Day 1 – Monday, 19^th March

The Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS) 2012 Opening Ceremony began on Monday morning (March 19th) with a buzz of excitement and enthusiasm as delegates, guest speakers, and VIPs from around the world took their seats at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). After an introduction by the YHS Executive Team, the Founders of YHS Global and from Mr. Rochat, Director of EHL, the floor was given to Mr. Pascal Gauthier, VP Learning & Development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, representing Hyatt Hotels & Resorts as the Challenge Provider for YHS 2012. The challenge was unveiled as:

“Design the structure and various components of an attractive graduate program keeping in mind graduating student expectations and the company’s managerial needs”

 The final objective for the delegates will be to ‘sell’ their innovative program in a 7-minute presentation to future graduating students and a jury of Hyatt Executives. The results will be pitched on Wednesday, March 21st at 16:30.

Mr. Gebhard Rainer, Managing Director at Hyatt Intl. (EAME), concluded the morning activities with his take on the challenges that the hospitality industry faces today and the responsibilities of industry leaders towards the environment. He stressed the necessary changes and foresight that needs to be considered, in order to survive the upcoming years of modern hospitality development, underlying the fact that talent shortage is becoming an increasing concern that should be addressed. Mr. Rainer concluded by emphasizing on the benefits and gratifications that working in the industry can bring by stating: “hospitality will never go out of fashion”.

The afternoon activities ensued with the first Panel: Corporate vs. Operational Hospitality paths for hospitality graduates. Mr. Francois Delahaye, Director of Operations, The Dorchestor Collection; Mr. Ian Nicholson, CEO, Faena Hotels; Mr. Nick Mutton, Executive VP HR & Administration, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts; Mr. Chris Mumford, President, EMEA HVS Executive Search; and Mr. Christopher Michau, Director of Global Strategic Operations; led by Dr. Damien Hodari, Professor of Strategic Management at EHL discussed the decision between operational and corporate hospitality for graduating students beginning their careers. Interestingly, the discussion started with a majority of delegates seeming more inclined to follow the corporate path, yet ended with an audience no longer underestimating the value of hotel operations.

The second day of the Young Hoteliers Summit 2012 continued with an energetic note on the campus of Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, as our prestigious partners and sponsors began to set up their stands for delegates and other invitees to be able to visit and make inquiries about companies such as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts; Starwood Hotels & Resorts; Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts; Expedia; 25hours Hotels; Faena Hotels; Yotel; hit-CONSULT; Chateauform; and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

Throughout the morning, the delegates were guided by Woody Wade, who presented the outcome of his workshop where four groups of students created scenarios for the future of the hotel industry. Mr. Wade is the founder of Wade & Co and has written a book on “Scenario Planning: A Field Guide to the Future”, which demonstrates to businesses how to plan for decision making with future uncertainty. The YHS 2012 Delegates presented scenarios where hotels have to face business development with high technology requirements and maintenance costs; sophisticated customer expectations; as well as the changing face of travellers due to urbanization and ease of travel. Overall, the informative and interactive workshop by Woody Wade allowed for students to consider the future of business development.

The program of the day continued with a speech by Dr. Ray Iunius, Director of INTEHL, who provided insight into “Innovation in Hospitality”, stating that it is up to current students to pour new ideas and energy into our industry. The briefing on innovation brought forward the new trends faced in hospitality today with the increasing role of technology as well as the growth in online communication. Dr. Iunius had one great tip for the audience, which was to keep in mind that 97% of new ideas come from aspects in one’s social life and hobbies, making it necessary to take time out from work and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

The short discussion on bringing forward innovation was followed by workshops conducted by Dan Klein from Stand & Deliver on maintaining high performance communication and projecting your presence in the hotel business; The Carlson Rezidor Group discussing how they set their standards in sustaining Responsible Business Practices; and STR Global outlining their benchmarking solutions for companies and presenting the trends and performance indicators of the hotel industry.

In the evening, a considerable audience gathered together for the final keynote speech of the 2012 Summit, presented by Gerard Greene, CEO of Yotel, who spoke about his experiences when initiating a business plan, and shared his expertise in the skills required in order to be a successful entrepreneur. The delegates, professors and VIP Guests were captivated by the wise words of Gerard Greene, who mentioned that he put his sweat, heart and soul into his business, which allowed for Yotel to be the great success that it is today across cities such as New York, London and Amsterdam.

The delegates met for the third and final day of the Young Hoteliers Summit 2012 with enthusiasm, excitement and intense motivation. The groups were given five hours throughout the morning to complete their work on the YHS Challenge, before presenting their ideas at the Case Presentations in the early afternoon.  The challenge, designed by Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, was aimed at revamping the Graduate Program to better meet student expectations, whilst still meeting the needs of the business.

First thing in the morning, the delegates regrouped at the Q&A session with Hyatt, where they were given the opportunity to enquire and discuss the challenge with the sponsors from Hyatt International. Pertinent questions were asked and Hyatt representatives offered their guidance.

In the afternoon, a sizeable audience, consisting of students, VIPs and professors, gathered in the EHL Auditorium where the Challenge Case Presentations were to start. Tensions were high as each group was called up to present with a strict time limit of just seven minutes each in front of a judging panel consisting of:  Mr. Ray Iunius, Director at INTEHL; Mr. Pascal Gauthier, VP Learning & Development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts; Ms. Katrin Melle, Human Resources Director at Hyatt Intl. (EAME), and Mr. Kurt Straub, General Manager of Park Hyatt Zurich.

During the presentations, some teams concentrated more on the learning experience of the new graduates that the program was being created for, and others discussed the project from the point of view of Hyatt. With an intense five minutes of interrogation for each team by the panel of jurists, anxiety was rife. After all had had the chance to present, the jury left the room to deliberate and the YHS Executive Team, along with the rest of the organising team, gave the closing speech for this year’s Young Hoteliers Summit.

The participants of the Summit then moved to the aperitif at the bar and the delegates chattered nervously over a glass of champagne. The buzz continued to increase until silence was called to announce the winners of this year’s Creativity Challenge. Congratulations Team 3: Charlotte Chamot-Guzzo, from Glion Institute of Higher Education; Jian Owen Chang, from Beijing Hospitality Institute; Jenni Knaapila, from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences; Laura Durst, from International University of Applied Sciences Bad Honnef; Mark O'Shaughnessy, from Shannon College of Hotel Management; and Bernard Nasrallah, from La Sagesse University.