Running and organizing conferences is not as easy as before. Today, with sheer number of events and the advent of Artificial Intelligence – the quality of events continues to improve for many of these events. Yet there is a sense of boredom, disappointment and a lot of repetitiveness in events. So, the question is how do you break out of this mould. How do you get your customers or delegates to come back year after year? As someone who has now hosted nearly 50 of these events globally, the answers lie in the planning stage. A well-planned event can be made more exciting and needs to become experiential.
The experiential part can come from the choice of location – example: Bali or Goa as a location for an event. Will people come? Will it be family oriented or would it still be strictly business? Does the location have direct flights from the source markets? If it’s a leisure location, will we lose delegates to other activities, etc, etc. If you are at a beach location, do you need to have a theme party near a beach. If it’s business location, how do you balance the conference with something that will keep everyone happy till the end? Some organizers prefer to do that with an award night. Some may pick other crazy ideas. In my some, 20 years of doing this, I have done a few strange experiences but highly successful ones:
- A trip to the Bali Zoo
- Owner’s exclusive meets
- Bar Hopping on the Bund in Shanghai
- Bar Hopping in Bangalore (yes, we walked it)
- Beach club in Bali
- China House after party at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai
- Culinary carnival in Bengaluru
- An amazing Race thru the streets of Delhi
- A boat cruise on the canal and ocean around Dubai
With our 20th edition of HICSA coming ahead, we have planned 5-6 difference experiences.
- Owners’ Only Workshop
- Fly Away with Qantas Airways
- Breakfast Club
- Roasted & Toasted
- “SPIRIT”UAL Experience
- After-Hours
Going into a bit of detail about each, the “Owners’-Only Workshop” at HICSA 2025 will be an exclusive, closed-door gathering designed for hotel owners, investors, and key stakeholders. This has typically been the pre cursor to the conference and been extremely well received. We have a high percentage of owners in attendance and with a carefully curated guest list, this forum encourages meaningful networking, idea exchange, and collaboration among the region’s most influential hospitality leaders.
The “Fly Away” with Qantas Airlines will be an exciting experience which will allow attending delegates to a thrilling opportunity to win 2 round-trip Economy Class flights or 1 round-trip Business Class flight with Qantas Airways. The winners will be selected at random by the Qantas Airways team and announced on the morning of 10th April, right before the program kicks off.
We are excited to introduce an invitation-only “Breakfast Club” as part of the conference, designed exclusively for select industry leaders and key decision-makers to meet with our highlighted partner design firms. This experience aims at providing a unique opportunity to engage in productive business discussions, share insights, and network with fellow peers in a relaxed, private setting before the day’s sessions begin.
The 20th edition needed something different so a session like no other—Roasted & Toasted aims to bring a light-hearted take on the hospitality industry. Expect witty banter, sharp humour, and an entertaining roast of industry quirks, personalities, and trends!
And then this one is not what it sounds like! The “SPIRIT”ual Experience will be an evening dedicated to the finer things in life. A curated tasting journey featuring premium spirits and expertly crafted cocktails aimed at encouraging attendees to unwind and indulge.
And then when the conference ends, the fun and networking still continues! “After-Hours” at the Fairmont Mumbai will offer an exclusive, laid-back setting to connect with industry leaders over drinks, music, engaging conversations. With that, we plan to close the curtains on the 20th edition of HICSA.
All in all, much to look forward to. Happy HICSA hunting, as they say!