The theme of the latest in the series of seminars hosted by HVS together with legal expert Bird & Bird, publishing group EP Business in Hospitality and restructuring advisory firm AlixPartners was resetting the hotel balance sheet to be fit for the recovery, and fittingly was the first in the series to be held as a hybrid event, with some 60 participants gathering in person in central London, while an international audience watched and asked questions over zoom.

Graeme Smith, head of hospitality & leisure at AlixPartners, considered the support received by hotels from lenders during the pandemic itself and looked at the prospects for restructuring over the months ahead.

James Salford of Bird & Bird explored the future of travel itself, touching on the recovery in leisure travel driven by the Staycation trend, and the impact on business travel from the adoption of new technologies, and the consequences for lending and development finance.

These presentations were followed by a lively panel discussion from guests including Peter Anscomb of Edwardian Hotels, Louise Gillon from Bank Leumi, Tim Helliwell of Barclays Bank, Arron Taggart from Cheyne Capital and Jan-Willem Terlouw of the Westmont Group, moderated by Russell Kett, Chairman of HVS.

You can watch a full recording of the seminar below and download a copy of the presentations here.