176 students at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) received their Diploma of Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management – Corporate Economist HES, after four years of studies, at the Graduation Ceremony held on 25 February.
Between Parkhotel Vitznau in Switzerland, our inspiring new book project, the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, our latest research duty, and Reid's Palace Hotel on Madeira (our next release), we enjoy meeting our clients of the past 25 years. The Kronenhof celebrates its 160th anniversary this year. We have written its history. I had breakfast with Heinz Hunkeler, who manages the Kronenhof in Pontresina, Switzerland, together with his wife Jenny. When asked who is the better hotel manager – he or his wife – Heinz Hunkeler smiled and said: "I guess my wife. Imagine, she manages a baby, a hotel…and me!"
EHL is very happy to announce that Dr Demian Hodari, Professor of Strategic Development, was recently notified that his Doctoral Thesis “Strategy Tools-in-Practice: Contextual Factors and Practical Use” was chosen, by the Editors of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, as the winner of the 2010 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Award in the Hospitality Management category.
Hotel President Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland is providing the ultimate guest experience by introducing a new way of communicating with guests in their room via Quadriga's Sensiq solution, complemented by the highest quality Bang & Olufsen LCD screens.
With a growing collection of luxury hotels that now includes more than 60 properties worldwide, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts made several management and supervisory-level appointments at its hotels. Christophe Piffaretti was named vice president, development, Europe, for the brand’s parent Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI). Christophe is responsible for the development in Europe of the three distinct hotel brands owned by FRHI holding: (1) Raffles Hotels & Resorts: sophisticated luxury with residential charm, (2) Fairmont Hotels & Resorts: landmark presence integrated into its community, (3) Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts: personalized efficient service within a contemporary ambiance.
The Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne and the Rezidor Hotel Group are preparing for the second edition of the Young Hoteliers Summit – Industry leaders and students will meet to exchange knowledge and ideas. This March, the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne will be buzzing with excitement as the delegates from 10 participating hospitality schools as well as various industry leaders arrive to attend the second annual Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS) from the 21st to the 22nd of March.
Two leading global institutions in management education, EHL (Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne) and IMD (International Management Development), have joined forces to develop a unique kind of training, FBH Family Business in Hospitality, a new executive programme specifically targeted at family-owned businesses and hospitality.
Along the lines of its basic policy on environmental and social actions and within the framework of the Academic Year dedicated to Sustainable Development (SD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) is honoured to welcome Mr János Pásztor, Special Adviser on Climate Change to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon. Mr Pásztor will address the EHL students on 20 January 2011.
With his students, Mr Ian Millar, Professor of information technology and founder of the EHL Cyberhotel, will share their knowledge of the hospitality industry with Philips, leader in Hotel TV, who will bring all its expertise to the installation of its latest products in the School’s Cyberhotel, a precursor of innovations in the Hospitality Information Technology.
The Starling Hotel at EPFL is one of the first hotels in Europe to deploy Swisscom's convergent suite of IP guest services. IPTV, HD room entertainment, guest telephony, wired and wireless Internet access, as well as HD videoconferencing are all delivered through the hotel's Category-6 telephone network. Working with Swisscom as a single solution provider, the Starling at EPFL has reduced the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for these applications whilst impressing guests with superior service, quality and personalisation.
The Young Hoteliers Summit 2010, which took place on the 28th/29th January 2010, was an all around huge success for its participants, the organising team and industry professionals alike. Hospitality leaders such as Guy Crawford (CEO Jumeirah Group) Michael Levie (COO Citizen M) and David Cochrane (CEO Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland) were in attendance throughout the two day summit in order to witness and interact with the future leaders of the hospitality industry. The first of its kind, this hospitality summit was organised for the students by the students. This year, YHS 2010, brought together nine prestigious hotel schools with 40 representing delegates from around the world to solve a Creativity Challenge provided by the Jumeirah Group.
The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide, announces their 8th property in Switzerland: The Radisson Blu Resort, Andermatt featuring 240 rooms is scheduled to open its doors in 2013. It will be part of the project "Andermatt Swiss Alps", a master development overseen by Orascom Development Holding AG and including six new hotels in the 4- and 5-star sector, some 490 apartments in 42 buildings and 25-30 villas.
Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris is at ease developing a resort town in the Swiss Alps or a lakeside oasis below sea level in Egypt. In fact, he’s doing both. “Sand and snow are the same,” he says, explaining the expansion in Europe of his company, Orascom Development Holding AG. “These are the attractions that bring people to buy a house and bring people to stay at a hotel, and the hotel is the job creator that makes people want to come and live in the town,” he says in Bloomberg Businessweek’s July 12 issue. “Since we provide everything, we make money.”
The Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) is very proud to announce that Simone Hess, a student in the Master programme at EHL, has won the prestigious Hyatt Student Prize. Her prize, a one-of-a-kind creation by Baccarat, was presented to her on 20 April 2010 by Gebhard Rainer, Managing Director of Hyatt Hotels & Resorts (Europe Africa Middle East) at the EHL campus. In all there are 13 schools in Europe who are specialised in Hotel Management and that have been selected to compete in this competition. Competitors must be at least 21 years-old, hold a Master’s degree and speak fluent English.
On 4 June 2010, Ruud J. Reuland, the departing Director of the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), passed on the torch to Michel Rochat, the former General Director of Higher Education for the Canton of Vaud. After eight years spent at the helm of EHL, Ruud J. Reuland is leaving the School and hopes to take a few weeks of sabbatical leave to be spent with his family before becoming involved with new projects and challenges. Michel Rochat is looking forward to taking over the reins of the oldest hotel school and reinforcing its position of leadership on an international level.
Michel Rey, legendary general manager of the Baur au Lac in Zurich, Switzerland, had time for breakfast. Read for yourself why he wants to "read 587 books, play reasonably well the 2nd piano concert of Rachmaninow, find the mummy of Nofretete and win - finally - the British Open". A travel report takes you back to the roots of grand Swiss Hospitality. A journey through time, ending in 1927.
For some hotels, five stars aren't enough. High-end resorts have been awarding themselves a sixth and even seventh star in an attempt to set themselves apart. Then there's the Swiss hotel that has no stars and is defiantly proud of it. It's even in the name -- the Null Stern Hotel in Teufen, Switzerland, literally means "Zero Star Hotel" and there's a reason for that self-inflicted designation: the place is a bunker.
Stefan Winistoerfer brings more than 12 years of experience at Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, especially in the Food & Beverage sector, to his new position. He began his hotel career in 1997 as the Operation Coordinator Meetings & Events at Swissôtel Zurich before taking on the role of Food & Beverage Manager at Swissôtel Métropole Geneva and at Swissôtel The Howard, London. He then moved back to Swissôtel Geneva and took over as the manager of the Hôtel Du Parc des Eaux-Vives Restaurant. From 2007 to date, Stefan Winistoerfer has been working as the Director of Operations at the Swissôtel The Bosphorus, Istanbul, a Leading Hotel of the World. S. Winistoerfer graduated from the Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern (Swiss hotel management school, Lucerne) and the General Manager Program at Cornell University.
The dates of 3 and 5 February will be forever engraved in the minds of the 174 students of the Bachelor Programme and the Diploma of the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). In two distinct graduation ceremonies held last Wednesday and Friday, the students received their qualifications following two years study for Diploma students and four years of study for Bachelor Programme students.
The awaited day has finally arrived: The Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne and the Career Club eagerly welcomed 40 of the brightest minds in the hospitality industry today. The first day of the Young Hoteliers Summit featured the first phase of “idea creation” and the respective results, a panel between industry leaders and students as well as an outstanding speech by Michael Levie (CEO CitizenM).