Worldhotels, a leading global group of independent hotels, has gathered more than 70 of its hoteliers and senior industry experts at its annual International Leadership Conference to discuss issues affecting business leaders today and in the future. During the conference, which took place on September 18th through 21st at the Point Hotel Barbaros, one of the best hotels in Istanbul, Worldhotels also launched its partnership with Lausanne Hospitality Consulting (LHC).
As part of the agreement, the group’s hoteliers can now enroll to LHC’s renowned annual summer and winter programme, taking advantage of customised training opportunities for hotel executives. The partnership complements Worldhotels’ talent development programme The Academy, which the group operates together with its sister company IFH® Institute For Hospitality Management. The Academy calendar offers Worldhotels’ hoteliers almost 500 training courses per year in 14 areas of specialty, ranging from yield, revenue and front office management to sales, international marketing and distribution.
“LHC is an institution in the hospitality industry and we are delighted to have found such an experienced partner for executive training”, comments Robert Hornman, Managing Director at Worldhotels. “With LHC’s high-quality programme, we can now further expand our own training curriculum and offer customised training opportunities for Worldhotels hoteliers in executive and management positions.”
In line with the conference’s theme “The Power of our Differences”, Robert Hornman also took the chance to outline the group’s future prospects and initiatives and introduce the audience to renowned key speakers. Among them was for example Frank Astheimer, Director of Non-Air Partnerships of Miles & More International, who joined Worldhotels’ Global Vice President Marketing & Sales, Paulo Salvador, in a panel discussion stressing the importance of customer loyalty. The group also announced updates on Worldhotels’ own loyalty programme which will be launched in 2014.
Other key speakers included Leo Brand, CEO of Swisscom Hospitality Service, giving insight on how internet technology is changing the hotel industry and Robbie Bargh, Founder and Creative Principal of Gorgeous Group, offering an overview of today’s food and beverage guest experience. On stage were also Efe Aydar, Partner and General Manager of Autoban; Kuzey Alexander Esener, Head of Corporate and Financial Press in Corporate Communications at Vodafone Germany; Cem Monsur, chief conductor at the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra; Ömer K. Isvan, MHCIMA, MBIM, CEO, Hotel General Manager and Partner of Servotel Corporation; Hüseyin Öztürk, CEO of The Marmara Collection, an organization which works with some of the best hotels in Istanbul; Stephen Rowley, Chairman and CEO, IHS and last but not least, Yateendra Sinh, CEO of Lausanne Hospitality Consulting.
Rounding off the exclusive gathering, Worldhotels presented its 2013 Leadership Award to Aqeel Raees, CEO of Gulf Hotels Group and Vice Chairman of Bahrain Family Leisure Company, to honour his contribution to the tourism industry.
Worldhotels introduced its International Leadership Conference in 2006, offering CEO’s, Owners and General Managers of its hotels a platform to exchange their experiences and discuss current and future industry trends.
About WorldHotels:
WorldHotels represent a collection of over 400 4-star, 5-star, luxury and boutique hotels around the world. To book or find out more, visit www.worldhotels.com .
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