From data to deals: how hotel sales teams win more group business
A Holiday Inn Portland sales director shares how her team uses Knowland data to prospect for group business, monitor competitors, and build relationships that convert to bookings.
Interviews
Using AI to Teach the Most Human Skill: Sowon Kim on Difficult Conversations
EHL's Dr Sowon Kim uses AI-powered role-play avatars to train hospitality leaders in high-stakes interpersonal skills, and discusses loneliness, empathy, and her Women in Leadership programme.
Empathy Is Something You Design, Not Something You Hope For: Adrienne Boissy on What Healthcare Can Teach Hospitality
Dr. Adrienne Boissy draws on healthcare's measurable approach to empathy, burnout, and system design to challenge hospitality leaders to move beyond aspiration and build human connection into operations.
What 200 Restaurants Taught Him About Running Hotels: Christian Hürlimann on HotellerieSuisse
HotellerieSuisse director Christian Hürlimann draws on 20 years overseeing 200 catering outlets to argue that empowering middle managers, using AI for back-of-house efficiency, and trusting staff to resolve guest issues are the keys to better hotel leadership.
'We're Not Less Committed': EHL Student Billy Turnbull on What the Industry Gets Wrong About His Generation
EHL student Billy Turnbull argues Gen Z hotel workers aren't uncommitted, but that outdated behind-the-scenes tech and grueling shift cultures are the real drivers of early attrition.
Keep the Helicopter View: Bernold Schroeder on Leading Through Crisis
Kempinski veteran Bernold Schroeder shares lessons from leading through Covid and multiple Asian crises, including the value of helicopter thinking, overcommunication, and empathy over technical brilliance.
Lipstick on Legacy: Aradhana Khowala on What Regeneration Really Means
Dr. Aradhana Khowala, CEO of Aptamind Partners, challenges the hospitality industry to move beyond sustainability theatre, arguing regeneration requires measurable outcomes, community benefit, and a systemic redesign, not new vocabulary.
A Floating Hotel Whose Address Is the Ocean: Anna Nash on Explora Journeys
Explora Journeys President Anna Nash discusses reframing ocean travel as a floating luxury hotel experience, with 30% first-time sailors and a fleet growing to six ships by 2028.
We're Measuring the Wrong Things: Andrea Monti on Innovation and Impact
EHL Next CEO Andrea Monti argues hospitality over-relies on ADR and RevPAR, calls for impact metrics covering workforce and community value, and challenges the industry to prove AI actually frees staff time.
When Two Worn-Out Systems Meet: Maria Haggo on the Neuroscience of Hospitality
Maria Haggo, brain health strategist and ex-hotelier, argues that staff burnout and dysregulated nervous systems directly undermine guest experience, and that psychological safety is a practical fix.
From Making the Rich Richer to Making Meals: Christine Merckelbagh on Dignity and Work
Label Gamelle, founded in Paris in 2020, employs homeless people and refugees as its first job in France, turning surplus food into 2,500+ meals daily while achieving 80% housing and employment outcomes within 18 months.
I Don't Design Spaces, I Design Portraits: Adam Tihany on Emotion, Control and Turning His Back on Technology
Legendary designer Adam Tihany argues emotion in hospitality spaces comes from control and storytelling, and dismisses technology at the table as harmful to genuine warmth and luxury.
Hospitality Got Too Comfortable: EHL's Achim Schmitt on Decline, Talent and the Limits of Technology
EHL Dean Achim Schmitt argues hospitality's decades of comfort-driven complacency left it unprepared on talent and innovation, with retention, human connection, and competency-based education as the path forward.
When Numbers Aren't Enough: Accor Deputy CEO Jean-Jacques Morin on Leadership
Accor Deputy CEO Jean-Jacques Morin, speaking at EHL HumanX in Lausanne, argues that human relationships trump data in hospitality and that AI should augment, not replace, the people behind the brand.
The Gym Is the Front Door: Christopher Norton on Equinox Hotels
Equinox Hotels CEO Christopher Norton shares how he built a hotel brand around health pillars including fitness, nutrition, recovery, and sleep, pulling 1,500 locals daily through a 60,000 sq ft gym.
Enrique Calderon of Posadas on Mexico's Hospitality Boom, Experiential Innovation, and Building Brands That Outlast the Competition
Posadas COO Enrique Calderon discusses the company's 200+ hotel portfolio, a 30-hotel pipeline, 25 new proprietary experiences, and why Mexico's domestic leader consistently outperforms global chains.
Human X Summit: Pioneering the Future of Hospitality with Innovation and Humanity
EHL's HumanX Summit 2026 in Lausanne will bring together 600 participants to debate balancing technology with humanity in hospitality leadership strategy.
The Return of the Concierge: Why Human Judgment Still Defines Luxury Hospitality
InterContinental Seattle's Les Clefs d'Or concierge explains how human judgment and relationships remain essential in luxury hospitality despite AI advancement.
Revenue Management Moves Into the PMS: A Conversation with RoomPriceGenie at ITB Berlin
“RoomPriceGenie launches Revenue Intelligence with 15 PMS partners, embedding pricing solutions directly in hotel management systems to support more accurate, revenue-led operational decisions.
Hospitality Does Not Have a Labour Shortage — It Has a Visibility Problem: A Conversation with Paathz at ITB Berlin
Paathz CEO argues hospitality's talent crisis stems from fragmented recruitment systems, not actual shortage, proposing industry-specific platforms over generic tools.