HTM students taking part at the Youth Hotelier Summit 2021

April 19, 2021

Two of our HTM students, Nera Andrijašević and Dejana Kušić, took part at the Youth Hotelier Summit 2021 which is the largest student-run hospitality summit in the world, organized by students of the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne.

The aim of the virtual 11th Youth Hotelier Summit was to address the shifts taking place in all segments of the hospitality industry with a Rethink, Re-Sculpt, Rejuvenate mindset. Besides many interesting panel discussions taking place at this summit, there was an option for hospitality students to apply to a competition and RIT Croatia students got the invitation to apply.

Nera and Dejana applied, got accepted and took part at the competition. Here is their insight in the process and the outcomes of this valuable experience.

Q: How did you find out about this Summit and what made you apply?

Dejana Kušić: "Our professors sent us the invitation to apply for the Summit. I decided to apply for the YHS because I have seen the opportunity to discuss current trends and changes that are happening in the hospitality industry. After I had learned about panels and guest speakers who attended YHS previously, I figured out that this Summit would be a perfect place for me to gain useful knowledge I could apply to enhance my future career".

Q: What was the content of the Youth Hotelier Summit?

Nera Andrijašević: "YHS was all about the hotel industry and its challenges. The most highlighted topic was sustainability and the COVID crisis. There were representatives of more than 30 renowned hotel chains and companies such as the Dorchester Collection and Six Senses hotels, who discussed topics mostly in an interview format which made it interesting for me. "

Q: Was your participation connected to any of your courses at RIT Croatia?

Dejana Kušić: "This is not a part of the course work, however, various topics that we did in the Responsible and Entrepreneurial Leadership course taught by prof. Milena Kužnin were mentioned. Lectures that we did during the ERL course have helped me engage more, provide useful insights during the group sessions, and understand the discussion topics better".

Q: Can you describe the actual student competition part of the summit?

Dejana Kušić: "We were randomly divided into groups. Each group consisted of 5 members from different universities. We had to come up with a sustainable solution for one of the IHG hotels as the main challenge. There were also smaller challenges that included inventing the local product for Dorchester Collection and solving a financial problem for IHG (simulated problem). My group was called The Hospitables-next generation and we were 6th. I was 4th at the gamification part of the Summit".

Nera Andrijašević: "As Dejana mentioned, we were divided into teams of 5 or more people from different schools. It was very challenging to work in such an environment in an online format considering the time zones but we made it. My team ended up in the top 5, and in the end, we were ranked fourth".

Q: What were the learning outcomes from participating in this summit?

Nera Andrijašević: "I definitely established some social connections with my team members and learned how to work under stress and within a limited time. I was also happy to be able to use some gained knowledge from the luxury courses I had in junior year".

Dejana Kušić: "I learned a lot about great opportunities worth perusing in the hospitality industry. The panelist gave us insight into what is currently happening and what will be the course of future actions that need to be taken in order to recover from the COVID-19. The biggest gain for me is the new contacts I managed to acquire during the Summit".

Learn more about the YHS here: https://www.yhsglobal.com/