Coventry November 2026 

The Capability Gaps Which Separate SA Operators from Their Dream Returns - Samantha & David McHattie

Most Serviced Accommodation  operators are working hard at the wrong things. Not because they lack commitment, but because the prevailing information is built around property investment thinking rather than hospitality business thinking. This session draws on over six decades of combined experience across numerous quality hospitality and business environments to identify exactly where the gap opens up, what it costs, and what the operators closing it are doing differently. Among the areas we will cover are:

• One ordinary SA property can deliver more than the UK median salary. The specific variables that forecasting software cannot model — and how professional operators use them to significantly outperform the market prediction
• Why the operator measuring occupancy is optimising for the wrong number and headed for average performance shattering their dreams, and what you should measure instead
• Why 2026 is a good time for SA done right. There are three converging market forces which are excellent news for operators who have built genuine hospitality capability — and what they mean for those who have not
• The Power of Imagery. Why your listing photography is doing more commercial work than your pricing, your amenities and your description combined​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
  
  
  

ALSO... Ordinary Houses, Extraordinary Income - Andy Potter 

Andy Potter spent fifteen years running marketing for Marks & Spencer, Selfridges and Bicester Village. In late 2025 he sold up in London, moved back in with his parents in Solihull and started buying houses 180 miles away in the North East.

Just over a year later it looks like this:

• 6 houses bought for £643,825
• £233,750 of equity created
• £117,371 a year of projected net passive income, pre tax
• £52,000 profit on a flip
• £580,000 of private finance raised to do it

Nothing in the portfolio is exotic. Transitional housing with a registered provider, a serviced accommodation unit in Durham, a couple of BRRR refinances and one flip. Ordinary houses, bought well, refurbished properly and put to work.

During Andy's talk you will hear:
1. From Selfridges to Sunderland via Solihull. Quite the career move.
2. How he raised £580k without robbing a bank.
3. Transitional housing in the North East. Why it’s THE sweet spot.

By the end of the evening you will have gained some further insight into a sector you might not know much about, and fallen in love with the North East property market, if you weren't already!