The Place Hotel, Edinburgh, Tuesday 15th September 2026. 9:30AM til 3:30PM.
XP Hospitality Edinburgh takes place at The Place Hotel on Tuesday 15th September 2026 – a day built around the people shaping independent hospitality across Scotland and the UK.
The programme brings together operators, technology leaders, and sector thinkers for honest, peer-led conversation about where Scottish hospitality is heading and what that means in practice. Sessions cover agentic AI and independent distribution, the economics of owning your direct guest relationships, and what it takes to build businesses that last through a period of real change in the sector.
The format is peer-led throughout, built around questions operators are genuinely sitting with rather than presentations designed to impress. There are no sales pitches and no obligations, just a room full of people who care about independent hospitality, talking honestly about it.
Arrive from 9:15 AM, day starts at 10:00 AM. Lunch, refreshments and drinks to close.
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Sam leads AI strategy and marketing at 80 Days, a creative and digital marketing agency working with over 450 independent hotel and travel brands. He also founded Hotel Speak, a respected news resource for hotel marketing and revenue management.
His session, “The Future of Websites”, looks at what happens when AI agents start browsing accommodation sites, comparing rates, and attempting bookings on a guest’s behalf. When they get stuck, they head straight to an OTA. For independent brands that have fought hard for direct bookings, that’s a real challenge, but also a real opportunity for those who prepare early.
Opening with real-world experiments letting AI agents loose on hospitality websites, Sam explores what “agent-ready” looks like in practice and the steps operators can take today. His examples lean towards hotels, but the principles apply just as much across the wider independent sector.
Marc is Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance and Co-Chair of Scotland’s Tourism and Hospitality Industry Leadership Group. He received an MBE for services to the Scottish tourism industry and was awarded the Institute of Directors Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
Few people have a clearer view of where Scottish tourism is heading, what the sector needs from its operators and leaders, and how the national strategy translates into practical decisions on the ground.
Sarah is Director for Scotland and Northern Ireland at HARPA, working directly with parks and outdoor hospitality operators across Scotland on the issues that matter most to them day to day. She brings a grounded, practical perspective on what the sector is dealing with right now, from innovation and investment to the policy and industry pressures shaping decisions on the ground.
We are so delighted to have her returning to XPH once again to share her wealth of knowledge and passion for the parks sector.
Ian co-founded The Union, one of Scotland’s most respected marketing and advertising agencies, and led it for nearly three decades before transitioning the business to employee ownership in 2025. He has advised on two Scottish elections, worked across 120+ brands, and was named Scotland’s Agency Leader of the Year in 2011.
He brings a long-view perspective on what it takes to build a brand that lasts — and why that matters more than ever for independent hospitality operators in a short-term world.
Glenn is Product Director at Zonal, the UK’s largest EPOS and SaaS provider for the hospitality industry, where he has spent over 14 years shaping the products that power hospitality businesses of every size, from ambitious independents to major enterprise groups.
Edinburgh-based and known for bringing energy and humour to a room, his session looks at what Zonal’s latest research into AI in hospitality is revealing, and what independent operators should genuinely be paying attention to as the technology moves fast.
Josh is Director of Traveltech for Scotland at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, where he has facilitated over £20m of investment in Scottish travel technology and built a 200-company strong community of innovators and operators.
He is an experienced speaker on AI in tourism and travel futures, with past engagements including ITB Berlin, Phocuswright, and World Travel Market. His session looks at where agentic AI is taking travel distribution, and what independent operators need to do now to stay on the right side of that shift.
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