WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, I’ll be attending the International Luxury Hotel Association’s Fast Forward 2020 Conference, picking up all sorts of luxury hotel and travel trends from industry leaders from companies such as Trump Hotel Collection and Marriott International’s Ritz-Carlton. That means you can expect some interesting stories in the coming days and weeks.
The conference is being held just outside of the city at the Gaylord National Harbor conference center.
If you’re going to be at the conference, let me know on Twitter or email! Or just stop by one of the two panel sessions I’ll be moderating.
Jumping off the recent special series I penned for HotelNewsNow.com called “Social Lobby with Barb DeLollis,” I’ll moderate the social media marketing panel with industry executives including Lisa Potts of Trump Hotel Collection and Allison Sitch of Ritz-Carlton. It should be an interesting discussion! (And, yes, I’ll be ask if and how the Trump organization takes advantage of having true Twitterati among its ranks. Ivanka Trump alone, for instance, has 1.6 million Twitter followers – and her dad @therealDonaldTrump has nearly 2.7 million.)
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Later, I’ll steer the conversation about how hoteliers are preparing for a growing number of international visitors as markets such as China and Brazil continue to produce more tourists and business travelers. Panelists include Celyta Jackson, the director of sales for the luxury Setai hotel in Miami Beach. Visitor volume from outside the USA in 2014 is expected to top 72 million, according U.S. Department of Commerce statistics.
If this is your kind of topic, I suggest following the hashtag #fastforward2020 for Tweets during the next two days.
Readers: Questions?
