Will hotel owners prefer equity raises using TPI offerings in lieu of a more demanding family office or institutional investor sources?  Hear the issuers, exchanges and tech advisors discuss what this nascent technology means for you, your company, and your assets’ capitalization.

Fifth Floor, Salon 2 in the Julliard Complex
How can the hotel owners and managers leverage data insights to understand competition and portfolio performance? Who are your customers, who else should be your customers, and what do these customers want?  And can you understand this without violating their privacy? With a proliferation of data collection technologies, where are smart owners and managers spending data dollars and how is the investment return measured?  Exactly how does data collection and utilization translate into a competitive advantage, and how are owners and managers playing in this space?

Fifth Floor, Belasco and Broadhurst in the Julliard Complex
Technology doesn’t replace the human touch in lodging as was once feared; it augments the human touch and every other aspect of modern hotel operations. On the revenue side, we have tools for revenue management/pricing, reservations, marketing, SEO/website optimization, mobile, loyalty, customer identification, menu development, and more. For expenses and operations, we have tools for accounting and payroll, energy management, purchasing, and a spectrum of labor-management tools for recruiting, hiring, compensation, scheduling, and compliance. These tools all have one thing in common⁠—they make promises. They produce higher yields, better guest satisfaction, deeper cost savings, better associate engagement, and, in one way or another, improved operating results. Hear from the experts who are creating and using some of the latest asset-level tech tools: what’s new, what’s better, what works, and what doesn’t.

Sixth Floor, Winter Garden in the Majestic Complex
Where is private capital looking for returns today? This panel will explore how smart private investors are viewing hotel investments amidst what is being called the “New Normal” in an uncertain environment characterized by an on-going “Endemic”, higher interest rates, inflation, and mounting labor pressures. Panelists will discuss where the opportunities are, what deals they are doing, what they are passing on, and how they are structuring deals in order to optimize ROI.

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom
And on today’s menu….: Labor shortages.  Supply chain issues.  Peripatetic travel patterns and uneven demand for lodging. War in Europe.  On-going pandemic issues relating to health and safety.  Galloping inflation and energy price shock.  Interest rate increases.  And the continuing -and very real- concerns surrounding equity, inclusion, and social/environmental responsibility.  With so many pots and pans boiling on the front burner, how does one even begin to lead an organization today?  Listen to these leaders from various parts of the industry discuss their strategic priorities: the what, the why, and the how.

Sixth Floor, Broadway Ballroom
Recruiting, retaining, and managing labor cost has never been more challenging in travel and lodging. The pandemic exacerbated and accelerated ongoing concerns about the career prospects in hospitality.  Learn about the latest evidence on trends, root causes, implications, and potential solutions that point toward the future of work in the lodging industry.

Fifth Floor and Sixth Floor Foyers
Meet Conference sponsors, as well as other industry leaders. Network as you reenergize with refreshments in the Exhibitor Areas.