One of the characteristics
that the ESSEC IMHI Center of Excellence in Hospitality, Food and Travel prides
itself on, is its ability to bring together multiple and powerful players in
the hospitality industry to initiate debates or prompt industry related discussions.
On the 6th of May, the Center certainly lived up to its reputation.
The 2nd annual IMHI Forum
brought together 29 partner companies, instigated three different round table
discussions and provided the current MBA in Hospitality Management IMHI
students with the opportunity to meet industry leaders and discuss their future career prospects.
Moderated
by Professor Peter O’Connor, the
first Round Table focused on the topic of
‘Careers in Hospitality Distribution’. Joined on stage by Cynthia Castillo, Head of Customer
Program & Relationship Management at Amadeus and two IMHI graduates, Julie Cheneau, Director Market
Management at Expedia and Etienne
Faisandier Group Director of Revenue Management at Movenpick Hotels , the
discussion centered around their passion for the hospitality industry and
advice for students interested in a career in revenue management.
As a
position in revenue management heavily focuses on numbers, do you need numerical
skills to be able to work in this function? Julie mentioned that analytical
skills are highly necessary however you also have to have the ability to be
critical and find meaning in the numbers. Expedia are looking for people with a
vision, who can adapt to the company, want to learn and are motivated. Cynthia
expanded on this by mentioning that to be successful in the role, the candidate
must have both hard and soft skills to be flexible and be able to make sense
out of the information. Etienne emphasized that the ability to think outside of
the box and willingness to go the extra mile are attractive attributes to have.
The pace of change is speeding up and you have to be able to keep up! Ask
yourself the question, what can you bring to the company?
The second
Round Table was dedicated to the topic of
‘Luxury Hospitality Management’ and was moderated by Denis Morisset. The
guest speakers were Franka Holtmann,
General Manager at Hôtel Le Meurice, Jean
Faivre, AVP Operations Western and Southern Europe Hilton and Michael Boroian, President at Sterling
International. All speakers swiftly agreed that the luxury industry is
experiencing a period of transition. The market has changed with more emerging
markets being interested in luxury and people becoming more impatient. Franka
commented openly that you have to work harder than ever to deserve your guests.
Hotels must go back to the basics with an emphasis being put on service.
Everything is about the customer, it is that simple said Michael. It is also due
to this that people from the luxury hospitality industry succeed when put in
charge of other luxury brands. They know the customer as they have met them,
spoken to them regularly and have had to solve many problems that have arisen
with a smile! They are internationally oriented because they work with people
from all over the world and have cultural sensitivity. Jean also stated that
luxury customers have shifted their focus on being someone and experiencing
things rather than having things. The industry must be agile in order to
understand how the retail industry works.
Is it a
challenge to find people to work in the luxury hospitality industry? Jean
raised a very good point when he mentioned that you do not have to be born into
luxury to be able to work in luxury. Hilton Worldwide is interested in people
who are warm and passionate. Franka strongly agreed and also noted that she
hires people on their passion as luxury is a state of mind. Jean believes that
there are many opportunities for ambitious young people and thinks that their
success in the company depends on the recruitment policy and how they are
integrated into the company. Denis Morisset also offered a very valuable piece
of advice to the students, travel and see the world. This will help you know
the customer and become culturally sensitive.
The third and final Round Table was on the
topic of ‘Innovation and Value Creation’ moderated by Professor Nicolas
Graf with Yves Lacheret, Senior Vice
President Entrepreneurship Advocacy at Accor, Michael Levie, Board member at SnapShot GmbH & co-founder of
CitizenM and Xavier Destribats,
President Europe, Executive Operations at Kempinski in the discussion panel. Innovation
seems to be the buzzword of today, everyone is talking about it and attempting
to inspire their employees to be more innovative. Yves said that innovation is
any bright idea that can add value for instance by generating a new product or
service. Michael quickly stepped in to add that people tend to confuse
innovation with new creation however that is not always the case. Innovation is
so important that Kempinski have spent the last 4 years heavily investing in
it. Accor are also attempting to boost their innovation by working with
companies outside of the group and especially with start-ups to come up with
new ideas.
So how can
you foster creativity and innovation? According to Xavier, you can’t put people
in a room for a couple of hours and expect them to be innovative, this is why
having an innovation department will not automatically lead to success. Everyone
should be involved in the process and staff should be encouraged to be
innovative by being constantly open to new things and experiences. All speakers
agree that empowerment is an important factor. Most individuals want to belong
to an organization which means having the passion to get up every morning and
to do your best. They also want to participate and be recognized for their
contribution. Michael stated that the hospitality industry has become very good
at following the guests instead of innovating and also at making excuses as to
why things have gone wrong. He says that instead of making excuses, you should
understand why things went wrong and try to fix them. You can’t innovate and
create new services if you can’t get the basics right. Michael also followed on
by mentioning that organizations need to share their values when recruiting,
training and create an environment where those values live. People will produce
better ideas which are more likely to be successful in this way.
Thank you
to all the guest speakers, the companies who participated throughout the day,
the students, the alumni and staff who organized the event. The day provided
everyone with a unique opportunity to get an insight into the current trends of
the hospitality industry and what is in stall for the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.