Crossing boundaries in hospitality education
For the first time since the creation the Hotel Schools of Distinction’s 2021 Conference took place in a full hybrid mode. Arend Hardorff, Vice-President HSD and Linda Veenendaal, Coordinator HSD, hosted this event at the newly renovated campus of Hotelschool The Hague. They welcomed all 10 HSD member schools, who attended either on-line or in person.
The gathering showed the resilience and strong bonds between our members. Aligning our education with our industry while serving our students’ aspirations, helps us continue to grow.
Both days were filled with numerous inspirational sessions in which we realised we can do so much more together than alone. The dialogue we opened, naturally revolved around everything related to hospitality education, such as professional development, partnerships, sustainability and quality assurance, as well as hospitality education during, and after COVID-19 times. And of course, the effects of COVID-19 on students, on faculty and on the hospitality industry as perceived by the different HSD’s members. The different perspectives provided, further fuelled our desire to learn from each other and to collaborate in ways we had not imagined before.
Next to breakout strategy sessions, day 1 included an energetic presentation on VR, by Che Govender, HTH lecturer, followed by insightful discussions between Board Members and HTH MBA students who attended in person. The dialogue continued during a network session at HTH’s Heineken Bar.
The programme for day 2 started by wrapping up the strategy sessions. Steve Hood of STR, then provided an update on the state of the hospitality industry, followed by a presentation by Edward Gron. Being part of an international market research company called Euromonitor, Edward explained the benefits of their subscription services for Hotel Schools of Distinction and its members.
The conference was concluded by a company visit to Lekker Brood, an initiative by HTH alumnus Wibe Smulders, impact entrepreneur and co-founder of Happy Tosti, Lekker Brood, Juni Lekkernijen and Social Capital. Wibe kindly provided a private guided tour in ‘Amare’, the new home to ‘Nederlands Dans Theater’ (NDT), the Royal Conservatoire The Hague and ‘het Residentie Orkest’ (Residency Orchestra). Wibe’s company will play an important role here by providing the catering at Amare. Wibe also shared his inspiring business story of contributing to an inclusive labor market by helping people with visible or invisible disabilities find paid employment.
Next years’ HSD conference is scheduled to take place at Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA), Manipal India.