EuroCHRIE Dubai 2014

Conference Report

Conference Report - EuroCHRIE Dubai 2014

– by Hervé Fournier

"Hospitality and Tourism Futures”, a very appropriate theme for the 32nd EuroCHRIE conference taking place at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in Dubai, UAE on 6-9 October 2014. As quoted by John Fong, EAHM Director of Marketing & International Relations / Associate Professor and EuroCHRIE Dubai 2014 Conference Chair, Dubai is often referred to as “The City of the Future”. The future of Dubai is closely linked to the continued development of the hospitality and tourism sector. The conference was a big success and the EAHM team led by Managing Director Ron Hilvert did a fabulous job: at EAHM, they really practice what they teach! More than 250 delegates from over 50 countries representing almost 100 institutions were able to experience a very warm welcome by EAHM staff and students, as well as to enjoy the great facilities at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Prior to the conference on 5th and 6th October, the EuroCHRIE Academy proposed a “Train the Trainer” session for the “Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics” course jointly offered by ICHRIE, the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute and the STR SHARE Center – thanks to Steve Hood from STR who facilitated the session. Federation leaders met at the EuroCHRIE Board meeting to discuss follow-ups from the I-CHRIE conference in San Diego and to prepare the AGM.

The First Attendee and the Welcome Receptions on the sun deck of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel with the Burj Al Arab in the background gave the participants a taste of what was to come. It was a great time for new delegates to find out about EuroCHRIE and for the members to meet again and catch-up. A special welcome was given to a group of students from the University of Nebraska (led by Dipra Jha and Marilyn Schnepf) who were on a Study Tour organised by EAHM.

The next day, at the opening ceremony, EuroCHRIE President Jan Meijerhof from Saxion University, NL and Ron Hilvert welcome the delegates, while Conference Chair John Fong introduced the first three keynote speakers: David Russell Chairman TSC- The Total Simulation Company, Gaurav Sinha Founder & CEO Insignia Worldwide and Steve Hood Senior Vice President STR SHARE Center. Their presentations were really informative and the joint panel after their key note allowed many questions from the audience. Their presentations can be downloaded http://www.emiratesacademy.edu/en/EuroCHRIE_2014/keynote-speakers/

In the afternoon, the delegates attended the concurrent session with paper presentations and three workshops:

- “Charting the Future: Hospitality and Tourism Education in Africa” was well attended and given the potential of Africa, it was certainly an eye opener for the participants.

- Pauline Tang and Stuart Jauncey provided a good overview of THE-ICE’s accreditation process and given its rigor, international recognition and not to mention prestige, this is certainly something that institutions will find worthwhile.

- Susan Fournier, Elizabeth Ineson and Lea Dopson gave an international perspective on the selection, role and expectations of part-time faculty members.

Susan Fournier also presented the paper she co-authored :Cross-cultural Study of Hospitality Students’Perceptions of Responsible Beverage-alcohol Consumption - Thomas Leib, Imran Rahman, Susan Fournier & Dennis Reynolds

To finish the day, John Fong, Ariella Adachi and Ashil Shah put up the Futuristic NEON night, with many delegates dressed to shine! NEON : New Era Of Networking (as John Fong coined it), the highlight of the party was definitely the projection of a huge EuroCHRIE Conference logo on the facade of the famed Burj Al Arab! According to local sources, this had never be done before!

The next day, the conference resumed with again three outsanting keynote presentations :

Salwan Finj, Divison Head and Regional Senior Key Account Manager LG Electronics, Peter Stark, President REDGlobal and James Mabey, Senior Vice President Development – Asia Pacific Jumeirah Group. Again, their presentations can be downloaded http://www.emiratesacademy.edu/en/EuroCHRIE_2014/keynote-speakers/

In the afternoon, the delegates attended the concurrent paper presentations as well as the Hotel and Business Acumen Instructor (HBAI) certification session given by Peter Starks from REDGlobal and the workshop led by Liz Ineson Methods of Qualitative Data Analysis, while Mathew Boice’s session on “A New Vision for New Systems to Drive Continuous Performance” gave practical tips on how to close the gap between information and action.

The conference ended with the Gala Dinner Award ceremony recognizing the outstanding individuals and organisations of the hospitality and tourism industry:

  • EuroCHRIE International Industry Award: HOSCO (award received by Olivier Bracard)
  • EuroCHRIE Regional Industry Award: DTCM (award received by Yosuf Lootah)
  • Institute of Hospitality Best Paper Award: The Employer Perspective of Sustainability: Implications for Hospitality Education
    - Alisha Ali (Sheffield Hallam University)
    - Hilary Murphy (Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne)
    - Sanjay Nadkarni (The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management)
  • Laureate Hospitality Achievement Award: Stephanie Jameson
  • Nestle Pro Gastronomia Award: Steve Hood
  • EuroCHRIE President’s Award (sponsored by REDGlobal): Hervé Fournier

The EAHM team handed over the task to organize the 2015 conference to Manchester Metropolitan University. We will EXPERIENCE Manchester on 15-17 October 2015. Call for papers is already posted on the EuroCHRIE website.

More photos on the EuroCHRIE website
http://www.eurochrie.org/conferences/dubai/photos/

Read Herve's full blog
http://hfidc.blogspot.ch/2014/10/dubai-eurochrie-conference-6-9-october.html