Shaping the future of hospitality – The Lausanne Report

Important and sensitive moments for industries and the economy, such as the current crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, are also a real opportunity to make an objective analysis of the past, as well as a plan for the future. Only by understanding the mistakes and the context in which they were made could a plan be drawn up with a chance of success.

In this context, as the premier institution for hospitality management education, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) aims to develop and distribute knowledge for the continued growth and renewal of the hospitality industry through applied research, real case studies and innovative publications. Based on such expertise and somehow predicting the situation we are going through during this period, “Lausanne Report, Shaping the future of hospitality – Outlook 2030”  identifies key trends and drivers of the global hospitality sector to support its future development, as well as it provides expert advice and knowledge to players in the hospitality industry worldwide.

The main objective of this report is to provoke and stimulate a debate on future risks and opportunities; its impact lies in exploring possible new landscapes and in disclosing inter-relationship. The Report also exposes different scenarios to respond to these challenges ahead, providing thought leadership, promoting creative thinking and worldwide benchmarking in hospitality and it paints an ambitious view of the future.

Lausanne Report describes the future environment of the hospitality industry holistically and explains the interaction between the various global drivers of change that are affecting the evolution of hospitality. Some of these trends and relationships will lead to profound changes. The industry has no choice but to embrace them.

Threats resulting from climate change, safety and security issues, wild card events (e.g. SARS, Zika, terrorist attacks, etc.) as well as unprecedented migration streams are today’s and tomorrow’s game changers. The main challenges for the hospitality industry are the lack of predictability and the magnitude of such events – and how fast the industry can react and adapt to crises. The hotel industry’s ability to deal with this new type of fragility will be key to its success.

The P-BTE model (people, business, technology, and environment) identifies the major drivers of change and causes of vulnerability: economic fragility, globalization, societal changes, migration, safety and security hazards, climate change and scarcity of resources. Depending on how the hospitality sector is handling the challenges, vulnerability can lead to a more fragile or a more resilient landscape.

One of the main challenges to the hospitality industry is the magnitude of such events, their unpredictability – and ultimately, how fast it can react and adapt to such crises. The industry’s ability to deal with this new type of fragility will be key to its survival. Crises generally share the elements of surprise, urgency and danger.

The Lausanne Report has illustrated its P-BTE model, which represents the four dimensions of hospitality: people, business, technology, and the environment. It has become utterly clear that these are the main pillars of the future. The «P-factor» presents the core of the profit chain in hospitality, it links employee satisfaction to guest loyalty and profitability.

We, as hospitality’s industry will continue to be «ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen». The more important intelligent machines will become (robots, artificial intelligence, and so on), the more important the human factor will be. Hospitality will continue to be about guests and hosts. It will remain a guest-centered industry – with its eye safely on the three Hs: «hands, head and heart».

By understanding, positioning, self-regulating, changing and effectively communicating, we contribute to securing a relevant, credible and useful place for everything that HoReCa means in the collective mind.

The consumer of the future is growing step by step, what we choose to tell him, to teach him, how we like to look, how we treat those who work in this industry and the values ​​that define us are part of the future generation's perception of the hospitality industry in Romania. Whether they become consumers or the workforce, today's young people will change this industry and impose a new way of doing hospitality.