The Young Hoteliers Summit adapted perfectly and was transmitted live in a virtual conference.
The world has gone virtual and so did the Young hoteliers Summit (YHS) event in 2020.
The Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS) remains a testament to the consistency of the traditional, and the progressive and innovative nature of the new.
The rapid evolution of the Covid-19 situation meant that the physical summit had to be cancelled just two weeks prior to the event. Nonetheless, extraordinary times have always driven innovation and change, and the YHS 2020 team was no different. In less than two weeks, YHS stripped down to its core and transformed itself into a virtual summit which took place on 16 and 17 March.
The foundation of YHS lies on its ability to bring together industry professionals and young hoteliers to exchange ideas and accelerate progress in the industry. The virtual summit extended this experience globally, as the team embodied this year’s theme of giving power to the people and adopting a mindset that is set on growth. YHS Virtual 2020 was a product of innovation, a keen sense of community, and a collaborative effort. With over 400-600 registrations on each day, the summit saw up to 250 to 300 people turning in live for each session – a higher number than a usual YHS summit would have reached.
YHS 2020 is proud to have taken on this challenge alongside its speakers: Anita Mendiratta, Elaine Teo, Paul Genovese, Michael Levie, Marc Dardenne, Henri Roelings, Steve Hood, Stanley Fourteau and Hans Meyer, as well as all the YHS 2020 partners and Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne.
While a common concern with virtual conferences is the degree of interactivity on such platforms, YHS Virtual 2020 was heartened to see the enthusiasm of its participants as attendees used live chat sessions and live Q&As to interact not only with the speakers, but also among themselves.
In these tumultuous times, YHS has witnessed the strength of innovation in adversity and the strength of community. The success of this virtual summit hopes to set new ground for creating hybrid events to reach even wider audiences both physically and virtually.
The future is here and YHS 2020 was ready to embrace it. In case you missed it, view the recorded sessions of the virtual summit here.
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Creating greater networks, building hospitality connections around the world, the Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS) has come a long way since its inauguration in 2010. As the largest student-run summit in the world, YHS brings together aspiring hoteliers from the world’s top hospitality institutions, with industry professionals across the globe.
