June is proving to be an active month for HOSPA Events. We have three separate meetings. The first on June 10th is covering the very important topic of Keeping Guest Data Secure at The Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel. We will be looking at both the cyber threat and also the on-going attention necessary to stay ahead of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which have now been in effect for a year. In many cases hotels and related businesses took the opportunity to clear out old and out-of-date data and implement new procedures. But the key is to maintain the urgency that was keeping people awake in the run-up to May 25th, 2018. And the cyber threat is a constant worry for IT Directors across all industries, the world over. Hotels are no exception - and arguably a bigger target than other businesses.
Our second meeting is our always popular and well attended annual breakfast meeting with BDO in its office at 55 Baker Street, London. BDO never fails to deliver concise, clear, yet detailed explanations of current hot financial topics. A great number of HOSPA members are qualified accountants and the BDO presentations always strike the right chord to satisfy their desire for full facts and implications whilst not baffling the other hoteliers in the audience. If you can attend on 13th June, I would recommend it.
Our third event is in Scotland on June 26th. HOSPA sponsors Criton are hosting a networking event at the new Kimpton Hotel in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. It promises to be an evening full of fun and networking. This is a must-attend event for our Scottish members and those travelling to the area at the end of June. All of these events promise to be well attended and full of great content. Be sure not to miss out - reserve your place now by emailing us at HOSPA@HOSPA.org
This year HOSPA is 50 years old. We will be celebrating this milestone around HOSPACE, which as you know, is being held on November 28th at The Royal Lancaster Hotel. It’s fantastic that one of our key founders - Howard Field - is still closely involved with HOSPA and a great support for me. I know I am not alone in valuing Howard’s wise words, his encouragement and in making the most of his industry knowledge. Howard is still very active in hospitality, not least as a non-exec director at Firmdale Hotels and on the board of trustees at The Savoy Educational Trust. We all owe him and his co-conspirators in 1969 a huge debt. Thank you, Howard.
We have very exciting developments on the programme at HOSPACE - watch this space for full details, but I can confidently say that we will be hosting an industry ‘first’ during the day this year.
As I write, I am listening to the results of the European elections. Whilst having always had an interest in politics, I am in no doubt that these European elections have held my attention considerably more than ever before. The results appear to prove we continue to be a divided country when it comes to our relationship with Europe. The uncertainty is certainly causing issues in itself. I don’t envy anyone trying to lead the country through this. On the positive side, at least we can expect to have a clearer picture before HOSPACE this year.
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