Orlando – October 19, 2026 -- Xenia Hotels & Resorts President and COO Barry Bloom and Fort Hospitality President Keith Space will close INSPIRE 2026 on December 16 with a fireside chat on luxury hotel ownership, value and risk heading into 2027. The International Luxury Hotel Association (ILHA) announced the session along with several other additions to the program of its North American luxury hospitality conference, held December 15–16 at JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa.
Owners to address guest spending and delivery costs in closing session
The chat, titled "Owning Luxury in 2027: Value, Risk and What Comes Next," is the final conversation of the conference and closes the Encore Summit Stage program. JF Capital CEO Jonathan Falik moderates. Topics include what guests will pay for, where costs are pressuring margins, how owners underwrite new investment, and what they expect from operators and brands.
Falik framed the session around two owner questions: "what will the luxury guest pay for, and what will it cost to deliver it?"
Capital and development panels bring in Accor, Hilton, Mandarin Oriental and JLL
"Value Creation Roadmap: Where Smart Capital Is Moving in Luxury Hotels" features Lily Hu, EVP Business Strategy at Crescent Hotels & Resorts; Sonia Egyhazy, VP Luxury Hotel & Mixed-Use Development at Accor; and Kristina D'Amico, Vice President, Hotels Asset Management at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group. Carolina Lacerda, Executive Director, Transactions & Corporate Finance at EY-Parthenon, moderates.
"Building the Brand: Luxury Development in 2027" includes Shafi Syed, Global Head, Hotel Development and Acquisitions at Equinox Hotels; FeiFei Wang of Mandarin Oriental's feasibility and development team; and Rika Lisslo, VP Lifestyle & Residential Development U.S. & Canada at Hilton. Dr. Clay B. Dickinson, Managing Director at Horwath HTL and a professor at FIU, moderates.
Quiet Margins panel targets cost cuts that avoid eroding brand value
"Quiet Margins: Protecting Profit Without Touching Guest Experience" applies the discipline of quiet luxury to operations. The session separates what the best operators cut, automate or restructure from savings that quietly erode a brand.
Panelists are John C. Tolbert, Senior Vice President at BRE Hotels & Resorts; Zach Demuth, Head of Strategic Growth & Asset Management at Eight Form; Matthew Boettcher, Senior Vice President at Evolution Hospitality; and Susie Park, EVP, Global Hotel Asset Management at CBRE. Darrin Phillips, CEO and Founder of Top Shelf Project Management, moderates.
Branded residences session examines design identity for luxury brands
"Luxury Branded Residences & The Future of Design Identity" looks at how branded residences shape the way luxury brands define themselves through design. Speakers are Anna Masello, Marketing & Real Estate Branding Director at The One Atelier; Anne Billaz, CEO of Lagardere Active Enterprises; and Fernando De Nunez, CEO & Founder of Vertical Developments. John Lancet, Senior Managing Director and Practice Leader for the Southeast and Caribbean Regions at HVS, moderates.
Marriott and Club Med executives already on the agenda
The new sessions join a program that already includes a fireside chat with Tina Edmundson, President of Luxury at Marriott International, and a conversation with Carolyne Doyon, President and CEO of Club Med North America and Caribbean. Sessions on AI, wellness, culture and guest experience are also scheduled. Registration is open.