New trends and new brands are almost a trademark of Berlin, as the comparatively “new” city is one that has been reunited only since the early 1990s. It is a city where nearly half the population is new to Berlin, having moved there since the reunification. It is a city open to innovation and change with new concepts and new ideas that challenge conventions. It has developed a food tradition that is drawn from scarcity and adversity, foraging and being creative with the courage and confidence to do something different. It is a city that has created a culture of innovation whilst being firmly grounded in the positive values of its history and tradition.
EUHOFA International, the Association of International Hotel School Directors, held their 54th Annual Congress in Berlin, hosted by the HotelFachSchule Berlin. The Congress, over 4 days explored the theme of “New Trends and New Brands”. Through excellent presentations, visits and discussions, the 75 delegates from 21 countries were delighted and challenged by the theme that in turn challenged their own views of the industry and their own hotel school’s education.
The students of the hotel schools represented by their Directors are entering an industry that is characterised by rapidly increasing demand, changing guests expectations, new technological innovation, staff shortages and an industry growth that creates incredible international opportunities. One of the key messages from the Congress was that guests are looking for individuality and creativity in new hospitality experiences – a message that could be equally appropriate of the students in hotel schools.
In Berlin, individuality and creativity seem to be embedded in the city’s DNA. Young artists and entrepreneurs have been able to create new ideas and defy conventions. One of the main reasons for this has been the relatively low start-up costs for new entrepreneurs and new ideas, especially in the east of the city. These are areas that encouraged the flourishing creative arts scene for which Berlin is now rightly famous. This creativity and innovation can be seen in new hospitality concepts such as the 25 hour hotel, chef Tim Raue’s very different restaurant concepts, the media hotel nHow, where you can rent a guitar and cut your own music tracks in the hotel studios, or the Hotel Stue, where the heart of the hotel is the “living room”.
While these individual ideas are interesting in themselves, these are symptomatic of hotels and restaurants that are “pushing the envelope” and are a reflection of the wider trends that are influencing the hospitality industry.
The new trends and new brands have characteristics that “dare to be different”. They seek to involve the guest to create new experiences, to entice their senses, to have a sense of irony that surprises yet delights. The new trends seek to encourage participation and experiences, rather than just satisfying guests material values. Guests are seeking a sense of place where hotels have multiple identities that meet the multiple and changing needs of the guests differentiated only by place and time.
What is timeless is the need for the art of hospitality – that essential sense of welcome, of no longer being a stranger, but a welcome guest. This core of hospitality is to be generous with our time, our attention, our professionalism and our enthusiasm. These are the key characteristics that technology cannot replace; the passion and enthusiasm and commitment, or as Tim Raue said in his presentation to the Congress, “it is always the humans that make it special”.
As directors of international hotel schools, the members of EUHOFA International are very conscious of their responsibilities to prepare their students not just for the industry of today, but for the industry of tomorrow and the tomorrow after that. The students of today are the leaders of the future and the schools have a responsibility to foster the students’ opportunities and potential.
It is congresses such as this that provide impetus to consider the implications of these new trends for our own hotel school programmes. They force the questions: “Is our curriculum recognising these new trends? Is it flexible enough to be able to accommodate these new trends? Is it really a curriculum for the future, rather than the curriculum of the past?”
Do we as educators have the courage and confidence to be disruptive with our curriculum, to create flexibility, and to be able to recognise the changing needs and aspirations of the students? To see them in the same way as hoteliers see guests – to be able to know them, see them, empower them, and surprise them?
It is as members of EUHOFA International that we have the opportunity to consider how we respond to these new trends and new brands. As an organisation, we can share best practice, be innovative and work collectively, not just for the benefit of our schools and students, but also for the long-term benefit of the industry.
About the author
Professor Peter A. Jones, MBE, is the Dean of the eHotelier Academy. With a distinguished career in hospitality, education and training, Peter has been involved with national and international projects with clients involved in hospitality education. Peter is a Director the Edge Hotel School and of Hotel Future, a new education and training initiative in Greater Manchester and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Derby. He was also awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to the hospitality industry.
