Reinventing the luxury hotel

Experience, satisfaction, ostentation, wellness, and sustainability, with time for themselves and for their families – this is a list that specifies the privileges of “deluxe,” which has no limi

Experience, satisfaction, ostentation, wellness, and sustainability, with time for themselves and for their families – this is a list that specifies the privileges of “deluxe,” which has no limits. Each entry has its own specific context, its own defined style, and its own privileged public. How do we understand, then, what the new trends are in contemporary excellence?

In a world that is constantly evolving and increasingly digital and globalized, it is essential, for the hotel of excellence to anticipate the direction in which the up level trend is moving. That is why “Reinventing the Luxury Hotel” will be the main theme of the next General Meeting of the European Hotel Managers Association (EHMA) , to be held in Milan from April 25-28, 2013.

It will be the city of fashion and design to accommodate for the first time in its history, EHMA delegates from all over Europe. This also provides a unique opportunity to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the association which brings together the most prestigious general managers of the Old Continent – four intense days full of meetings, discussions, and opportunities for discussion, and also the most relaxing worldly moments to discover the excellence of the Milanese and Lombardy in the name of gourmet togetherness.

The organizing committee has worked hard and will benefit from the collaboration of some of the most famous hotel business managers based in Milan that will head to the EHMA event, including Ezio Indiani, GM of Hotel Principe di Savoia; his deputy, Claudio Ceccherelli of Park Hyatt Milan; Ms. Alessandra Bragoli of Atahotel Expofiera; Francesco Brunetti of The Westin Palace Milan; Antonio Cailotto of the Grand Hotel et de Milan; and Damiano De Crescenzo of Planetary Hotels.

The Management Council Meeting will start on Thursday, April 25, at the Principe di Savoia, and will continue with the first training event dedicated to the theme “Reinventing the Luxury Hotel.” The University day at the Westin Palace will open, in particular, with the participation of two experts: Ian Miller, Professor of Information Technology, and Peter Agel, Senior Vice President of e-commerce and strategic solutions for the area of Emea Micros-Fidelio, Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (Switzerland), who will trace an overview of current consumption trends, with a series of examples from the world of travel and from the retail and technology sectors.

The aim of the intervention is to understand how emerging trends affect the hospitality of luxury. Samad Laarousi of the Lausanne Hotel School will address issues of digital marketing, social media, and the so-called mobile Internet and their impact on the hotel industry in the up market on a global level. The CEO of the Lausanne Hospitality Consulting, Yateendra Sinh, will sum up with a series of reflections on the best strategies to ride the change, inspire their employees, and convince their guests to choose a hotel opposite that of its competitors.

Friday, April 26, will be the second training phase: Educational Day at the Principe di Savoia, which represents an opportunity for comparison of best practices and creative solutions in the world of luxury hotel business. Among the stars of the day, there are in fact, people like Christopher Cowdray, CEO of Dorchester Collection; Kent Nystrom, President of Hotrec (the European association of hotels, restaurants, and cafes); and Michael Sturman, Professor of the American Cornell School of Hotel Administration; and Adam Michael Sturman, an American teacher from Cornell School of Hotel Administration. There will also be world-famous designer, Adam Tihany, whose latest work includes the interior decoration of The Beverly Hills Hotel, the One & Only Cape Town resort, and the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, as well as Nick van Marken, the global head of hospitality for Deloitte. It will then be the turn of two members of Made in Italy: Brunello Cucinelli, entrepreneur-Umbrian philosopher, specializing in wool production excellence, and Mario Almondo, Senior Vice President of innovation and a true icon of the Italian mechanics, the Ferrari.

Saturday, April 27, is dedicated to the appointment of the fortieth General Meeting EHMA at Hotel Principe di Savoia during which the new President of the Association for the next three years 2013-2015 will be elected. During the 4 days of work, the delegates will enjoy a series of tours to discover Milan and its beautiful architecture, a morning at the art gallery Brera, a day of shopping at the Serravalle Designer Outlet, and a seminar label and a cooking class at the Principe di Savoia. On Sunday, April 28, a pleasant day journey will be spent on Lake Como.

The delegates will also have opportunities for lunches, gala dinners, and banquets in some of the most characteristic and prestigious locations in Milan, including the host restaurants of Westin Palace, Principe di Savoia, the Osteria dei Binari (Hostaria of the Rails), and a visit of the Royal Palace, now an institutional exhibition site.

The idetikit of Ehma association was founded in Rome in 1974 with the aim to protect the ethical principles of the profession and to develop tourism on the basis of quality. Today it has 450 general managers of 5- and 4-star hotels internationally, representing 26 Europeans, for a total of about 350 hotels, 90,000 rooms, and 70,000 employees and a turnover estimated at around 6 billion euro.

For more information, visit: www.ehma-milan2013.com

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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