The Visionary Leaders Roundtable made its debut in Miami on April 7, 2016. The exclusive, by-invitation-only gathering brings together top senior hospitality executives to devise strategies to stay competitive, profitable and ahead of market changes.
First launched in Singapore in 2013, the event is produced by the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Education and Research at FIU and was conceived as a think‐tank and industry‐led platform for peer-to‐peer exchange, networking and industry collaboration.
FIU’s VLR events in Asia have a solid track record for producing tangible outcomes and benefits for participants and partners and the industry at large. “Positive comments received from past participants encouraged FIU to produce the inaugural VLR for the U.S. in Miami,” said Mike Hampton, dean of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at FIU.
With a focus on ‘FUTURE GROWTH 2020: Insight to Action’, three topics for discussion were:
· Monetizing Data & Predictive Analytics
· Beyond CRM – Amplifying the Customer Experience
· Getting to Grips with Disparate Systems & Fragmented Data
Common threads and key opportunities cited during the roundtable discussion groups:
· Educating future hospitality talent with relevant knowledge, skills, abilities and ‘hands-on’ practical experience for the modern hospitality industry
· More focus needed to affiliate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education with hospitality programs
· Skilling, Up-Skilling & Re-Skilling are core essentials to ensure organizational agility
· Attributing and correlating profitability with employee and customer satisfaction
· Making Big Data insightful, personal and actionable
· Leveraging data to personalize customer engagement and experience
· Using social media tools/techniques to enable customers to capture, share and entice their circle of influence to enjoy the same positive brand experience.
Presenting partner, The Rainmaker Group actively engaged participants throughout the day and played a vital role in the program delivery.
A white paper containing key insights and outcomes will be produced within a few weeks and will be available for download on IHTER’s website.
White papers from past events can be downloaded here.
Back, from left to right:
D.C. Becker, Principal – Titan Group of New York, LLC; Christine Toguchi, Managing Director – MacroVision Hospitality & Consultant to the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Education and Research at FIU; Karen Wollard, Associate Director – IHTER; Erik McDonald, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing – TPG Hospitality; Caryl Helsel, President & CEO – Dragonfly Hospitality Resources; David Atkins, Principal – Digital DNA Infusion, LLC; Mike Hampton, Dean, FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management; Tim Wiersma, Vice President, Revenue Management – Red Roof Inns; Jessica Conant, Vice President, Revenue Management – Marriott Hotels, Canada; Robert Levine, Director of Hotel Yield & Distribution – Seminole Gaming, Adjunct Faculty at FIU; Pavan Kapur, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Revenue Optimization – Atlantis Paradise; Angel Vazquez, Corporate Director of Revenue – NOBU Hotels; Jia Zhu, Strategic Information Analyst, IHTER;
Front, from left to right:
Fran Brasseux, Executive Vice President – HSMAI; Angie Dobney, VP of Pricing & Revenue Management Services, The Rainmaker Group; Evelyne Oreskovich, President & CEO – Hospitality eResources LLC; Lani Kane-Hanan, Executive Vice President & Chief Inventory & Growth Officer – Marriott Vacations Worldwide; Sofya McIntosh, Director of Sales – The Rainmaker Group
