The Intermedia Group and the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) have announced a strategic partnership involving the formation of the Australasian Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition (AHICE), with the inaugural event set to be held in Sydney on September 3, 2010.

Both leaders in their respective fields, The Intermedia Group (publisher of spicenews.com.au) is Australia’s largest privately-owned trade publishing company and the AHA is the nation’s peak body for the hotel industry.

The Intermedia Group publishes HM – Hotel and Accommodation Management magazine, which is set to co-host the inaugural AHICE event alongside the AHA, a conference that will be firmly focused on the management and operation of accommodation hotels throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific region.

AHA National Accommodation Division President, Patrick Griffin, said: “We are delighted to be co-hosting what I’m certain will become a must-attend annual conference for hoteliers and their senior executives.

“We all need to take time out from the busy day-to-day concerns of working in our business, to step back and work on our businesses, for future growth and prosperity.

“This concise one-day conference will provide that opportunity, with a compelling program of business sessions,” he said.

AHICE will be held on September 3, 2010, at Swissotel Sydney and will feature delegates, panelists and speakers from across the Asia-Pacific region, with a key emphasis on operations in Australasia.

The Intermedia Group’s Managing Director, Simon Grover, said: “We are excited to launch AHICE in partnership with the Australian Hotels Association – an event we believe will become a benchmark conference for the management of accommodation properties throughout the region.”

AHICE is designed for CEOs, hotel executives, General Managers, tourism leaders and major suppliers of goods and services to the hotel industry in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

A complete program for AHICE will be released in the coming months.