Sydney Summit

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AHICE Summit | Sydney

Friday 31 July 2026

Hilton Sydney, New South Wales

The Asia Pacific Hotel Industry Conference & Exhibition (AHICE), hosted by HM and Wayfarer magazines, is set to make its return to New South Wales on July 31, 2026, with the Sydney Hotel Summit being held at the luxurious Hilton Sydney.

The event will be attended by Sydney, NSW and Australia’s leading hotel owners, operators, consultants and suppliers.

Our program for the 2025 launch event included evocative, educational and insightful keynote speakers, Q&As and panel sessions featuring more than 25 key speakers from across Sydney, New South Wales and globally.

The launch of AHICE in Sydney follows the success of our global events in Australia (Adelaide and Perth), the United States (Hawaii and Los Angeles), Japan, Singapore, the Maldives, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Fiji, with more than 4,500 people attending what’s become the leading hotel industry event series across the Asia-Pacific region.

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2025 AHICE SUMMIT SYDNEY HIGHLIGHTS

2025 AHICE SYDNEY GALLERY

2026 PROGRAM OVERVIEW

1:00pm-1:50pm - REGISTRATION, coffee, tea and canapés.

1:50pm-1:55pm - WELCOME TO THE 2026 SYDNEY HOTEL SUMMIT BY AHICE

by emcee WILLIAM DE BEAUREPAIRE, CEO & Vigneron, De Beaurepaire Wines, and JAMES WILKINSON, Group President, AHICE Global Conferences and Editor-In-Chief, HM and Wayfarer magazines.

1:55pm-2:05pm: KEYNOTE: THE SYDNEY DATA OUTLOOK

Current trends from the team at STR.

Speaker:
• PAUL HAMMOND, Business Development Manager, Pacific at STR, a CoStar Group company

2:05pm-2:25pm: PANEL SESSION: TOURISM OUTLOOK

Key inbound markets, tourism and aviation expectations for Sydney and New South Wales.

Hosted by:
• RODNEY HARREX, Chief Executive Officer, 1834 Hotels
Panelists:
• ANDREW McEVOY, Chairman, Luxury Escapes
• MATT TALBOT, General Manager, Swissotel Sydney
• NICK WRIGHT, Director – Commercial & Brand Partners, Ovolo Hotels
• NORMAN ARUNDEL, Director of Hotels and Resorts, EVT Hotels & Resorts
• VÉRONIQUE DOMIN-REID, Head of Commercial, Australasia & Pacific, IHG Hotels & Resorts

2:25pm-2:45pm: PANEL SESSION: INTERIOR DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE TRENDS.

Leading designers and hoteliers look at key trends at present.

Presented by:

Hosted by:
• JULIET ASHWORTH, Creative Director/Owner, CHADA
Panelists:
• ANGELA BIDDLE, Principal, FK
• AUDREY DE FILIPPIS, Associate Director – Hotel & Hospitality, Athenablue
• CHRIS GRINHAM, Director, H&E Architects
• JULIE OCKERBY, Director, Client Relationships & Design Strategy, WMK Architecture
• MIKE WATSON, Head of Design, DEZIGN

2:45pm-3:05pm: PANEL SESSION: NEW DEVELOPMENTS & HOT PROJECTS.

Hot hotels to recently debut and top projects coming to Sydney and New South Wales by leading executives.

Hosted by:
• RODGER POWELL, Managing Director, THSA – Hotel Advisors
Panelists:
• BRETT FORER, Chief Development Officer – Asia Pacific, EVT
• CRAIG HOOLEY, Chief Operating Officer, Minor Hotels
• JOHN SUTCLIFFE, Director of Development, TFE Hotels
• RAPHAEL ANTONINI, Chief Development Officer, Salter Brothers Hospitality
• TUSHAR RANIGA, Regional Director, Development – Australasia, Hilton

3:05pm-3:25pm: PANEL SESSION: THE HOTELIERS’ OUTLOOK.

Expectations for 2026 and beyond in Sydney and New South Wales by leading Hoteliers.

Hosted by:
• JENNIFER DAVEY, Director, Horwath HTL
Panelists:
• LACHLAN HOSWELL, Managing Director, Business Unit Australasia, Radisson Hotel Group
• NATHAN COX, Vice President – Operations, Accor
• SCOTT BOYES, Chief Executive Officer, Trilogy Hotels
• TITUS ROSIER, General Manager, W Sydney

3:25pm-3:45pm: PANEL SESSION: THIRD PARTY GROWTH OUTLOOK.

Expectations for 2026 and beyond in Sydney and New South Wales by leading third-party operators.

Hosted by:
• ROBERT WILLIAMS, Head of Hotels & Hospitality Asia Pacific, Watson Farley & Williams
Panelists:
• GRANT ALCHIN, Chief Operating Officer, Trilogy Hotels
• MATT HOLMES, Vice President of Development, South East Asia & Pacific Rim, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
• RUWANI WEERASINGHE, Director of Asset Management & Acquisition, La Vie Hotels
• SHAUN ORMSBY, Vice President of Growth, 1834 Hotels
• THOMAS JOHN, Vice President Strategy and Development, Panache Hotel Group

3:45pm-4:05pm: HYDRATION BREAK: Tea, whiskey and wine.

Time for a quick tipple and back to the sessions.

Presented by:

4:05pm-4:20pm: KEYNOTE Q&A: TALKING PROPERTY, SPORTS and HOSPITALITY.

A former Wallaby takes to the stage to talk about sport, hospitality and more.

Hosted by:
• JAMES WILKINSON, Group President, AHICE Global Conferences and Editor-In-Chief, HM and Wayfarer magazines
Panelists:
• CAMERON SHEPHERD, National Partnerships Manager, Facilitate Corp

4:20pm-4:40pm: PANEL SESSION: FOOD & BEVERAGE TRENDS

Top trends in restaurants and bars across New South Wales.

Hosted by:
• WILLIAM DE BEAUREPAIRE, CEO & Vigneron, De Beaurepaire Wines
Panelists:
• HAMISH NEALE, Executive Chef, Hilton Sydney
• JAMES WICKS, owner/operator, Sunday Co
• KRISTY BLOOMFIELD, Chief Executive Officer, The Ben Buckler
• LIANA PROUZOS, Account Manager NSW/ACT, Dilmah Tea
• SAM TOSLAND, F&B Manager, PARKROYAL Parramatta

4:40pm-4:45pm: PRESENTATION: THE AUDIO & VISUAL RULES.

Looking at some of the top audio-visual trends at present with KATHERINE PFAHL, Senior Director, Strategic Commercial Partnerships Asia Pacific, Encore.

4:45pm-5:05pm: PANEL SESSION: WHAT’S HOT IN TECHNOLOGY.

Essential technology trends you need to know from leading executives.

Presented by:

Hosted by:
• TED HORNER, Managing Director, E Horner & Associates
Panelists:
• CRAIG DENNINGTON, Director of Sales – Australia / New Zealand / Pacific, Agilysys
• DAVID THOMPSON, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, MyMA.AI
• ELOISE RANKIN, Head of Sales and Customer Success, Hub OS
• MICHAEL BONGIOVANNI, Enterprise Sales Director, Cendyn
• SHELLIA CHANG, Sales Director, ANZ & Pacific, Infor

5:05pm-5:15pm: HOTELIER Q&A: THE NEW WALDORF COMETH.

A dive into what to expect at Sydney’s newest luxury hotel.

Hosted by:
• JAMES WILKINSON, Group President, AHICE Global Conferences and Editor-In-Chief, HM and Wayfarer magazines
Speaker:
• MARLENE POYNDER, General Manager, Waldorf Astoria Sydney

5:15pm-5:35pm: PANEL SESSION: SYDNEY INVESTMENT & PROPERTY OUTLOOK.

Expectations for 2026 and beyond in Sydney and New South Wales by leading executives.

Speaker:
• LUCIA GRAMBALOVA, Chief Investment Officer, Head of Asset Management, Hotel Capital Partners
Panelists:
• ANDREW LANGSFORD, Executive Vice President, Hotels & Hospitality Group, JLL
• JIP VAN DRIEST, Founder, House of Places
• MICHAEL SIMPSON, Managing Director Capital Markets, Hotels, CBRE
• NICHOLAS LOWER, Co-Head, Aus & NZ Hotels & Hospitality, Hotels, Savills Australia
• Speaker to be revealed

5:35pm-7:45pm: NETWORKING: ROCK AND ROLL DRINKS

Award-winning wines from De Beaurepaire in Rylstone, drams and cocktails by Ben Buckler whiskey and canapes from the Hilton Sydney team, alongside live rock from Sydney artists.

Presented by:

7:45pm-onwards: NETWORKING: AHICE 'AFTER DARK’.

Networking continues at Zeta Bar (delegates only and pay as you go).

*Program is subject to change

IMPORTANT: THE AHICE HOUSE RULES

A note from the organisers: Due to a number of unofficial invite-only events taking place during conferences in recent years, we would ask that businesses and individuals please do not host any events during the above times as a courtesy to other sponsors of AHICE Sydney.

We all know that without sponsors, events like this cannot happen and we ask that our request is respected. If unapproved events do take place during the official times, the organisers and representatives of those companies will not be able to attend any AHICE sessions and are at the risk of passes being revoked.

We are also requesting that supplier and adviser attendees that aren’t sponsors of the event do not canvas for business with sales materials and documents at AHICE Sydney events. Those that do will be at the risk of passes being revoked.