Top designers line up for Ultratravel Forum

Also joining Hutchinson on the panel will be Anchalika Kijkanakorn the managing director of Thai boutique hotelier Akaryn Hotel Group, which is also about to expand into Laos with a new hotel in the capital Vientiane. British interior designer Martin Hulbert, who has worked on private and commercial projects ranging from Coworth Park to the Royal Yacht Britannia, QE2, Chewton Glen, Cliveden House and Barnsley House, will also discuss his ideas on design.

Completing the line-up will be Will Meyer and Gray Davis, founders of leading New York-based interior design firm Meyer Davis.

Their vast and highly sought-after experience includes designing 1 Hotel South Beach, the first property for mould-breaking new luxury brand 1 Hotel. They are currently working on The Address Dubai Downtown, which was hit by fire on New Year’s Eve, and The Address Dubai Mall, as well as a range of new duplex suites for Fontainebleu Miami and a redesign for Rosewood Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands.

The forum also includes an economic and geopolitical update from Daniel Franklin, executive editor of The Economist and editor of The Economist’s magazine The World in 2016.

Also during the forum, Chris Hartley, chief executive of Global Hotel Alliance will quiz a panel of presidents and leaders including Shelley Cline, president of TCS World Travel; Frank Marrenbach, chief executive, Oetker Collection; Edie Rodriguez, president and chief executive, Crystal Cruises; Robert Swade, group chief operating officer, Jumeirah Group; and Sally Booth, head of brand, Elegant Resorts.

The forum concludes with a session that will see Charles Starmer-Smith – head of travel of the Telegraph Media Group and editor of Ultratravel – quiz a range of well-known and frequent luxury travellers on their travel habits and preferences, including singer Ronan Keating and wife Storm Keating; Sarah-Jane Mee from Sky News and Natalie Pinkham from Sky Sports F1.

This inspirational forum is part of a whole day of luxury-focused events taking place at The Savoy on May 23.

These also include Luxpo, the one-to-one meetings event designed to help travel advisors meet a range of 25 suppliers, which will include many leading brands from across the cruise, aviation, hotel, tour operator and tourism sectors.

The day will conclude with the ULTRAs Dinner, a must-attend awards celebration that will recognize the best travel providers in the luxury sphere as voted for by readers of Ultratravel, its partner newspaper, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Telegraph’s website.