A record 250 participants and speakers from 31 countries attended the third annual International Hotel Conference, recently held at the Le Meridien Beach Plaza Hotel in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

"We completely sold out and will move the conference to larger facilities for next year," said Morris E. Lasky, conference chairman and president of Lodging Unlimited, Inc. 

The fourth annual International Conference will be held in Rome 11-13 October 2006 at the Hilton Cavalieri.  We already are working on next year's agenda and speakers."   

Lasky said two major themes emerged from the 2005 conference—a marked increase in interest in branded hotels in Europe, Africa and Asia, and the widespread availability of financing.

"We had more than 15 brands represented at the conference, and our participants were all quite actively engaged with them," Lasky added.  "Currently, about 80 percent of the hotels in Europe are unbranded.  Based on the activity at this year's conference, I foresee a significant shift in that mix over the next three to five years, as brands take a larger collective share of the market.  The hotel industry is rapidly becoming more global, and strong hotel brands give guests, no matter what their country of origin, a stronger sense of confidence when making reservations."

Conference organizers had to expand the number of Financing Forum roundtables due to the extraordinarily high interest.  "Based on conversations with lenders and developers, there is a great deal of financing available, for both large and small projects.  Branding played a very important role in discussions.  The global economy continues to expand, and the demand for quality hotel rooms world-wide is on the rise."

More than 90 speakers from 20 countries provided insights about the international hotel economy.  Speakers included such well-regarded industry leaders as Dieter Huckestein, chairman and CEO, Conrad Hotels; Wilke See-Tho, VP-Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Starwood; Paul McManus, president and CEO, The Leading Hotels of the World Ltd.; Roy Paul, SVP, Four Seasons; Christian Karaoglanian, chief development officer, Accor; Reas Kondraschow, SVP, Cendant; Kevin Klearney, executive vice president, international hotel development, Marriott International, Inc.; Robert Riley, CEO, Le Meridien Hotels; and Christof Winkelmann, first vice president, head of hotel finance, Aareal Bank AG. 

"The resort setting and casual atmosphere set the stage for everyone being approachable," said Mary Lou Koys, co-chairman of The International Hotel Conference.  "All of the think thanks were well attended and were a great source of lively discussion on a range of topics, from financing trends to emerging trends in all hotel segments."

The International Hotel Conference is the premier annual gathering of senior level hospitality executives, including owners, operators, brands, leading institutions, bankers, architects/designers, attorneys, brokers and other members of the hotel and related communities.

Additional information about the event, registration, sponsorships and related activities can be found at the event's Web site www.internationalhotelconference.com  or by contacting the conference organizer, Morris Lasky at mlasky@aol.com