EHL · 2 Jul

Even as the adoption of high-end technology became increasingly prevalent across industries around the world, the hospitality industry had long resisted indulging in automation, insisting on the value of the 'human touch'. But with COVID-19 concerns still rife, many hotels and restaurants have had to turn to technology, ironically, to keep the physical, human touchpoints to a minimum.

EHL · 24 Jun

The educational disruption caused by COVID-19 represents a major challenge for teachers all over the world. The situation requires adapting the organization of lectures and the learning style to a fully online distance-learning context. Distance-learning is very different from face-to-face learning, notably in terms of interaction between teacher and students, also among students, and complicates student engagement and participation. The paradigm of 'student-centered' education seems more difficult to maintain in this new context.

EHL · 15 Jun

One of the most prevalent trends in almost every industry is the internet of things or otherwise known as IoT. What a few years ago seemed futuristic; it is now becoming a reality. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the inclusion of connectivity in everyday devices that do not usually count with those capabilities; it allows us to turn appliances "smart" by enabling them to receive, send data and communicate with each other. This will significantly increase the quantity of data available to us as well as levels of automation. It will also enhance the control and monitoring we can exert on such devices. IoT will ultimately allow us not only to turn devices smart, think thermostats and security systems, but also the environment and the real estate in which they operate.

EHL · 15 Apr

Real estate assets are traditionally valued manually, wherein computer tools are used in a supportive role. However, more sophisticated, machine learning-based valuations have gained traction in recent years. As the coronavirus crisis has posed serious challenges to the valuation community, in this article I assess the role of machines in asset valuation during such crises.

EHL · 6 Apr

Given that the coronavirus spreads as the population circulates, the only solution in the near term is to impose stay-at-home measures so the number of hospitalizations doesn't explode, pushing hospital workers and equipment to breaking point.

EHL · 17 Mar

Last December, over a 100 industry experts and scholars attended the 3rd Revenue Management & Pricing in Services Conference (2019 RevME Europe), hosted by the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in collaboration with The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO), STR, Hotel Performance and Room Price Genie. The aims of the conference were to create a unique platform for addressing issues related to Revenue Management and Pricing in the services, the role of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, and lastly new approaches in revenue management education and training. What follows is a summary of the key takeaways proposed by the experts in the field.

EHL · 27 Feb

One of the most prevalent trends in almost every industry is the internet of things or otherwise known as IoT. What a few years ago seemed futuristic; it is now becoming a reality. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the inclusion of connectivity in everyday devices that do not usually count with those capabilities; it allows us to turn appliances "smart" by enabling them to receive, send data and communicate with each other. This will significantly increase the quantity of data available to us as well as levels of automation.

EHL · 10 Feb

Without a doubt, the food and beverage Industry is undergoing a revolution. Naturally, we could mention all the new current trends in the sector by mentioning those related to plants, sustainable development or even snack food, to name but a few. But in a rather more 21st century revolutionary approach, let's take an interest in the digital aspect of our operations.

EHL · 17 Dec

The hospitality industry is incorporating more and more technology to facilitate employee training in different departments and levels. Virtual reality, augmented reality and simulation software are just some examples.

EHL · 8 Nov

Technological progress in today's society has reached unprecedented levels; the World Wide Web did not even exist thirty years ago, while smartphones as we know them today have barely been around for a decade. Now, an even more sophisticated tool is at the forefront of changing the way we live - Artificial Intelligence (AI).

EHL · 17 Sep

The demand for talented resources in hotel revenue management and experts who can apply data analytics to predict consumer behavior and optimize hospitality business is increasing fast.

EHL · 20 Aug

Creating authentic and captivating experiences is crucial for the competitiveness of hospitality businesses because it can increase value for consumers ([1]; [6]). Experiences are, by definition, co-created in hospitality, meaning they result from "the joint creation of value by the company and the customer" ([7]), regardless whether in high-touch or high-tech contexts ([3]). Today, exploiting technology for enabling and managing these experiences has become commonplace in many industries, but experts who can co-create through technology to produce authentic and captivating experiences in the hospitality industry are desperately lacking. The Global Center for Digital Business Transformation suggests that the hospitality industry is moving closer to the centre of the 'digital vortex' where the velocity and magnitude of change are highest ([8]).

EHL · 14 Aug

Researchers at Ecole hôteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland are developing a forecasting model to predict guest stays at Swiss hotels but how useful will the model be for hoteliers?

EHL · 22 Jul

OTAs and hotel companies are often said to be in a zero-sum game - hotels invest heavily into their direct channels and loyalty programs to reduce OTA commissions, but ineffective strategies mean that they sometimes end up spending more than what they would have paid to OTAs. Meanwhile, OTAs continue to increase their presence and gain market share, reminding us that they are here to stay. But if we played the game right, could everyone win a piece of the pie?

EHL · 16 Jul

According to the 22nd Annual Global CEO Survey by PwC, the Hospitality and Leisure industry's success continues to rest on its ability to cater to individual consumers' preferences and desires. As the 3,200 global CEOs interviewed for the survey put it: "People eat, sleep, play games, cement friendships and seek cures in hospitality facilities." However, recent trends suggest that the industry has been losing that connection with their customers as third-party sites such as Booking.com, Hotels.com or TripAdvisorcontinue to gain a stronghold in the industry.

EHL · 4 Jul

Change has never been as rapid as today. The constant evolution in technology, at an ever-increasing pace, is changing our world and our working environment as never before. The impact of technology is reshaping occupations and new job categories are beginning to appear on the market requiring "hybrid" skills. Not only will staff have to know how to do their traditional job as in the past, but they will also be expected to have knowledge of the technological world that is evolving around them. The combination of the two creating hybrid positions that are in great demand but for which there is little supply. An example of this hybridization is marketing roles that require understanding of sophisticated statistical analysis tools and even data science.

EHL · 26 Jun

The evolution of the technology used in restaurants over the last few years has been very slow. The main types of technologies used such as point of sale terminals (POS), stock control management and table reservation have been stagnant for years. However, there have been some important changes such as using customer face recognition applications and a tendency towards using mobile phones. For example, the mobile wallet will soon be used widely even though it is not universally accepted yet. Voice recognition now also accounts for another ground-breaking technology that will shake things up in the restaurant industry.

EHL · 25 Apr

Using new technologies for pedagogical purposes is more than just a fad. It seems to be quickly imposing itself as the future of education. In fact, most professionals working in training and education are already well-versed in various fields such as augmented reality, virtual reality, e-learning and blended learning. Although still quite expensive to implement, there is every reason to believe that the costs will come down quickly and the high-tech classroom will continue to develop. To get there, however, the Internet giants - Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Google - are investing massively in virtual reality R&D, which could durably modify the way we approach training and education.

EHL · 18 Apr

Technology in recent years has evolved at such a rapid pace and taken us further into a sci-fi-like future faster than our ancestors could have ever predicted. From smart home-enabled devices that control our thermostats and refrigerators to cryptocurrencies that provide secure stores of value, recent trends have brought many pipe-dream technologies to life.

EHL · 14 Feb

Artificial intelligence is undoubtedly going to have an impact on the hotel industry as the bots - robots and chatbots - play a greater role. Julia Aymonier, CIO of EHL, says yes, some jobs will change, particularly those related to repetitive tasks. "The biggest challenge," she told Hospitality Insights in an interview, "will be to train people for jobs that are created by artificial intelligence."

EHL · 27 Dec

EHL is currently working on a project aiming to improve customer experience through a robot concierge solution. Lead by the team of Associate Professor Reza Etemad-Sajadi and working with partners from heigvd (Professor Andrès Uribe's team) and Swiss company Avatarion, this Innosuisse-funded project uses a Pepper robot whose movements, gestures and conversation skills are controlled remotely via a real live agent, mimicking the behaviors of a human concierge. The goal of this project is to evaluate how customers perceive the quality of service delivered and provide insights for service companies using an avatar as a concierge.

EHL · 6 Nov

Bloomberg recently released the latest edition of its index which ranks locations around the world - taking into consideration some 120 cities - according to rates charged by Airbnb. Among its main findings were that although Miami and Boston took the top two places for the second year running regarding Airbnb pricing, Middle East destinations are now some of the most expensive in the world, with locations such as Tel Aviv, Dubai, Jerusalem, Riyadh and Kuwait City among the top 15.

EHL · 8 Oct

Whenever you hear a news item about artificial intelligence and robots, which are now gaining a foothold in the hospitality industry and other sectors, the message is usually this: jobs are going to disappear, with perhaps millions of people facing long-term unemployment.

EHL · 2 Oct

The hospitality industry is becoming increasingly complex, with financial engineering, corporate governance, and strategic interactions with other sectors now part and parcel of daily life. In addition, publicly-traded major hotel chains manage a portfolio of brands and deal with a range of other industries at the same time. Hotels can no longer rely on experience and 'savoir-faire' to get by, but need to hire staff who are comfortable with quantitative skills such as mathematics and statistics.

EHL · 3 Sep

Away from home, surrounded by strangers and yet you feel welcome. The original idea of hospitality has remained unchanged since the creation of the word itself. Derived from the Latin word "hospes", meaning both visitor and stranger, hospitality has its roots in ancient history.