The 16th edition of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC), will take place in a brand new format over three days from 29 September – 01 October 2020.

AHIC will be ‘on the road’ for the three-day program as of September 29, broadcasting live from pop-up studios across hotels in Dubai with select audiences, shared simultaneously on a virtual platform with the AHIC online community worldwide.

During the three days, attendees will be able to create their personalized schedules, choosing the sessions and activities they would like to attend either virtually or on- site in Dubai.

Commenting on the new format of AHIC, Jonathan Worsley – Chairman of Bench Events and Founder of AHIC, said: “We have had to start from scratch and imagine what bringing the hotel investment industry together looks like in September 2020.

It’s a very different scenario to what we have done in the past as the industry has changed, our community’s needs have changed and the regulations governing events have changed. However, what remains constant and more pressing than ever, is the need for the industry to come together, connect, share information, challenges and solutions and be inspired. AHIC is an important opportunity for the industry to demonstrate its resilience and how it is evolving to bounce back stronger.”

The program will feature Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director, Twenty14 Holdings; Mark Willis, Chief Executive Officer, Accor Hotels Middle East & Africa; Jose Silva, Chief Executive, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts; Khalifa Bin Braik, Managing Director of Hotels, Majid Al Futtaim Properties (MAF); Sumathi Ramanathan, Global Destination Marketing Director, Expo 2020 Dubai; Rahul Chaudhary, CEO & MD, CG Corp Global and CG Hospitality Holdings; Henry Mason, Evangelist at Large, TrendWatching and many more over the three days.

Day one will comprise a briefing on ‘The Future of Hotel F&B’ hosted by Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts as well as a session hosted by JLL titled ‘Focus on Outward Opportunities for Investors’. Day two will see discussions on the macroeconomic outlook, investor sentiment, global and regional key performance indicators as well as pipeline, and how to tackle transformation through technology.

The final day will look at ‘Building Back Better’, with industry perspectives on thriving in the new normal, looking at how brands are connecting with their customers to get them travelling once again, complemented by various specialized discussions in virtual roundtables and breakout sessions.