Staycation Nation - Cultivating home-grown tourism

With consumer hesitation and airlines in turmoil over international travel, now is the perfect time for home-grown tourism to thrive. How can you reach a new market of jetsetters? And what can you do to keep them coming back even after the pandemic? In this session, our panel will explore the opportunities that the crisis offers independent hoteliers.

Timings:  10:00 AM - 10:45 AM (GMT) | 11:00AM - 11:45 AM (CEST)

Speakers:
Sander Allegro, Owner, Allegro INN ovations Hospitality Consultancy and Ambassador of the Independent Hotel Show Amsterdam
Vincent van Dijk, Founder,  Amsterdam Hotel Night Festival and Partner of HBMEO
Will Ashworth, CEO, Watergate Bay Hotel, the Another Place hotel collection and Beach Retreats

Hospitality & Innovation are the two key themes in Sander Allegro’s professional career which he spent in consultancy (Allegro INN ovations) and in education (Hotelschool The Hague).

As consultant on hospitality strategy & innovation, Sander carried out strategic assignments for leading (hospitality) corporations in The Netherlands and abroad.

Sander is managing director of The Netherlands’ most prestigious Fundraising Event, the AmsterdamDiner, serves on various committees and boards, is a regular keynote speaker and moderator at various events and is a columnist in the two leading Dutch trade magazines for the hospitality Industry.

Born and growing up in Cornwall, Will, has worked within the hospitality industry in Kenya, Switzerland and North America before returning to Cornwall in 2000 to take over the running of the family hotel at Watergate Bay. Under Will’s management, the hotel has been transformed from a traditional seasonal seaside hotel into a vibrant, sustainable year-round holiday destination. Will is also the co-founder of Fifteen Cornwall, Jamie Oliver’s restaurant and social enterprise next door at Watergate Bay.

Committed to extending his distinctive approach to hospitality, ‘active relaxation’, Will launched the Another Place collection of hotels in 2015 with the acquisition of Rampsbeck Country House Hotel in the Lake District. Completely renovated, with an additional 20 bedrooms and swimming pool, lake sports and a contemporary style, Another Place, The Lake opened in August 2017 and won the Independent Hotel Show award for ‘Outstanding New Hotel’. Will was also nominated for Independent Hotelier and Another Place, The Lake won Cumbria Tourism Large Hotel of the Year in 2019. More hotels in the collection are set to follow in the next few years.

Will is passionate about growing his business and tourism in Cornwall, Cumbria and beyond. He sits on Visit Cornwall CIC board and the Cornwall Airport board.