Hotel Leaders Network 2023: "Commitment to developing people is desperately needed"

In order to have sufficient and qualified staff in the coming years, it is important for the hospitality sector to focus much more on engaging and developing people. Dominique Hermans and Jan Spooren made this appeal during the Hotel Leaders Network 2023, last Friday 17 February at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. "As media partner of the event, we were of course also present," says Daniël Bundel, Project Manager of HOTELVAK. "Good to be able to talk to various hotel leaders and hear what challenges there are currently, what is going well and, of course, what themes are at play. We noted a number of points that we are happy to share."

Dominique Hermans, CEO Randstad Northern Europe, brought a clear perspective on the future of the labour market. "Towards 2026, we see a structural scarcity in operational positions, domestic services and hotel management positions. These are and will continue to be difficult to fill. Moreover, the sector is perceived as below average in terms of attractiveness. Three vacancies to one applicant is no exception. So the challenge is to entice potential candidates. For this, the terms of employment and concrete development opportunities are decisive."

Jan Spooren, formerly L&D at Radisson and currently working at Bose as Global Talent Development leader, spoke about the importance of Learning and Development and how it can be used to find new talent and bind and retain current talent: "The industry is not making enough use of its talents. Traditional training opportunities are no longer sufficient for this purpose. After all, these are mainly about skills and development in the current role. What makes the sector attractive to the new generation? This requires a completely different approach. The trick is to let people discover their talent and we need to make time for that."

Spooren advocated the use of tools such as individual development plans to support a 'life-long learning journey'. "A linear development path does not work. It's about developing people organically. As hospitality companies, we need to create the conditions for personal growth, where people can follow their own path. There are no standard solutions for this. The employee's own passion is the key."

This was followed by three inspiring pitches from start-ups that presented themselves to the hotel leaders in attendance under the guidance of Stef Driessen (ABN AMRO). The winner was R8 Technologies, represented by Sebastiaan Jager. He managed to convince the audience with Jenny, an innovative AI solution for optimising climate control. This allows a hotel to achieve a substantial reduction in energy costs without investment costs by means of small interventions.

Cabaret artist Micha Wertheim took the day in his own humorous way in the traditional Hotel Speech. Giving a summary is impossible, but it was something about too many pillows on a hotel bed and the importance of 'people-friendly' light switches...

After a walking network dinner, the Hotelvrijmibo - extra extensive this year because of the 15-year anniversary - closed the event in a relaxed and convivial manner. Hotel Leaders Network 2023 was organised by Melle Pegman and Jacob de Graaff and moderated by Michelle Zandbergen and Sander Allegro. Melle and Jacob look back on a very successful event: "Everything was right. There were about 200 leading hotel leaders. Of course the regular core but also quite a few new faces. People came from everywhere, from Maastricht to Groningen. We are proud that we were able to connect so many hoteliers and facilitate a substantively valuable programme."