Kongres Magazine talked to Kristina Mirosavljević, CEO of Sava Center, Delta Holding, who was recently named among the top 10 Most Influential Hoteliers in 2021. Kristina shared her advice for newcomers in the meetings industry and expressed her opinion on the future of events.
Q1: What does the title of the industry’s most influential individual in the region mean to you?
The title is certainly a great honour for me personally but also for my team. Moreover, it is a big responsibility for future results we plan to achieve with the project of reconstruction and modernization of the Sava Center. However, I believe that this title is driven chiefly by the strength of the brands I represent – Delta Holding in the corporate sense and Sava Center in terms of conference business. Therefore, I would say that this is more an award to the brands and their influence in the region, while I personally strive to do my best to justify that reputation.
Q2: Can we say that you are a newcomer in the meetings industry? What inspires you?
I have been with Delta Holding for years now. As you know, the company’s portfolio includes hotels that are important players in the meeting industry in the region, including Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn alongside Belexpo Center in Belgrade and the Intercontinental in Ljubljana. Delta Holding had been involved in the meeting business for some time, so naturally, a strategic decision was to invest in Sava Center. That is why I cannot say that we are newcomers to the industry. However, running the project of reconstructing the key congress centre in the region is truly a novelty and a huge responsibility. It requires complete dedication, learning and collaboration with several new stakeholders, so in that sense, yes, I may feel like a newcomer.
I am inspired by the vast potential Sava Center has, not only in the meetings industry but also in supporting other businesses within Delta Holding. Sava Center is the key venue in the city that forms a very convenient facility package with hotels nearby, primarily the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Intercontinental Hotel (which should open by 2025).
Such a favourable infrastructure should be strategically focused on supporting businesses that are based on knowledge, creativity and innovation, which can transform the entire economy and society in Serbia. Furthermore, it will develop possibilities for the entire region. Having this in mind, I have to say that this is a grand inspiration and a vision worth being devoted to.
Q3: You have contributed a lot to the development of the meetings industry. What would you say was your greatest achievement so far?
The key achievements are yet to be realized, and they will be reflected in how much the new Sava Center will evolve Belgrade’s meetings industry. They will also be reflected in the focal position of the city’s convention and business zone and collaboration with other key players of the industry in the country and region.
We want Sava Center to be modern, flexible, open, collaborative and thus provide an overall contribution to the development of the meeting industry. Moreover, the goal is that the industry becomes recognised as a driver of the development of the entire economy. That should be our overall contribution to the transformation and modernisation of society, both in Serbia and regionally.
Q4: What changes would you like to see in the meetings industry in 2022?
Our focus in 2022 is to resolve the issues related to the reconstruction of the Sava Centre and build capacities that will meet the future needs of our clients in terms of size, flexibility, space configuration, technological capabilities and the business model. We expect the situation regarding the long-term effects of the Covid-19 crisis has had to be more palpable by the end of this year. The same goes for the trends we may expect in the future. Currently, we are dealing with projections, research and conducting conclusions that will help us shape our business in the near future.
Q5: What is your prediction for the future of meetings?
There are many studies about clients’ needs in the future, their requirements, and the future meeting space (on-site and online). We are up to date with all these studies, regularly considering recommendations and trying to draw useful conclusions. Obviously, there are some needs for meetings to be shorter, more frequent, with a strong technological component, focused on business goals and innovation. However, we are talking to our clients and trying to test some theoretical predictions in practice by comparing them with the real requirements that meeting planners have. Based on this experience, we may say that some clients believe that meetings will have even more attendees, larger exhibitions and a stronger social impact. Anyhow, our job is to understand their needs and provide the best possible service, thus helping them accomplish their achievements.
Q6: What is your advice for young colleagues making their way in the meetings industry?
My advice is to perceive the meeting business as a strong tool to achieve much broader goals in the entire community. Then, having in mind such great goals, every effort is worth it. That is not just a piece of advice for our young colleagues (to whom I belong, too), but for everyone who wants to get involved in the industry. The first lesson we learned at Delta Holding is that every business has to be mission-driven. When we apply this to the conference business, the endless area of opportunities opens. That is exactly what motivated me to accept the chance I got in the Sava Center project with great enthusiasm.
“The goal is that the industry becomes recognised as a driver of the development of the entire economy. That should be our overall contribution to the transformation and modernisation of society.”
Q7: Were you more exposed in public after being placed on our list? Do you see this as an opportunity to reinforce the prominence of our industry in general?
Of course, that was noticed primarily within the meeting industry but also within the entire company that deals with many other businesses. In a way, that helps because more people, including some decision-makers, understand the potential of the Sava Center and the whole meeting industry better, which is important for all of us.
Q8: What are your thoughts on our selection of the influencers?
I have met some of them, and they are all great professionals with a lot of knowledge and energy, so it is worth learning from them. I assume that everyone else deserves the title and hope that I will have the opportunity to meet them soon and that we will have the chance for fruitful cooperation.
Q9: In your opinion, who deserves the title of the TOP influencer if you had to choose from the finalists yourself?
I am afraid that I would be biased and give my vote to colleagues who are from Serbia or who are related to businesses where Delta Holding is active. That would not be fair, so I would prefer to skip this question.
