A great alternative to huge conferences

Why renowned sponsors support the HITT 2023 - Start in 17 days

Collage: HospitalityInside

Augsburg/Berlin (June 9, 2023). HITT is a great alternative to huge conferences, a platform for new thinking processes, a place to bundle competence and for exchange, without any competition... We are receiving a lot of praise right now from our sponsors Accor, Drees & Sommer, Arabella Hospitality and Haefele as well as from Expo Real Munich and Hotelschool The Hague. They are committed to the good of the entire industry! The quality of the HospitalityInside Think Tank becomes visible in the fact that 14 of 16 speakers (our impulse generators) will participate in the Think Tank on both days for the first time this year – more than ever before.

Only 17 days to go to the 6th HospitalityInside Think Tank in Berlin (June 26/27). It will be a sustainable event again, because the topics of 2023 HITT will spearhead the realisation of the sustainability strategies decisively. The strategists accompanying HITT belong to our stable partners for years: Accor, Drees & Sommer, Arabella Hospitality and, new, the supplier Haefele as well as Expo Real Munich and the Hotelschool The Hague. Their statements show a great appreciation for this small industry format.

Two of the companies on board have been sponsors since the first HITT in 2018: Accor and Drees & Sommer. In addition, Expo Real and Hotelschool The Hague are cooperation partners. All four joined because they trusted HospitalityInside – as in the online magazine – to provide strong content, help define questions regarding the future, and offer a networking framework that spans countries, industries and topics with its top-class experts from within and outside the industry.

The HITT started off with the topic of digitalization. In 2021, HospitalityInside as organiser of the Think Tank flipped the switch back then: It was high time to make sustainability a topic. The dynamics of this development, which we all feel today, shows how important and ground-breaking this decision was.

Meanwhile, a HITT community has developed, it continues networking amongst the members and there already some cooperations taking place. HITT has become more international and intense every year. Everybody appreciates the special atmosphere in a limited circle of 50-60 participants, which allows for friendly as well as professional cooperation and detailed face2face talks.

In the feedback for HITT 2022, 94% of our participants gave the event the evaluation "very good", the rest "good". This means, the yardstick is high. A success for this year can already be announced: As said, for the first time, 14 of 16 speakers will participate in the Think Tank on both days – a number higher than ever before.

Accor: A great alternative to huge conferences

"Through the Think Tank, hospitalityInside provides a great alternative to the huge conferences – a small event bringing together industry leaders, experts and innovators," says Patrick Mendes, Accor's CEO for Europe and North Africa since January 2023, on HITT's website. "The Think Tank is about bringing the industry forward together rather than focusing on the differences between the various players."


Duncan O'Rourke: Use the power of the large network. / Photo: Philippe Wiget


	Patrick Mendes: An event for leaders. / Photo: Accor Sandrine Roudeix

All HITT sponsors are strongly committed to sustainability – and this on large as well as small scales, with large and small successful steps concerning the realisation of this complex topic of sustainability in their businesses. Commitment is the most important factor when it comes to sustainability. Therefore, we really appreciate the support Europe's largest hotel chain has provided to the small HITT format for six years now.

Duncan O'Rourke, predecessor of Patrick Mendes and active companion of the Think Tank until his move to Dubai, pays high respect to HITT: "Accor has proudly sponsored the HospitalityInside Think Tank since its establishment by Maria Pütz-Willems. We at Accor wholeheartedly believe in its vision to harness the power of its extensive network by uniting global hospitality leaders in a unique setting. Throughout the past years, industry requirements have evolved, and the Think Tank has adeptly adjusted to remain at the forefront of the industry's latest trends and challenges. As I embark on a new role within Accor, I take immense pride in witnessing my colleagues' ongoing support for this initiative driven by the hospitalityInside team. I eagerly anticipate reconnecting with them to learn about the outcomes of this year's session, which centers around the crucial theme of Sustainability."

Drees & Sommer: New ways of thinking


	Gesa Rohwedder: An extraordinary event. / Photo: Drees & Sommer

Powerful sponsors ensure financial stability for events, but when it comes to HITT, everybody contributes their know-how and poses questions they seek answers to. In this casual panel, it does not matter who is holding the microphone as everyone contributes to the discussion with new suggestions. And all the leaders want the same thing: thinking ahead and making headway.

Drees & Sommer sees it the same way. The German-based and internationally acting project management company is present at a great number of events and conferences always on the lookout for progress and solutions. Gesa Rohwedder, Associate Partner and Head of Hospitality, believed in the potential of this new industry format with the HITT premiere: "HITT is an extraordinary event providing innovative suggestions and ideas across various topics as well as a great platform for initiating new ways of thinking and valuable networking. We are looking forward to the upcoming event and are happy to contribute our experiences and ideas."


Karl-Heinz Pawliziki: Take on responsibility. / Photo: Stefan Hobmaier

Arabella Hospitality: Free from competition

For many years, Schoerghuber Group Munich has been dedicated to the topic of sustainability - among other things through its real estate company Bayerische Hausbau - and knows about the peculiarities of hotels as a special type of real estate. Its subsidiary, Arabella Hospitality, and CEO Karl-Heinz Pawlizki will now be supporting the Think Tank for the second time.

"The interdisciplinary exchange across all industries will lead us to a common way and enable us to overcome the challenges everybody is facing, free from competition," says Pawlizki. "Arabella Hospitality is ready to take on responsibility. This is why we fund the hospitalityInside Think Tank and actively support the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance [where Pawlizki is also concretely involved in committees, editor's note]."

"Sustainability has clearly gained in importance for us all in the past year," continues Pawlizki. "This is why we see new opportunities, but challenges as well – not only in terms of operations, but also regarding administration. Thus, it is all the more important to use events such as HITT in order to combine competence and formulate leadership, unity and clarity across hospitality and find answers to open questions."

Haefele: Support from the supply chain


	Johannes Butz: Understanding stakeholders better. / Photo: Haefele

Haefele is a more than 100-year-old company from Nagold in Baden-Wurttemberg – and still open for transformation. From a small hardware-selling specialist shop it has turned into an industry role model in terms of door hardware, electronic lock systems and lighting employing 8,000 people across the world today. Johannes Butz, head of the company’s field sales force in Germany, is on the road in many hotels, always with his ears and eyes open to the topics of the day.

Last year, he visited HITT for the first time as a participant, and this year, Haefele is a convinced sponsor. "The hospitalityInside Think Tank is a unique platform for pushing on transformation of the hospitality industry. Thanks to the cross-industry exchange and collaboration with leading experts, we are able to develop innovative solutions in order to minimise environmental impact and facilitate sustainable processes," says Butz.

He also sees the dimension and detailed chances in terms of sustainability: "Our partnership with HITT enables us to learn more about the needs of the industry. We would like to actively contribute to understanding the stakeholders' requirements better." By supporting HITT, Haefele "clearly shows that we do more than just deliver products, as we are a reliable partner actively contributing to creating sustainable solutions for the needs of the industry. We are proud to be part of this initiative and are looking forward to the new impulses and great discussions in Berlin!"


Trade fair partner Claudia Boymanns. / Photo:Expo Real

Expo Real and The Hague: Cooperation from business and science

hospitalityInside and Expo Real have been connected to each other for years through a wide range of activities. Being Europe's largest real estate and investment trade fair, it aims at sticking close to trends and reality. This is why we are very happy about this partnership that already began in 2018. At Expo Real 2023, the "Hospitality Industry Dialogue" hotel conference will combine all topics and issues under the overarching concept of ESG. Insofar, it is a concern close to the heart of Claudia Boymanns, Director Exhibition of Expo Real, to attend HITT again this year.


	Academic partner: Regine von Stieglitz. / Photo: Hotelschool The Hague

The same is true when it comes to the academic aspect of Hotelschool The Hague (HTH), with which the hospitalityInside editing department is establishing a collaboration. Regine von Stieglitz, President of HTH, says about the importance of HITT for the hospitality leaders of the future:

"At Hotelschool The Hague we are committed to making a positive impact on our society and planet educating future hospitality leaders to drive a sustainable and hospitable future. As an advocate for a sustainable future, we believe in fostering dialogue and exchanging ideas to collectively address the challenges our industry faces. HITT offers us a great platform to connect with the industry, to gain knowledge, share our own insights and think of solutions for a more sustainable future for the hospitality industry."

hospitalityInside would like to explicitly thank the sponsors of HITT 2023. Their engagement is a sustainable contribution to creating the future of the entire industry. We are proud to have such partners by our side!

The 6th HospitalityInside Think Tank (HITT) on 26-27 June 2023 in Berlin.
Let's take you the...

Next level: Measure. Benchmark. Drive.
Lifting sustainability from intention to traction.

What is the Think Tank about? Watch the HITT video 2022,
including participants comments.

The details? Program, speakers, sponsors, price? At www.hitt.world

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