Four Canadian teams compete at Young Hoteliers Summit

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Teams from Royal Roads, ITHQ, Ryerson and University of Guelph competed at the Young Hoteliers Summit held last month. No overall winners, but participants benefited from the international experience.

The ninth edition of the of the Young Hoteliers
Summit 2018, was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, and included passionate speakers, impressive partners and talented delegates.

“The YHS team wishes to warmly thank everyone who took part in this
wonderful adventure,” said Anna Joy of the YHS Team at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, in a post on the YHS website. “After nine months of hard work, we were overwhelmed with
the positive response from the attendees and the passion and energy they
brought with them.

“YHS was an amazing experience,” said Statia Elliot of University of Guelph, who accompanied her school's team to Lausanne. “I can tell you generally that the Canadians did very well. The students are mixed into 15 teams of 5 students each with students from other institutions, and given 2 1/2 minutes to present their solution to a lodging challenge up on stage.

“Our Guelph, Ryerson and Institut students were lead presenters for their teams in the first round. Four teams were selected by the judges to move to the finals, including a team with a Guelph lead (Amber Douel), and a team with a Ryerson lead (Casey Cogan).

“One team was selected as the winning team (no second, third place – just 1 winner); not our teams, but so proud of how our Canadian students performed throughout the event. They really showed their strength as team players. With 40 institutions from 30 countries, it was a remarkable experience for us all.”

“My journey to attend the conference, Young Hoteliers Summit, was fantastic,” said Zhuoma (Laura) Yongci of Royal Roads University.

“It was an incredible opportunity to learn from
the industry’s professionals and network with the delegates of 38 leading
hospitality institutions from all over the world. This experience inspired me to learn more, and
motivates me to always keep on doing the best that I can for our industry.

“During the Summit, OneFineStay gave us the opportunity to come up with a
business plan in less than eight hours, and all the delegates were separated into different
teams. We showed our passion for the industry by giving our best
performance and showing the best versions of ourselves. We moved towards the
same goal while combining our diversity and unique personalities within the
teamwork.

“It was definitely one of the best teamwork I have experienced. I am
grateful to be a part of this global community of future industry leaders.

“Thank you again YHS, and thank you all to the wonderful friends and
leaders I have met on the way!”