The SEAHIS hotel investment event is back to full scale this year
With COVID-19 fading as a concern and hotel investment on the rebound, the South East Asia Hotel Investors’ Summit (SEAHIS) is returning to Bangkok this month, live and fully in-person for the first time since 2019.
The event at The Westin Grande Sukhumvit in the Thai capital takes place over two days, 27 and 28 June, and features 90 speakers from the likes of Singapore-based fund manager SC Capital Partners, Hong Kong’s Swire Hotels and global hospitality chains Hyatt, Marriott and Radisson.
CBRE reported recently that Asia Pacific hotel investment staged a comeback in 2021, surging 46 percent year-on-year to reach $12.1 billion. Simon Allison, chairman and CEO of hotel owners’ alliance HOFTEL, the organiser of SEAHIS, says travellers are looking past COVID and eager to make amends for time lost to the prolonged pandemic.
“The market expects a good period for the next 12 months as ‘revenge tourism’ clocks up,” Allison told Mingtiandi. “Planes are full and rates at the luxury end are booming.”
Programme Highlights
SEAHIS 2022’s programme includes more than 30 panel discussions and presentations on topics of interest to hotel investors, developers and franchisees.
Suchad Chiaranussati of SC Capital Partners will be one of the headline speakers
Mingtiandi founder and managing director Michael Cole will moderate a session on how hotels can generate ancillary revenue independent of guest charges, joined on stage by Kristin Thorsteinsdottir from flexible workspace giant IWG and Bangkok-based hotel executives Deepak Ohri of Lebua and Rohit Sachdev of Soho Hospitality.
SC Capital founder and CEO Suchad Chiaranussati will share his thoughts on the topic of “the best deal I ever did”, with the Thailand native joined by Christopher Hur of Singapore’s Lodgis Hospitality and Dillip Rajakarier of Bangkok-headquartered Minor Hotels.
Giovanni Beretta, group director of operations for Swire Hotels, will chew over the pointed question of “your employees — asset or liability?” with panellists including Sammy Carolus, the general manager of SEAHIS co-sponsor Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit.
Each day’s activities will offer ample networking opportunities, with evening receptions at rooftop venues Altitude at The Westin Grande Sukhumvit and Spectrum Lounge & Bar at Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit.
Refreshingly Live
SEAHIS organiser HOFTEL bills itself as the only global alliance of hospitality real estate investors. The group estimates that its 75-plus members and subscribers hold $100 billion worth of hotel and serviced apartment properties.
The last completely in-person SEAHIS, also at The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, took place in 2019 and welcomed attendees from 23 different countries. This year’s fifth edition marks a return to full-fledged regional attendance after December 2020’s hybrid event saw strictly domestic attendance at Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit.
CBRE said investors have been acquiring Asia Pacific hotels with an eye towards upgrading guest offerings in anticipation of pent-up tourist demand, buoyed by a steady reopening of borders and easing of travel restrictions around the region. The conversion of hotel assets into offices and co-living spaces has also emerged as an investment opportunity, the property services firm said.
Click here for more information about SEAHIS 2022.
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