Join BATW on Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m. for a virtual presentation of the 16th edition of the af&co./Carbonate Hospitality Trends Report with Andrew Freeman, the founder of af&co., and Leith Steel, Senior Strategist & Head of Insights. Over the past 16 years, their Trends Report has served as a guiding light for hospitality industry professionals, helping them prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the upcoming year. Trusted by restaurants, bars, hotels, and travel destinations, the report has become an indispensable resource offering insights to inform innovative strategies that will reshape the hospitality landscape.
Save the date and look for your invitation by email for this Zoom presentation of the 2024 report, with live commentary and Q&A. During this event, we will share our predictions for the most influential trends in food, beverage, travel, social media, design, and more for the upcoming year.
With the help of their amazing team of professionals, af&co. and Carbonate have developed and launched over 150 restaurant concepts and hotels while consulting for over 300 others, and created a multitude of unique culinary events of all sizes drawing in over 10,000 people.
Speaker bios:
Andrew Freeman embodies the entrepreneurial mindset and is the Founder of af&co. and Co-founder of Carbonate, two hospitality marketing agencies, specializing in lifestyle, food, beverage and hospitality space. Named one of the Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International and one of the 2023 people of the year by PR News, Andrew has more than 40 years of hospitality expertise developing and launching hospitality concepts, creating unique culinary events, and providing ongoing marketing, public relations, and operations consulting for over 300 restaurants and hotels. Andrew regularly contributes to industry publications and blogs and has been a guest speaker at industry conferences domestically and internationally. The annual Trends Report, produced by af&co. and Carbonate, holds a stellar reputation and has garnered substantial recognition in the industry.
Leith Steel is Senior Strategist and Head of Insights at Carbonate, a boutique creative services and brand strategy agency that works in the food/beverage and hospitality space. With nearly 20 years of experience working in hospitality, Leith taps into her deep industry knowledge and expertise from her experience as a classically trained chef, to create winning media relations and brand strategies for hospitality clients. As Carbonate’s Head of Insights, Leith spearheads the creation of the agency’s annual trends report, contributing thought capital to industry publications and client marketing programs, and executing strategic public relations campaigns rooted in industry insights.