As HICAP embarks on its 36th year, the conference is as vibrant, productive, and meaningful as ever. The 2025 program and its topics were developed with the help of the HICAP 2025 Program Planning Committee and Regional Advisors, representing leaders from the hotel and lodging industry, the investment community, and key advisors. The program featured over 30 sessions and panels led by about 150 industry leaders across all sectors of the hotel investment and tourism industries as they look ahead to the future and what evolution is on the horizon. Join us at HICAP, where Asia Pacific’s hotel investment leaders meet to get deals done.
2026 PROGRAM AGENDA
Tuesday, 20 October 2026
8:00am to 8:15pm
Continental Breakfast
Continuous Coffee & Tea
Quicklink
Tech Outlook
Tech Edit LIVE: 10 Trends in 10 Minutes – The Owners & Investors Brief
HICAP Tech Challenge – What’s Hot In Hotel Technology?
Hotel Investments 101 – From Acronyms to Zoning
Networking Lunch
HICAP Master Class: Asia Pacific Survey of hotel Sales Agreements & An Analysis of Trends
Plenary Session
Economic Outlook
The Numbers – Hotel Performance, Markets, & Outlook
Travel & Tourism Outlook
Lifetime Achievement Award
Views from the Boardroom – Round One
Investment Opportunities in Singapore
Breakout Sessions 01 to 04
Southeast Asia – Investment Opportunities & Challenges
Ownership: Rebrand or Stay Independent – Making the Right Choice
Development: The End of Easy Development – Building Hotels Profitably in a High-Cost Era
Acquisitions: Hospitality vs Real Estate – Is the Yield Premium Still There?
Gala Networking Reception hosted by Accor
Wednesday, 21 October 2026
8:00am to 7:00pm
Continental Breakfast
Continuous Coffee & Tea
Plenary Session
Investment Insights – Financial Gurus Tell It Like It Is!
Reggie Shiu Development of the Year Award
Sustainable Hotel Awards
Networking Break and Investment Opportunities in Country/Destination
Breakout Sessions 05 to 08
Oceania – Investment Opportunities & Challenges
South Asia – Investment Opportunities & Challenges
Hotel Companies/Agreements: HMA to Franchise Agreements – Why Hotel Agreements Are Shifting & What It Means for Owners
Opportunities: Living the Evolution – The Convergence of Luxury, Lifestyle, & Branded Residences
Networking Lunch and Investment Opportunities in Country/Destination
Plenary Session
Japan Investment Insights
Single Asset Transaction of the Year Award
Merger & Acquisition of the Year Award
Greater China Investment Insights
Global Strategy & Development
Views from the Boardroom – Round Two
Networking Reception hosted by Pan Pacific Hotels Group at the Pan Pacific Orchard
Thursday, 22 October 2026
8:00am to 12:15pm
Continental Breakfast
Continuous Coffee & Tea
Breakout Sessions 09 to 12
East Asia – Investment Opportunities & Challenges
Acquisitions: Global Giants, Local Deals – How Institutional Investors Are Reshaping APAC Hospitality
Development: Adaptive Reuse vs New Builds – The Future of Hotel Development
Opportunities: Turning Sustainability into Opportunity – Maximizing Revenue in Hospitality
Networking Break
Plenary Session
Spotlight on India
Rising Star Award Asia Pacific
Views from the Boardroom – Round Three
Global Check-In
HICAP Adjourns
2026 Confirmed Speakers
Hiro Abe, Managing Director, H.A. Advisors
Norman Arundel, Director, EVT Hotels & Resorts, EVT Limited
Maud Bailly, CEO Sofitel Legend, Sofitel, MGallery & Emblems, Accor
Bill Barnett, Managing Director, C9 Hotelworks
Andrea Belfanti, CEO, ISHC
Olivier M. Berrivin, Vice President – APAC, BWH Hotels
Kieran Bestall, Managing Director, Private Equity, Ares Management Asia (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Stella Blythe, Senior Vice President, Development, Hotels & Resorts, Asia, EVT Limited
Craig Bond, Chief Operating Officer, Pan Pacific Hotels Group
Andrew Boshoff, Chief Financial Officer, Global Hotel Alliance
Mark Bullock, Hotel Industry Executive
Stephen Burt, Managing Director, Hotel Capital Partners
Sebastian Busa, Partner, Baker McKenzie
Cedric Cheah, Head of Investment and Asset Management, YTL Hotels
Hok Yean Chee, President, Asia Pacific, HVS
David Cheong, Partner, Head of Acquisition, Asia Real Estate, KKR
KaiSiang Cho, Head of Operator Selection, Asia, JLL
Peng Sum Choe, Chief Executive Officer, Pan Pacific Hotels Group
Carolyn Choo, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Worldwide Hotels
Regina M. DiBenedetto, Director, Aareal Bank Asia Limited
Celine Du, Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer, Pan Pacific Hotels Group
Huilian Duan, Managing Director, APAC & Americas, TUI Hotels & Resorts
Adrian Ee, Director, Pavilion Hospitality
Kusumine Enami, Managing Partner and Japan Representative, AB Capital Investment
Nihat Ercan, CEO, Asia Pacific, JLL
Byron Frost, Partner, Baker McKenzie
Kenneth Gaw, President & Managing Principal, Gaw Capital Partners
Matt Gebbie, Managing Director, Horwath HTL
Jeremy Gillet, Managing Officer, Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide
Kevin Goh, CEO, The Ascott Limited
Rohan Prakash Gopaldas, Asset Manager and Partner, Prospect Hotel Advisors
Lucia Grambalova, Chief Investment Officer & Head of Asset Management, Hotel Capital Partners
Eric J. Levy, Managing Director, TSI
Shi’ai Liang, Senior Director, Development, IHG Hotels & Resorts
Christopher J. Hartley, CEO, Global Hotel Alliance
Elias Hayek, Shareholder and Co-Chair EMEA Hospitality, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Jihong He, Chair, H World International
Shyn Yee Ho, Director and Technology Practice Lead, Horwath HTL
Jeff Higley, President, Hotel Investment Group by Northstar
Bobby Hiranandani, Co-Chairman, Royal Group of Companies
Christopher Hur, Managing Director, Investments, SC Capital Partners
Juliette Imhof, Vice President, Development, Ace Hotel Group
Masayuki Ishihara, Director & Executive Managing Officer, Seibu Holdings
Ashish Jakhanwala, Chairman, Managing Director, & CEO, SAMHI Hotels
Cyndy Tan Jarabata, CEO, TAJARA Hospitality Group
Siddhant Jhunjhunwala, Executive Director, PAG
Kenneth Kan, SVP & Chief Development Officer, OUTRIGGER Hospitality Group
Yoshiki Kaneda, President & CEO, Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide
Paul Kitamura, Chief Hospitality Officer, Pontiac Land Group
Adeline Koh, Managing Director & General Counsel, Alegra Hospitality
Melita Koulmandas, CEO/Founder, Song Saa Collective
Edward Kusma, Director, Harmoni Bali
Gary Kwok, CEO, AXE Management Partners
Andrew L. Langdon, Chief Development Officer, Asia, Accor
Eric J. Levy, Managing Director, TSI
Serena Lim, Chief Growth Officer, The Ascott Limited
Steven Lim, Vice President of Development, Pan Pacific Hotels Group
Cheng Kai Lim, Associate Director (Private Funds – Lodging), CapitaLand
David Ling, Head of Hospitality Investment & Asset Management, Executive Chairman Office, City Developments Limited
Crystal Liu, Director, Horwath HTL
Kate Loh, Vice President, Head of Development, Pan Pacific Hotels Group
Neel M. Lund, SVP, Hotel Development and M&A, Marriott International
Andrew MacGeoch, Partner, Bird & Bird LLP
Karan Mahesh, Senior Sales, South & Southeast Asia, STR CoStar
Yasunobu Majima, Deputy General Manager, Mitsubishi Estate
Hoe Kit Mak, Managing Director, CapitaLand Investment Limited
Yutaka Maruyama, Representative Director, COO, World Brands Collection Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
Rajeev Menon, President, Asia Pacific (Excluding China), Marriott International
Stephane Michel, President, Valanti Group Co.,Ltd.
Rod Munro, Managing Director, Australasia, BWH Hotels
Julien Naouri, Head of Investment Sales, Asia, JLL
Xander Nijnens, Senior Managing Director, JLL
Huey Hong Ong, Assistant Chief Executive, Industry Development Group, Singapore Tourism Board
Toshio Omiyama, Representative Director and President, JR STB Koiwai Development
Melissa Ow, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board
Jesper Palmqvist, Regional Vice President Asia Pacific – STR, CoStar Group
Rakesh Patel, CEO and Founder, Alta Capital Real Estate
Chris Penn, CEO, Ace Hotel
Adam Piperdy, Founder & Chief Experience Officer, Unearthed Productions
Ananth Ramchandran, Head of Advisory & Strategic Transactions, Hotels & Hospitality, Asia, CBRE
Eric Ricaurte, CEO, Greenview
Joel Rothstein, Chair Asia Real Estate Practice and Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Charles Rubin, Managing Director, Central Group Capital
Swati Shah, Vice President, Legal (Operations & Development), Asia, Accor
Gaurav Sharma, Managing Director India & Senior Director Asia - Hotels & Hospitality Group, JLL
Wendy Shi, CFO & EVP, Agora Hospitality Group
Sanjay Singh, CEO, Fico Corporation
Soon Mun Sen, Director, Horwath HTL
Dora Stilianos, Lawyer, Baker McKenzie
Angeline Tan, Senior Vice President, SingHaiyi Hospitality Pte. Ltd.
Alan Tang, Group Chief Executive Officer, Far East Orchard
Hiroshi Tashiro, Deputy Director of the Hotel & Hospitality Business Headquarters, NTT Urban Development Corporation
Jeff Wagoner, President & CEO, OUTRIGGER Hospitality Group
Dean Winter, CEO, The PuLi Group
Shunsuke Yamamoto, Managing Director, Fortress
Rongcan Yang, Vice President, JLL
Camil Yazbeck, Global Chief Development Officer, Accor
Daniel Yip, Partner, High Street Holdings
Murphy Zhu, President, Asia Pacific, H World Group
Andreas Zimmermann, Vice President of Development, The PuLi Group
Jonathon S. Zink, COO, Hotel Investment Group by Northstar
as of 21 July 2026
2026 Program Planning Committee
Hiro Abe, H.A. Advisors Ltd.
Manoj Agarwal, Brigade Group
Chandragupta Amritkar, Global Features
Bill Barnett, C9 Hotelworks
Andrea Belfanti, ISHC
Stella Blythe, EVT Limited
Andrew Brandon, Serene Capital
Mark Bullock
Cedric Cheah, YTL Hotels
Hok Yean Chee, HVS
Jeff Cho
Kevin Croley, Global Hotel Alliance
Paul Dean, Dean & Associates
Regina M. DiBenedetto, Aareal Bank
Adrian Ee, Pavilion Hospitality
Kusumine Enami, AB Capital Investment
Nihat Ercan, JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group
Matt Gebbie, Horwath HTL
Lucia Grambalova, Hotel Capital Partners
William Haandrikman, Fairmont Singapore &
Swissotel The Stamford
Christopher Hur, SC Capital Partners
Juliette Imhof, Ace Hotel Group
Emmy Ko, Ashurst
Edward Kusma, Harmoni Bali
Gary Kwok, AXE Management Partners
Andrew L. Langdon, Accor
Sarah Leow, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Eric J. Levy, TSI
Xinyi Liang-Pholsena, Travel Weekly Asia
Serena Lim, The Ascott Limited
David Ling, City Development Limited
Andrew MacGeoch, Bird & Bird LLP (UK)
Karan Mahesh, STR CoStar
Yasunobu Majima, Mitsubishi Estate
Hoe Kit Mak, CapitaLand Investment Limited
Yutaka Maruyama, World Brands Collection Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
Toshio Omiyama, JR STB Koiwai Development
Jonathan Ottevaere, EQT Real Estate
Jesper Palmqvist, STR CoStar
Rakesh Patel, Alta Capital Real Estate
Sashi Rajan, HAMA APAC
Tony Ryan, Trilogy Hotels
Rob Schneider, Hotel Investment Today by Northstar
Sook Yean Shrestha, Singapore Hotel Association
Sanjay Singh, FICO Corporation
Dora Stilianos, Baker McKenzie
Andree Susilo, Marriott International
Angeline Tan, SingHaiyi Hospitality Pte. Ltd.
Cydndy Tan Jarabata, TAJARA Hospitality Group
Christophe Vielle, Gaw Capital Partners
Rongcan Yang, JLL
Daniel Yip, High Street Holdings
Stephanie Yong, Singapore Tourism Board
HICAP 2026 Regional Advisors
East Asia
Geographic roughly covering China, HK, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea:
Crystal Liu, Horwath HTL
Rongcan Yang, JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group
Oceania
Geographic roughly covering Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia
Lucia Grambalova, Hotel Capital Partners
Dora Stilianos, Baker McKenzie
South Asia
Geographic roughly covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Rohan Gopaldas, Prospect Hotel Advisors
Karan Mahesh, STR, CoStar Group
Southeast Asia
Geographic roughly covering Brunei, Cambodia, Christmas Islands (Australia), Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
Hok Yean Chee, HVS
Cyndy Tan Jarabata, TAJARA Hospitality Group
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HICAP delivers an unrivaled combination of compelling content, top-tier delegates, and extraordinary networking opportunities. If you are looking to invest or develop hotels across Asia Pacific, you will not want to miss this premier event.