One and a half months ago the largest student-run hospitality summit took place. I still cannot believe that a year of intensive preparation ended so quickly!
The YHS summit days were intense yet filled with excitement and positive drive. Everything went according to plan and all involved stakeholders praised our organization, which made us extremely proud!
As the new 2023 Core members have just been recruited (eh eh you will have to wait a bit more to discover who they are!), it is about time that we give a proper conclusion to these YHStories. Since last September, we gave you monthly insights about how diverse the different members of the YHS committee are. We featured people with diverse backgrounds and interests, but of course, everyone was connected by the same passion for the hospitality industry. Now, to add this all up, I have collected some final learnings from the former three core members!
Let me start with Clare, whom I must say I admire. When I first interviewed her in September 2021, I could not truly foresee what amount of workload both YHS and EHL’s final year would carry. I now definitely understand what Clare meant when she emphasized the importance of balancing academics, social life, and committee work. Speaking with her now in April 2022, she can confirm that time management was the most challenging part of her role... Carrying the responsibility of overseeing three departments meant her academic efforts and social life had to take a backseat. Does this mean she regrets having taken over the role? Not at all! In fact, leading the Young Hoteliers Summit’s committee developed her personality, allowing her to become more organized and outgoing by stepping out of her comfort zone. This experience also improved her communication skills with both internal members of the team and external stakeholders and allowed her to significantly widen her network! During the summit days, when she saw what she worked on for a year become reality, Clare truly felt rewarded. Clare is now strictly focused on her final bachelor’s project – the student business project- for which I wish her all the best of luck. I am curious to see what the future has reserved for her!
Becoming a core member of the largest student committee of EHL Hospitality Business School also means you cannot always have everything under control. Yes, you can be as organized and meticulous as possible, but there are too many external variables for everything to be 100% predictable. It is precisely for this reason that Katherine’s biggest worry, when I last spoke to her, was to meet stakeholders’ expectations. So... Did she manage? All the feedback she received was positive, so she must have been doing something right! Her secret was simple but effective – she always aimed for the extra mile. Now, she is even more convinced that hard work truly pays off. This experience allowed her to become more responsible, not only within the committee but in her daily life as well. Overall, we can all agree that the summit’s content was inspirational and gave all attendees food for thought. However, what makes Katherine truly satisfied is the idea that the student delegates could build a strong network and long-lasting friendships with both professionals and peers from all over the world. Having seen Katherine’s inspiring personal development and her genuine positivity, I am convinced she will continue to be an impressive leader!
And finally Eva... my beloved direct supervisor (actually, I do not need to impress her anymore). As she already predicted at the beginning of this adventure, leading over 40 team members could not come without challenges. Nevertheless, this unique sense of team spirit was able to keep her motivated. Eva's favorite moment of the summit? Enjoying a nice dinner on campus with some other committee members, laughing about the day together, and letting off some steam. Working with a team spread throughout three different time zones in a changing environment due to the COVID 19 pandemic also changed her personality. By understanding that many elements are out of her control, in fact, Eva learned how to stress less about unforeseen events and rather focus on the solutions. She is convinced this will be fundamental for her future experiences as well! Throughout the last year, Eva discovered that leading a team is much harder than one can imagine. But do not you worry, I managed to collect three pieces of advice from her: 1. Always treat others the way you would like to be treated, 2. Show your team members you trust and respect them and they will pay you back with excellent work and incredible professional growth, and 3. Never forget that all eyes are on you – your motivation is what will push your team to work hard. Without a doubt, I can state that she succeeded as a leader and wish her a lot of good luck for the final year of her studies!
As you might or might not know, the organizing team of the Young Hoteliers Summit changes completely every year. This will, therefore, be the last YHStories blogpost for a while. I hope this format allowed you to see the more personal side of YHS and to discover some interesting personalities! On a more personal note, I am very proud of the outcome of this series of stories and would like to thank all PR & Press assistants who played an essential role in its development. I could not have done it alone! Being part of the Young Hoteliers Summit’s organizing team made me step out of my comfort zone, improved my communication skills, and allowed me to become part of a valuable network. I can only urge you to step out of your comfort zone whenever you have the opportunity! Now, after almost a year of brainstorming new formats, writing newsletters, negotiating with media partners, and securing YHS coverage, it is time for me to “retire”. I will, however, continue to closely follow future developments of the event and am extremely curious to see what exciting innovations the new 2023 team will bring!
Good luck to the next team and thank you to all readers!
