HBI Staff | Hyderabad 
As the economy and the industry gradually return to normalcy paving way for economic recovery, the Hotel Association of India (HAI) has geared up to host the 5th edition of its signature event, the HAI Hoteliers Conclave on 29th September 2022 at The LaLiT, New Delhi. Titled ‘Resurgence – Looking beyond Covid-19’, the daylong conference will be attended by hospitality industry leaders and experts from the globe for, owners and CEOs of hotel companies, policymakers, and professionals from across the country. The conclave will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister of Tourism, Government of India, Shri G Kishan Reddy.
The event will be led by Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, President, HAI and Managing Director & CEO, IHCL, and Mr. KB Kachru, Vice President, HAI and Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor (South Asia), Radisson Hotel Group. In addition to delivering a keynote address, Shri Arvind Singh, Secretary (Tourism), Government of India will interact with industry leaders including Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Managing Director, Bharat Hotels Limited, Ms. Priya Paul, Chairperson, Apeejay Surendra Hotels, Mr. Patu Keswani, Chairman and Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels India and Ms. Ranju Alex, Vice President-South Asia, Marriot Hotels India.
Mr. Rohit Khosla, Conclave Convenor and Executive Vice President – Operations, North and West India, IHCL said, “The program has been designed to bring key decision-makers in the hospitality industry on one platform to share lessons learnt and analyse challenges and opportunities in the journey ahead and chart out a progressive growth path for the industry.”
Mr. MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General, Hotel Association of India said, “There is no doubt that the sector will play a key role in the post-pandemic economic recovery of the nation and the world. Tourism and hospitality have historically been a major engine of growth. For FY2019, the sector contributed nearly 10% to India’s GDP, employed nearly 43million people (~8.2% of the total employment) and provided livelihood to around 160million people. During the pandemic, the industry showed remarkable resilience in the face of great odds. The Conclave gives an opportunity to pause, reboot, reimagine and reset as we go forward and is significant as it takes place in the backdrop of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and 25-year celebration of HAI”.
Mr. Jesper Palmqvist, Area Director – Asia Pacific, STR will deliver his keynote at the session titled ‘Taking Stock and the Road Ahead’, which will be followed by panel discussion and Q&A; the session titled Industry Debt – Future Restructuring will be moderated by Mr. Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. Conclave panellists have been drawn from various domains including finance, data analytics, ESG and hotel operations. The conclave will also provide partner companies and solution providers an opportunity to network closely with decision-makers in the Indian Hotel Industry. Mr. Rupak Gupta, Managing Director, U.P. Hotels Ltd. will be engaging with partners in an exclusive session curated for them.
Mr. Rohit Ramesh, Managing Director & Partner, Boston Consulting Group will deliver his keynote address virtually, talking on the biggest transformation witnessed by the industry in his plenary session titled Digital Transformation & The Way Forward.
Operational heads from IHCL, ITC, Radisson, and Chalet hotels will share their experiences and learnings from the pandemic. Experts have been drawn from TFCI, Kotak, and Hotelivate amongst other organizations.
Established in 1996, with the Oberoi Group, The Taj Group, ITC Hotels, Leela Hotels, Bharat Hotels, and Park Hotels as founder members, HAI has been highlighting industry issues. It has constantly striven to enable favorable policy interventions not just with the Central Govt. but across States. HAI has played an instrumental role in some key policy announcements and worked closely with other Industry bodies including CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, FAITH, WTTCII, and others.
