Last week, John T. Campo and Historian Shelby L. Shankle attended the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles, California. Aptly titled, “On The Edge of Our Seats!,” the conference took place from January 27th through January 29th at the JW Marriott & Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live. As a firm specializing in Architecture, Interior Design, and Historic Tax Credit Consulting, we recognized many familiar faces and clients through out the networking events, panels, and lectures. One of ALIS’s greatest accomplishment is having representation across the hotel and lodging industry participate and administer such thorough and thought-provoking discussions to its audiences. During the course of this three-day event, we had the opportunity to network with one another, reconnect with former clients, and meet with potential ones while learning about the latest industry innovations.
The conference began on Monday morning with the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Forward at ALIS: Women’s Leadership Forum. The panel was moderated by Andrea Foster (SVP Development, Marcus Hotels & Resorts), and the panelists included Mary Beth Cutshall (EVP & Chief Development Officer, HVMG), Krissy Gathright (Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Apple Hospitality REIT), Rachel Humphrey (COO, AAHOA), Leeny Oberg (EVP & CFO, Marriott International), and Talene Staab (Global Head, Tru, Hilton). These inspiring leaders discussed current issues that have impacted women’s development within the workforce and emphasized personal experiences to underline successes and failures thus far.
The afternoon plenary sessions began with a warm welcome by Jeff Higley (President, The BHN Group) and opening remarks by Chip Rogers (President & CEO, AHLA). Moderator, Simon Hobbs (LPL Financial Advisor, California Financial Partners), discussed “The Economist Outlook - How Close To The Edge Are We?” with Richard Barkham (Chief Global Economist/Head of Research, CBRE) and Ryan Severino (Chief Economist, JLL) as they reflected on the final quarter of 2019 and anticipated the projections of 2020 in reference to current events and their effects on the hotel and lodging industry. Next, Brian Kelly (Founder/CEO of The Points Guy) introduced the topic of “Loyalty Pointers: What Frequent Guests Want From Hotel Owners.” Kelly emphasized his own personal experiences to make surface-level connections with how and who benefits from loyalty programs. Following his introductory lecture, Kelly participated in a larger panel titled, “Loyalty + Experience = Business Success in Today’s Economy,” moderated by Maki Bara (President/Co-founder, The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC) and included additional panelists, Bridget Blaise-Shamai (VP, Customer Loyalty and Insights, American Airlines), and David Flueck (SVP, Global Loyalty, Marriott International). Each panelist brought new perspective to the industries that make up the hotel and lodging industry across the board. The consensus on loyalty certainly resonated with attendees: “Loyal members stay more, pay more, and cost less.”
Day 2 of the ALIS Conference began with “The Numbers - What to Expect in 2020 and Beyond?,” moderated by Ravi Patel (President, Hawkeye Hotels), with panelists Cindy Estis Green (CEO and Co-founder, Kalibri Labs), Amanda Hite (President, STR), and Mark Woodworth (Sr. Managing Director, CBRE Hotels Research). The morning and afternoon panels each presented half of the six plenary sessions focused on the “Boardroom Outlook” for topics such as travel, innovation and distribution, branding evolution, assets, people, and branding experiences. In between those panels, there were eighteen additional breakout sessions that emphasized varying topic-tracks, including acquisitions, segments and brands, development, and ownership tracks.
The final day of the ALIS Conference began with announcements of the ALIS Awards, followed by the Money Morning breakout sessions. Topics included Private Equity (US$50 & Under), Lenders (Development), REITs, Private Equity (Over US$50M), Lenders (Acquisitions), and Emerging Development Strategies. Campo Architects attended both the Lenders (Development) and Emerging Development Strategies panels to hear from familiar faces and clients on the current state of development affairs. The Lenders (Development) panel was moderated by Bradley G. Langner (Managing Director, Piper Jaffray & Co.), and included Keegan Bisch (Stonehill Strategic Capital), Rickman Davis (VP, Head of Hotels, Live Oak Bank), Russell Munn (Managing Director, Broadshore Capital Partners), and Dilip Petigara (CEO, Access Point Financial). The Emerging Development Strategies panel was moderated by Rick S. Kirkbride (Partner, Paul Hastings LLP), and included panelists Billy L. Brown (Chairman/CEO, LodgeCap Inc.), Ben Brunt (Principal/Executive VP, Noble Investment Group), and Grant Sabroff (Sr. VP of Business Development, Concord Hospitality).
Over the past 35 years, Campo Architects has designed over 200 hotels in 26 states. Opportunities such as the ALIS Conference have been vital to Campo Architects’ success in establishing and maintaining business relationships amidst many of the hotel and lodging industry’s finest professionals. The importance of creating and nurturing professional relationships in person was highlighted through out the conference by professionals across the industry. Networking and listening to powerful panels are only a small part of the true opportunity that attending a conference like ALIS provides. We eagerly anticipate what 2020 will bring and are already looking forward ALIS 2021!