Krisam Group (Krisam), the pioneering hotel membership company for independent and unique hotels and resorts worldwide held its 5th Annual Executive Summit in Ft. Worth, Texas from November 11th-14th.
Krisam, in partnership with hotel member, Omni Ft. Worth and Fun Factory Events, a Global Events Partners member, welcomed meeting professionals and Krisam member hotels from around the U.S. for three days of education and networking.
Krisam Group President, Jim Schultenover said, “With so much change occurring in the industry, the Annual Executive Summit continues to provide an incomparable forum for planners and hotels to establish relationships and share information that helps everyone succeed.”
Meeting professionals sampled social and cultural events showcasing Ft. Worth’s best meeting venues while attending intensive seminars, networking events and one-on-one sessions. The educational seminars were headlined by two presentations.
The first, on current industry trends, was given by industry expert, David Rich of George P. Johnson Experience Marketing. The second, on hotel trends, was given by Jan Freitag of Smith Travel Research (STR), a top hotel data research companies in the US.
Chief among Rich’s industry findings was the continued validation of face-to-face meetings. He found that over the past two years CEOs have been catching up to meeting planners in their realization of the true value and importance of meetings.
Rich presented that while virtual meetings are seen as an up and coming trend, face to face events will more likely be enhanced by virtual technology than replaced by them in the future.
As for hotel trends, Freitag of STR sees 2011 and 2012 shifting to a seller’s market. For meeting planners, he warned that this spells an end to the deals and values in the market as evidenced by a short-term study showing a constriction in availability in the top 25 markets.
Freitag based his forecast on today’s slow rise in demand coupled with the level of new hotel construction in the pipeline for the years beyond 2011 and 2012, which are at their lowest in recent history.
A highlight of the event, “Krisam Talk” provided attendees with an open-space Summit-wide session for addressing questions and topics that were submitted at the open of the Summit. As many as 15 groups provided an intimate setting for peers to discuss today’s hot issues, share views and exchange tips.
Schultenover said, “After three days of business sessions and networking, attendees took away a new perspective on how to think more strategically, enhance the way they do business and make even stronger connections.”
Attendees also gave back by joining together to build 21 full-size birdhouses for the kids at Cooks Children’s Hospital. The gesture, orchestrated by Omni Ft. Worth, was part of Krisam’s ongoing initiative to dedicate part of the agenda of every Annual Summit to giving back to the local community hosting the Summit.
Krisam announced next year’s host will be Hotel Member, Loews Coronado in San Diego. The date of the event will be September 8th-11th.
