The lunch delivered the perfect finale for what has been a fantastic year of events for Arena.  The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Knightsbridge, provided the luxurious setting and sensational cuisine for the highly-anticipated event, over 220 senior professionals from across the industry created genuine, quality networking opportunities, and Simon Vincent delivered the eagerly awaited after-lunch speech.

 Since joining the global super brand, Simon has seen significant change within the company – namely the reintegration of Hilton International and Hilton Hotels Corporation in the US.  This transformation culminated in 2009 with a change in corporate identity from Hilton Hotels Corporation to Hilton Worldwide, creating a stronger, more efficient, globally aligned organisation.

At the end of what has been a challenging year for the entire hospitality industry, the impact of the economic crisis on Hilton Worldwide had to be addressed.  Interestingly, Simon spoke of a polarisation in markets across Europe, with North and West Europe proving more resilient that the Southern and Eastern regions.  Similarly, within the UK, the difference between London and the provinces has been striking, particularly in the past five months when business in London has been quite phenomenal.

Overall, it appears that despite the challenging conditions Hilton Worldwide has faired well in 2009,  thanks to activity such as aggressive sales promotions and the strength of the brand.  “In times of difficulty it is the strong brands that tend to prosper.”  Indeed, 330 hotels opened globally and the pipeline is just as healthy – in Europe alone, a further 57 ‘real deals’ have been signed, have financing agreed or are under construction.

It was clear that Simon also values the importance of the people in the company’s success, describing the Hilton employees as the life blood of the business.  Believing that staff and their attention to detail makes all the difference, he emphasised the importance of developing talent internally within the organisation and externally in the wider industry.

Simon’s outlook for 2010 is a cautious one and he believes that the first half of the year will be tough. This view is attributed to factors including the uncertainty of a general election and concerns of inflationary pressures such as rising energy costs and rumours of food price inflation.  However, he was keen to add the caveat that due to the new leaner, fitter, faster and aligned structure of Hilton Worldwide, with a strong portfolio of brands, this cautious picture is laced with optimism and opportunity.