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.

EHL · 4 Jun

The hospitality industry is enjoying its longest expansion and healthiest growth in a generation, yet some troubling trends are beginning to surface that threaten profitability and overall performance.

EHL · 31 May

New , founder of tech firm Apaleo, said GDPR wasn't taken seriously enough, as had happened with Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance. "This is a new topic for the industry and very few people understand what it means. There are big risks with that, but the earlier people take it seriously, the better. And I don't see too many hotel groups and hotels which are really taking it very seriously at this point"

EHL · 8 May

Revenue management is all about pricing strategies to allocate the right capacity to the right customer, at the right place, at the right time. Airlines and hotels use such practices, and their customers seem to see the benefits. However, for the restaurant industry, things are different.

EHL · 27 Apr

This has been my first HITEC conference, and it has been one of the most informative three days I have had since I entered the world of hospitality a couple of years ago.

EHL · 24 Apr

I have had the pleasure of a front row seat at a very special panel discussion. The hospitality industry's top tech executives got together at HITEC Amsterdam today to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) and voice recognition. The challenge: to make sense of all of the changes happening in information technology and articulate value-adding solutions for the hospitality industry. How do we turn a land of confusion into a land of opportunity? The panelists had a few secrets to share.

EHL · 22 Mar

We've all stayed at a beautiful hotel, visited an amazing destination, or eaten delicious food at a first-class restaurant. We've also taken great pleasure in telling our friends and family about our experiences. That is to say, we have become influencers or trusted brand ambassadors.

EHL · 13 Feb

Over the past year, Google made major inroads into the travel and tourism sector, changing the layouts of Google Flights and Hotels and, as a result, it's hard to differentiate these from online travel agencies and metasearch sites. Further, Google Trips now offers discounts for tours and activities, and allows users to create folders for future travel plans. This option could help Google identify the travel intentions of consumers early in the planning process and make relevant suggestions based on the travel history.