In June 2020, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Sommet Education launched the Hospitality Challenge. This was designed to identify ideas and individuals capable of accelerating the recovery of the tourism sector in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative has received almost 600 applications from all around the world. The 30 top finalists will be granted a full-board scholarship for Bachelor or Master's degree-level courses at 30 different hospitality programs. All of them are hosted by Sommet's internationally renowned institutions specialized in Hospitality and Culinary Arts: Glion Institute of Higher Education, Les Roches, and École Ducasse.

The scholarships are dedicated to accelerating the personal development of talented individuals who will build the Hospitality of Tomorrow. Bringing the submitted projects to life and increasing their chances of impacting the tourism sector has been the driving force of this challenge. The three most entrepreneurial projects among the 30 winners will receive seed money from Eurazeo, the leading global investment group to which Sommet Education belongs.

Out of the 600 applications, 39% were submitted from the Americas, followed by Europe (28%), Africa and the Middle East (both 18%), and Asia and the Pacific (15%).

It shows how innovators from around the world can keep tourism, hospitality and travel at the very forefront of sustainable development and positive change for all

Putting People and Planet First

The Hospitality Challenge focused on four categories. The Hotels and Hotel-Related Operations category was the most popular, receiving 41% of all applications, followed by the Luxury Travels, Goods and Services category (34%), then the Food and Beverage category (17%), and finally the Smart Real Estate category (8%). The breakdown of the different categories demonstrates a strong interest in improving the operational side of hotels through its social impact, with many projects aiming to reduce unemployment and the better management of hotel staff.

Among the four categories, four eminent trends have emerged: waste reduction and sustainability, jobs and education, safety and travel experience, as well as revenue and productivity. Almost 50% of the projects address Sustainable Development Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth. Many projects also offer new perspectives on the COVID-19 response.

A large number of the high-quality projects promoting inclusivity and sustainability to reinvent the Hospitality of Tomorrow, also provides fresh ideasfor the tourism sector. These will allow tourism to keep on contributing to overall socio-economic recovery.

Winners Announced in March 2021

UNWTO and Sommet Education would like to thank all the participants, innovators and entrepreneurs for their enthusiasm and contributions to the Hospitality Challenge, and to congratulate the 30 selected finalists.

UNWTO Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili said: "The tourism of tomorrow must embrace new ideas, new voices and the full diversity the sector has to offer. This competition highlights the best global tourism and hospitality has to offer. It shows how innovators from around the world can keep tourism, hospitality and travel at the very forefront of sustainable development and positive change for all."

Benoît-Etienne Domenget, Sommet Education CEO adds "we are thrilled to welcome so many diversified talents in our institutions next year. The variety of backgrounds and profiles will source of creativity and bring fresh perspectives to all."

Out of the following 30 selected finalists, the three winning projects will be announced in March 2021:

  • "Chartok" - Hotel Collaboration Software
  • "Coliving Hotels" - Medium and long-term shared housing rentals
  • "Digital Butler" - Personalized guest assistance
  • "Digital Concierge" - Digitalized guest experience
  • "FirstClasset" - Asset model and payment process
  • "Food safety and organic food production"
  • "GauVendi" - Retail system
  • "Go-Travel direct hotel booking club" - Data driven direct booking club
  • "Hogaru" - Cleaning and facility management provider
  • "Hosbot" - Digital Hospitality assistant
  • "Hospitality Onlearning" - Online Hospitality learning platform
  • "HUTS" - HR management support
  • "Join F&B" - Recruitment of disabled people service
  • "Komodore" - Guest management automation
  • "Lemonade Social" - Experience driven e-commerce
  • "Little Big Travel" - Experience travel provider
  • "Luxury Origin" - Immersive customizable luxury experience
  • "Mes Petites Feuilles" - Urban SmartFarming
  • "Olappa Linens" - Sustainable linen
  • "Recotrak" - Certification process for food donation
  • "Searchef" - Food & Beverage sharing platform
  • "Service Club Delivery" - Recruitment solution
  • "SiliconBali" - Youth employability
  • "Travel Seeds" - Sustainable on-line booking platform
  • "TrekSecure" - Covid contagion response application
  • "Tiptrip" - On-line guest comment management
  • "Viridescent" - Eco-friendly on-line booking platform
  • "Virtual Hospitality Research Platform" - Research Hospitality platform
  • "Woof Together" - Standards in pet-friendly hospitality
  • "Young Hotelier Network"- Social impact community integration

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About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.