HOW FESTIVAL 2021
See you soon!
The HOW / Hotel Operations Weekend / Festival is the only conference on hotel operations in Europe. Each year, it brings together many international and regional experts from the hotel and related industries to discuss trends in hotel operations with participants.
HOW Festival structure:
The first part of the Festival consists of panel discussions, interviews, and presentations intended for all participants, while in the second part of the Festival the program takes place in two parallel halls and the conference topics are divided into hotel departments: Food and Beverage, Sales and Marketing, Reception, Tech department, Housekeeping, Supply, Wellness.
HOW Festival main goals are:
- to present global trends in hotel operations
- to present examples of good practice
- help our participants to improve and adapt their business to the new situation
- facilitate the implementation of new products and services
- gather tourism and hotel middle management representatives from the entire region
ABOUT US
In numbers!
The HOW Festival has been held since 2017 and gathers more than 600 participants every year.
In the last 4 years, the HOW Festival has gathered:
- More than 1600 participants in 3 live editions (2017 – 2019)
- 600 participants in 2 online editions in 2020
- 136 partners and sponsors
- 49 media sponsors
And more than 70-panel discussions, workshops, interviews, and presentations were held
Hotel Directors
Assistant Hotel Directors
Directors / Managers of Hotel Operations
Sales / Marketing Directors / Managers
Human Resources Directors / Managers
Directors / Heads of Household Departments
Wellness Directors / Managers
WHO ARE HOW FESTIVAL PARTICIPANTS?
Who joined us so far?
Directors / Managers of Food and Beverages
Reception Directors / Managers
Directors / Heads of Technical Service
Directors / Bar Managers
Controlling Directors / Managers
Procurement Directors / Managers
Directors / Heads of MICE
HOW Festival 2021 speakers
Great guests on HOW 2021
If you would like to become a speaker at HOW Festival, please fill in the following form.
HOW FESTIVAL 2021 PROGRAM
DAY 1 – Thursday, 11th November 2021.
10:30 – 12:00
HOW networking in sponsors’ area
12:00 – 12:10
Opening
12:10 – 12:30
Global trends in hotel operations
- MARTIN YKEMA, Chief Operating Officer, Vienna House
Moderator: MARINA FRANOLIĆ, Managing Director Central and Eastern Europe, Bench Events
12:30 – 13:05
CEO discussion: What regional leaders think hotel operations will look like in the future
- ZRINKA BOKULIĆ, CEO, Aminess hotels and campsites
- JOSIPA JUTT FERLAN, CEO, Zagreb city Hotels
- DAVID TAYLOR, CEO & President of the Management Board, Adriatic Luxury Hotels
Moderator: RUŽICA HERCEG, Senior Partner, Hotel & Destination Consulting
13:05 – 13:40
How to reach maximum efficiency and ensure the smooth running of all hotel departments, especially in COVID times?
- DIANA LUKIĆ GRANDOV, Room Division Manager, Valamar
- MILAN SAJOVIC, General Manager, Hit Alpinea Kranjska Gora
- LIUTAURAS VAITKEVICIUS, Managing Director, Zetter Hotel Group
Moderator: LUKA BERGER, Founder & CEO, Flexkeeping
13:40 – 15:15
Lunch break
15:15 – 15:50
What does the data tell us about travellers’ booking behaviour, and will hotels need to continue to manage the unevenness of last-minute bookings and cancellations?
- BOJANA BENAZIĆ, Revenue Manager, Plava laguna
- DAMIANO ZENNARO, Principal Industry Consultant, Global Consulting Services, IDeaS
Moderator: IVAN GAŠPERT, CCO, Zagreb City Hotels
15:50 – 16:20
Quick wins in hotel operation sustainability
- GEORGE TZIALLAS, Regional Director, World Travel & Tourism Council
- IGOR NEKIĆ, General Manager, Terme Sveti Martin
- ALEX VAN DEN AKER, Customer Marketing Activation Manager, Essity
Moderator: JONATHON DOMINIC SPADA, Owner, SAYHELLO Creative
16:20 – 16:35
Talent Development
- KATRIN MELLE, Regional Vice President Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Talent, Hyatt International
Moderator: GORDANA KOLENKO, Director, BHV CONSULTING
16:35 – 16:50
Break
16:50 – 18:15
Meeting at HALL A: Teambuilding
20:00 – 24:00
Dinner & Networking
DAY 2 – Friday, 12th November 2021.
09:00 – 10:00
Fireside chat with Dalibor Šumiga
- DALIBOR ŠUMIGA, Director, Promosapiens
Moderator: IVAN RUDOLF GAJIĆ, Director of Sales and Marketing, Villa Dubrovnik, member of Stories
10:00 – 10:20
Brand development from scratch and the process of brand loyalty
- DINA SOLIMAN – PEDERSEN, Founder, Brandfull
Moderator: MARINA FRANOLIĆ, Managing Director Central and Eastern Europe, Bench Events
10:20 – 10:35
Online interview with Malgorzata Klimek – Franchise Operations
- MAŁGORZATA KALINOWSKA-KLIMEK, Vice President Franchise Operations Easter Europe, Accor
10:35 – 11:00
Coffee break
11:00 – 11:35
HALL A: Technology’s role in reshaping hotel operations
- FIORELA MOROŽIN, Director of Hotel Operations, Liburnia Riviera Hoteli
- SANJA MIHALJEVIĆ, Customer Success Management, Hoteza
- AARON UAZEUA, Head of Sales and Marketing, Lipica Stud Farm
Moderator: LIUTAURAS VAITKEVICIUS, Managing Director, Zetter Hotel Group
HALL B: The future of hotel restaurants & bars- is the battle with city (local) restaurants & bars lost?
- DUŠKO BOŽIĆ, General Manager, InterContinental Ljubljana
- TOMISLAV ČEH, Director & Head of Adriatic Sea Region, PKF hospitality group
- ELJESA SACIRI, Hotel Manager, The Zetter Hotel Group
Moderator: SANDI KOVAČEVIĆ, General Manager, Hotel CUBO
11:40 – 12:00
HALL A: Presentation: Trends in the wellness industry
- YVONNE TESCH, Director Quality, People Development & Operational Excellence, Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences
HALL B: Presentation: Supply: Quality costs
- EDA RIBARIĆ-ČUČKOVIĆ, Vice-Dean for International Cooperation, Polytechnic of Rijeka
12:05 – 12:40
HALL A: “Revenue management” in food and beverage, how to implement dynamic pricing in our restaurants?
- MARIO MIHELJ, Head Chef, El Toro & El Toro Street Food
- MILAN SAJOVIC, General Manager, Hit Alpinea Kranjska Gora
Moderator: TOMISLAV ČEH, Director & Head of Adriatic Sea Region, PKF hospitality GmbH
HALL B: Hotel business improvements through digitalization and energy optimization
- VALTER BEAKOVIĆ, CEO, Agenor Automatika
- OLIVER FATORIĆ, Technical Support Manager, Maistra
Moderator: KEMAL LOJO, Business Development Manager for Adriatic & Black Sea region, Danfoss
12:45 – 13:20
HALL A: How to use guest reviews to improve the performance of hotel operations?
- ELENA LJILJANIĆ, Senior PR & Marketing Manager, Regent Porto Montenegro
- MILORAD JANKOVIĆ, General Manager, Hotel Gorski & Spa
Moderator: NIKOLINA LOKMER
HALL B: PMS as a center of hotel IT systems
- ANAMARIJA FRIGANOVIĆ GOIĆ, Online Sales Manager, Hotel Ola
- MATEJ CVIKL, Manager, MC Sistemi, Protel Hotel Software
- DIANA KERIĆ, Front Office Manager, Hotel Pinija
- SASA VRANJES, Owner and Director, Boka Hotel
Moderator: SERGIO FOTI, Director, Hoteliers Inspiration
13:20 – 13:30
Closing + prize draw winner announcement
13:30 – 14:30
Lunch
*the program and schedule can still be changed
Registrations
HOW Festival 2021 registrations are closed.
Advisory board
HOW 2021 PARTNERS & SPONSORS
PATRON
GENERAL SPONSORS
SPONSORS
PARTNER
MEDIA PATRONS
