The past HumanX Summit, hosted at EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne and powered by the EHL Innovation Hub, brought together hospitality, travel, service, innovation, and investment leaders to explore the future of human-centric leadership. Across keynotes, fireside chats, workshops, research insights, and networking sessions, the summit focused on how technology, AI, sustainability, and new business models can strengthen—not replace—the human connection at the heart of hospitality. Hospitality Net was on the scene throughout the event, capturing the energy of the summit and interviewing a wide range of industry leaders on how they are rethinking guest experiences, talent, innovation, and the role of humanity in an increasingly digital world.
citizenM co-founder Michael Levie argues hospitality's real problem is humans behaving like robots, and that automation should free staff for genuine human moments, not replace them.
Alina Hernandez argues that experience design must precede physical construction, with co-creation from guests and staff replacing assumption-driven decisions to avoid costly retrofits.
Pernod Ricard's Global Brand Homes Director Laura Sileo Pavat outlines how the spirits giant welcomes 1 million visitors annually across distilleries and châteaux, using five key elements to maintain personal guest connections at scale.
Kelly Ommundsen of the World Economic Forum argues hospitality tech is over-designed for confident users, under-regulated, and too often deployed without asking what problem it actually solves.
Mirko Lalli warns that 80% of AI travel suggestions come from OTAs, leaving most hotels invisible, and argues that 70% of the fix is content strategy, not technology.
EHL student and Young Hospitality Summit president Ilona Guérin argues Gen Z hoteliers are driven and passionate, but warns formalising "generation translator" roles would widen, not bridge, the gap.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.