THE THOUGHT-LEADERSHIP DAY ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY
Program in progress
HITT Day 1, 17 June 2024 (Monday)
- 9.30 Welcome & Opening Address
Host Maria Pütz-Willems, HospitalityInside & Moderator Prof. Dr. Willy Legrand
- 10.00-11.00 Session 1 / Reality Check
Unifying Sustainability Approaches? Aligning Investor and Operator Objectives for Mutual Sustainability Benefits.This session takes a deep dive into the often-contrary perspectives of investors and operators within the hotel industry when it comes down to sustainability actions. Our goal is to find a path towards alignment of interests, particularly in terms of sustainable business practices with mutual benefit and growth.
Impulse Generators:
Ufi Ibrahim, Founder & CEO, Energy & Environment Alliance (EEA)
Luc Boschmans, Managing Director Hospitality, Tristan Capital Partners
Michaela Reitterer, CEO & Owner-Operator, Boutiquehotel Stadthalle Vienna
11.00 COFFEE BREAK
- 11.15- 12.15 Session 2 / Legislative & Lateral Thinking
How do you speak sustainability, how do you live it - more radically? With the EU Green Claims Directive, the EU is imposing a harmonized sustainability language and new rules on companies and people. The climate targets must be met. However, implementation needs to be faster, more efficient - and therefore more radical? A debate about long guard rails, acting at high speed and going for profit despite less growth.
Impulse Generator:
Prof. Graham Miller, Rodrigo Guimarães Chair & Professor of Sustainable Business and Academic Director for the Westmont Institute for Tourism and Hospitality at Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon
12.15-13.30 LUNCH - delicious, regional, sustainable, plant based
- 13.30-14.15 Session 3 / Face the Risk
Preserving & Improving Assets: Mastering Risk Assessment, Building Resilience and Arranging Contracts. The impact of Management, Lease, Franchise and Third Parties.
Impulse Generator:
Heidi Schmidtke, Managing Director & Head of Operator Selection EMEA, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group
- 14.30-15.45 Session 4 / Circular Economy
Adding value through lasting materiality and circularity. Make more use of our natural resources in the lifecycle of a hotel, identify new ways of design, and increase the value chain. Learn with two specialised solution providers: The Dutch register for products and material and the California-based data and analytics company rating the environmental health performance of manufacturers and their products.
Impulse Generators:
Gesa Rohwedder, Associate Partner & Head of Hospitality Europe, Drees & Sommer
JoAnna Abrams, Founder & Chief Excecutive Officer, MindClick
Pablo van den Bosch, Director & Co-Founder, Madaster Netherlands
15.45-16.15 COFFEE BREAK
- 16.15-17.15 Session 5 / The Target
Mission Net-Zero: Tools and Tactics to Endorse Sustainable Building. Lots of talks about Net Zero, but we need to walk! This session explores the pathway to achieving net-zero carbon emissions. We will examine sustainable strategies across construction and renovation processes, focusing on projects that stand as benchmarks of a net zero, fully circular, and possibly regenerative life cycle.
Impulse Generators:
Julia Wein, Operational Lead, CRREM / Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor
Lissa Engle, Managing Director, Berkeley Capital Group
- 17.15- 18.00 Conclusion Day 1
Today's learnings. Wrap-up with Prof. Dr. Willy Legrand
Followed by
River Cruise & Get-Together on Boat #8. Together we walk to the nearby Pier 14, where a ship with a history awaits us. We set sail at 6.30 pm for a relaxed sunset cruise on the River Ij, with sundowner drinks and a buffet. Return around 10pm.
BEYOND THE NOW: FUTURE-ORIENTED INNOVATION
Program in progress
HITT Day 2, 18 June 2024 (Tuesday)
- 9.00 Welcome to Day 2 Moderator Heleri Rande
- 9.15-10.15 Session 6 / Tech inspiration
NEOM – How Saudi Arabia embraces technology and innovation
Impulse Generator:
Dr. Noha Ahmed Al-Harthi, Head of Emerging Technologies, Department of Technology, Research and Innovation at NEOM, the city of the future
- 10.00-12.30 Session 7 / Everything in Flux
Open discussion: Experts from science and research inspire and engage the audience.
Impulse Generators:
Prof. dr. ir. D.A. (David) Abbink, Full Professor Human-Robot Interaction & Initiator of Future of Work, TU Delft - on the future of work and the collaboration of robots and humans
Sylvain Morgaine, Vice President Innovation Lab, Accor.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Lennart Schmidt, Professor Technological Innovation, Hotelschool The Hague - on Robotics, AI, Immersive Technology in everyday life (examples and best practice)
Matt Welle, Chief Executive Officer, Mews -Tech Trends from the perspective of a Unicorn
12.30-14.00 LUNCH - delicious, regional, sustainable, plant based
- 14.00 In the spotlight: Sustainable Hospitality Challenge
Students present innovative ideas of the Leading Global Student Challenge.
14.45-15.00 COFFEE BREAK
- 15.00-16.00 Session 8 / Data
Numbers Don't Lie: Ensuring Credible KPIs & Right Tech Solutions for Hotel Operations and Investments. From verifying hotel KPIs to selecting the right technology for ESG reporting, it is time to get insights moving forward while also navigating the complexities of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Expect an enlightening overview suitable for both hotel operators and investors.
Impulse Generator:
Jahanzeeb Ahmed, CCO, BeCause - A Sustainability Data Management Hub
- 16.00 Wrap-up
Today's learnings. With Heleri Rande
HITT 2025: What's next? With Maria Pütz-Willems
Followed by the Farewell Dinner
at Hannekes Boom, a restaurant with a beer garden and its own harbor, right next to Mediamatic - the meeting place for artists in Amsterdam since 1662!