Taktikon Goes To

Lounge Summit

Gothia Towers, Gothenburg, 4th April 2019

By Sara Westin-James & Eva-Lotta Mannfors on 4th April 2019

Lounge Summit is an event directed to the hospitality industry, with special focus on hotels and conference centres. Taktikon’s CEO Annemarie Gubanski was invited to be part of a panel discussion covering Distribution & its Challenges, along with Revenue Assistant Eva-Lotta Mannfors. This is her impression and evaluation of the day:

What was the best things about the day?

The opportunity to broaden your knowledge and to listen to speakers with expertise in different areas than my own.

One of the topics I was most unknown to was how architects think around new hotel developments. Stefan Tjäder, architect at Krook och Tjäder, told an animated story about the three things that, if planned for at the start, will generate more revenue in the end. It’s involves the staffing, housekeeping, restaurant and the guest of course. They mentioned how a smartly designed room can save money by making housekeeping more time-effective. I found it interesting to see images of bad examples of a newly built hotel which I stayed at the other week. A stay that, from a guest’s perspective, was very pleasant!

There were many inspiring speakers on stage during the day. Did anyone choose a topic that feels especially important right now?

There is much focus on positivity and personal meetings in the hospitality industry. However, the Key Note Speaker Alan Orlob, VP Global Safety and Security at Marriott International told us about terrorist attacks in hotels. He shared tips about implementation of securit measures to increase the safety. This subject was also brought up in one of the panel debates, which shows that this is a high priority topic worth discussing.

Will you use any of the insights from the day in your own work? If so, which?

“Value is an emotional experience”. Malcolm Larri from Brave Personal Development gave us many interesting insights to think about. When we check out from a hotel, we have made a purchase but we don’t receive a physical product to bring with us home. What we take with us is the feeling the experience left behind.

Describe Lounge Summit in three words:

Inspiration, innovation and lovely encounters.