Hotel booking agents, hotels and venues are set to debate the latest industry topics and trends at the HBAA Annual Forum 2011, September 8th–9th at the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel.

Visions for the future and how to prepare for the decade ahead in sales and leadership will form the umbrella of topics for discussion.

An impressive array of heavyweights in the accommodation, meetings and events sector will assess how the UK hospitality industry is progressing and outline opportunities for the industry through keynote speeches and question & answer sessions.

The title ‘Future Vision’ has been assigned to the two day event which will be opened by Juliet Price, HBAA Chairman. 

Day one features two great keynote speakers - Ian Gamse, director responsible for the Otus hotel brand database.

Based on statistical research he will reveal what lies in store for the hospitality industry over the next ten years and what the implications might be for both venues and HBAs.

Later Professor Beverley Alimo-Metcalf of Bradford University will address the audience to explain why models of leadership are changing direction and why the old notion of heroic leadership is dead. The keynote on day two is Reggie Aggarwal, chief executive of Cvent, who will speak about entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship and the future for the meetings industry. 

He will also share tips on how to grow a business through a recession.

In a packed programme of plenary sessions and workshops, over 50 speakers will lead discussions on a wide range of topics ranging from insurance policies, security at events, latest Apps for the event sector, the A-Z of hiring celebrities, how to recruit develop and retain talented people, to technology challenges and frustrations of distribution, content and pricing.

A number of respected experts from across the industry will be joining to take part in these discussions including; Zibrant’s managing director Fay Sharpe, Marc Danton of Marriott Hotels, Bingul Akaroglu, operations manager of Clifford Chance, Tom McInerney, director of progressive technology provider Etherlive, Andy Edwards managing director of Nine5three, Event Assured’s Brian Kirsch and Simon Cope of Generation for Growth.

Juliet Price, chair of the HBAA said: “The panellist line-up and list of topics being delivered this year will appeal to all industry sectors as well being relevant to our marketplace.

“We believe that the subjects tackled at the forum will have a direct impact on those attending, as they focus on issues being faced both now and in the future, making the 2011 HBAA Forum a real ‘must-attend’ event.”

The HBAA Forum will also be the backdrop for the association’s annual awards. The HBAA Awards recognise professionals who have excelled in their field and helped to provide a benchmark for best practice among the booking agents, hotels and venues.

Seven categories are presented: Training and Development, Promoting Excellence within the Industry, Best demonstration of CSR, Agency of the Year (Large, Medium and Small size) and Venue of the Year.

City.Mobi

Also in the United Kingdom today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Manchester.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Manchester.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.