EVP Restaurant Development
Starr Restaurants
The Independent Lodging Congress today announced additional speakers for the organization’s first event in Florida, INDIE Confab: Miami. Taking place on February 7, 2019 in Miami’s arts hub of Wynwood, INDIE Confab: Miami will connect creative provocateurs and disruptors from the worlds of hotels, food & beverage, design, and finance. With topics ranging from climate change to the influence of Cuban culture in the South Florida hospitality scene, INDIE Confab: Miami will inspire and ignite strategic ideation for the next generation of independent hotel owners and operators.
Newly-confirmed speakers for this year’s event includeCraig Robins, President & CEO of Dacra; Bradlee Bartram, EVP Restaurant Development, Starr Restaurants; Benjamin Sinclair, Chief Business Development Officer, Faena Group; Kathryn Mikesell, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Your Fountainhead, and Marquise Stillwell, Founder & Principal, Openbox. They join previously announced speakers includingRami Zeidan, Co-Founder & CEO, Life House Hotels; Neil Shah, President & COO, Hersha Hospitality Trust;Bradley Kilgore, chef and owner, Kilgore Culinary; Elizabeth Wheaton, Environment & Sustainability Director, Miami Beach; Avra Jain, Founder, The Vagabond Group; Steven Haigh, Co-Founder & General Manager, KYU Miami; David Kelly, Professor of Economics and Director of Sustainable Research Cluster/University of Miami, and Keith Menin, Principal of Menin Hospitality.
“Our Annual Confabs are all about taking a dive and exploring the hospitality scene in various cities,” said Andrew Benioff, Founder & Chairman of the Independent Lodging Congress. “We chose Miami because of its interesting community, culture and stew of people. It’s a hot bed of innovation, especially in terms of independent hospitality.”
Located at The LAB Miami in Wynwood, the 2019 INDIE Confab: Miami will offer attendees the opportunity to listen, learn and engage with industry powerhouses as they share stories of success, failure and their predictions for the future of the independent hospitality business. INDIE Confab: Miami follows the successful Independent Lodging Congress 2018 3-day event held in October 2018, where speakers included Brad Wilson from Ace Hotels, Amar Lalvani of Standard International; Mark Harmon of Auberge Resorts; Katherine Lo of Eaton Workshop; Benjamin Sinclair of Faena Group; Susan Spinney of Expedia and more than 50 other leading hospitality industry executives and entrepreneurs.
The Independent Lodging Congress has become what attendees and speakers have called the “gathering for disruptors in hospitality and travel,” and is the first conference focused on generating change by challenging their attendees and asking the uncomfortable questions that lead to provocative conversation and actionable resolution.
Newly-added sponsors include SB Architects; Makeready; & Pizza; Kuvin Law; Modis Architects, Miami Cocktail Co. and Counter Culture Coffee. They join previously announced sponsors includingCallisonRTKL, Kelvin Slush, and Borges Architects. Founding sponsors include Llenrock Realty Partners and Eagle Point Hotel Partners.
To learn more about INDIE Confab: Miami and the Independent Lodging Congress, register or to become a sponsor for the 2019 event, please visit: www.ilcongress.com.