Officials of the California Lodging Investment Conference released its updated slate of speakers, sponsor and exhibitor lists. Scheduled for March 1-2 at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., the two-day event is expected to draw several hundred attendees. CLIC is smaller boutique conference intended to maximize personal development and networking, with representatives from Red Roof, Choice Hotels International, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, G6 Hospitality, Sonesta International Hotels Corp., Best Western Hotels & Resorts, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Marriott International, as well as numerous hotel brokers, lenders, owners, management companies and other third-party hotel professionals.
“As we approach our sixth annual gathering, our list of speakers, sponsors and exhibitors continues to grow with ever more impressive names,” CLIC founder and President Craig Sullivan said in a statement. “We slightly augmented the program to include new panels and fresh faces to keep things lively. With this updated line-up, we further cement our position as the premier hospitality conference for California hotels, owners, operators and associated parties.”
The event will start with an opening night networking mixer, open for the first time to all registered attendees. The conference will begin with opening remarks by Sullivan followed by an outlook on the state of the industry by Bruce Ford, SVP at Lodging Econometrics. Three panels make up the bulk of the remainder of the day, focusing on hotel labor, F&B and transactions. The session concludes with a hotel development round table and the awarding of the 2023 Development Deal of the Year.
The current line-up includes:
- Hotel Labor, moderated by Steve Van, Prism Hotels & Resorts. Panelists are Scott Armin, A.J. Gallagher & Company; Jim Butler, JMBM; Kirsten Smiley, HVS; Bijal Patel, California Hotel & Lodging Association; Kyle Allison, GM, Reading Hospitality Management, managing partner HospitalityMD; and Pat Mitchell, Hogan Hospitality.
- Hotel Refuel: Up your F&B Game, moderated by Glenn Haussman – No Vacancy News. Panelists are Mark Crisci with Azul Hospitality Group; Jorge Luhan, consultant and restaurateur; Nima Fazeli, consultant for hotel development and F&B; and Tom Bergerson, partner with AO.
- Hotel Transactions Panel, moderated by Emmy Hise of CoStar. Panelists Keegan Bisch, Stonehill; Joseph Fan, Brighton Hospitality; Peter Steigleder, Fidelity Mortgage Lenders; Guy Maisnik, JMBM; Alan Reay, Atlas Hospitality; Jenny Redlin, Partner, ESI; and Ryan Huntsman, Chicago Title NCS - CA.