What makes the hotel sector different as a property asset class? Current and future landscape

Dora Stilianos

Partner, Baker McKenzie (Moderator)

Dora Stilianos is a partner in the Commercial Real Estate team at Baker McKenzie, Melbourne. Dora has an extensive property practice, with a focus on development work, acquisitions, dispositions and leasing for commercial, industrial, retail and rural property. She leads an exceptional off the plan residential development team and skilfully navigates the real property aspects of large scale corporate transactions.

As a Best Lawyer in Real Property Law, Australian Financial Review’s Best Lawyers: Australia, 2019 and former “Victorian Young Property Lawyer of the Year” (2008), Dora is an outstanding property lawyer with exceptional client service delivery.

Michael Simpson

Managing Director, CBRE Hotels

Michael Simpson is the Managing Director for CBRE Hotels. He is responsible for the management and development of the CBRE Hotels business in Australia and New Zealand, and its integration with the Asian and global CBRE Hotels platforms. Michael has a particular focus on investment sales, capital raising, joint ventures and advising on and structuring hotel and mixed use developments.

Michael spent more than 10 years as a lawyer responsible for advising on, structuring, negotiating and executing asset level and entity level single asset and portfolio hotel and resort sales, corporate M&A real estate transactions, bilateral, syndicated and private placement financing, and capital market bond issuance.

Michael also spent four years leading a hotel, resort and leisure development team in the Middle East, and jointly established the company’s hotel and leisure asset management team.

Prior to joining CBRE Hotels, Michael established the Savills Hotels platform in Australia and New Zealand and while in this role transacted over $3bn of Hotel and real estate assets across Asia Pacific. He has pro-vided legal, corporate advisory, transaction structuring and capital raising services in respect of hotel sales, acquisitions and developments in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia.

Peter Harper

Managing Director and Head of Investment Sales Australasia JLL - Hotels

Having previously been based in JLL’s Brisbane and Sydney offices, Peter has worked across Australasia’s various hotel investment markets (Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands) and boasts a transactional track record spanning budget to luxury accommodation properties, island resorts and major portfolios.

Notably, he has been an instrumental team member in several of JLL’s record breaking and landmark transactions in Australia, including both established assets and new developments.

Since joining JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group in 2004 Peter has been involved in the valuations, strategic advisory, research, asset management and marketing divisions.

His extensive experience also includes insolvency & receivership solutions, consultancy & opportunity marketing, investment strategy reviews and operator selections.

Graeme Dickson

Partner, Baker McKenzie

Graeme Dickson is a partner in the Structured Property group in Sydney and is Chair of the firm’s leading Hotels, Resorts & Tourism group. Graeme acts primarily for clients in the hotels, resorts, tourism and wider property industries. He has worked extensively on structured purchases and sales of hotel and resort properties, and on managed investment fundraisings which include all forms of public trusts, timeshare schemes, tax driven investment schemes and other similar investments. He has advised on hotel and resort management contracts — including non-disturbance agreements between owners, operators and lenders — and integrated resort developments across the globe.