This second day of the summit (28 November) was dedicated to learning and development, with four parallel modules covering various aspects of the hospitality industry. Designed to enhance skills, knowledge, and expertise, these sessions provided valuable insights and practical tools for industry professionals. The sessions were interactive, engaging, and tailored to the needs of today and tomorrow.
Hotel asset management
Hotel asset management requires a holistic overview and understanding of the complete hotel business – it is one of the few disciplines which requires both strategic thinking and analytical application. Thus, this course will enable you to develop a strong strategic perspective on what is needed to enhance value for the owner. This practical hotel industry course uses real life experiences and examples to provide an understanding of hotel asset management and the various contracts and hotel business models employed to improve performance and thus increase value.
Expert: Heinz Wehrle
Data driven in Hospitality Business
The hospitality sector caters to millions of travelers every day, and each one of them checks in with their own set of expectations. Meeting and addressing these needs of each and every customer is a top priority for high-performing businesses. Understanding customer desires, both in the present and future, is critical for business success. Knowing when, how, why, and where to appeal to them, be it through personalized marketing or a larger, mass-market approach, can mean the difference between occupied rooms and empty ones. Big Data is the solution for the hospitality industry in terms of appealing to customers more effectively. The sheer amount of information regarding customer behavior, decision-making, past experiences, and other relevant metrics is larger now than it has ever been in the past.
Expert: Jamil Hebali
Market scan and feasability study
A business always operates in an interconnected environment that contains several forces that affect the success of a business. Competitors, customers, economics, geopolitics to name a few. In order to make decisions about the future, businesses need to be aware of how & by how much the environment will affect future value of a project.
Expert: Remy Rein
Hotel Performance Analysis
While your hotel’s survival today is closely linked to its current financial performance, its long term success is driven by a wider set of strategic, financial and operational dimensions. With Hotel Performance Analysis you identify your opportunities or threats with expert advice from the largest Swiss hospitality advisory services.
Expert: Saar Sharon
LISTEN TO THE Educational Day Speakers
Remy Rein
Senior lecturer, EHL
Remy Rein
Senior lecturer, EHL
Remy Rein has a wide range of international multi-site management and consulting experience within the hospitality industry. His expertise spans the whole hospitality sector, ranging from 0 to 5-star properties, residences, resorts and restaurant chains and education. His operational roles span from GM to VP hotel division for branded hotel companies and family fund.
Mr. Rein has executed numerous transactions of single and portfolio real estate and hotels assets, performing different consulting missions including the supervision of feasibility studies, strategic advice, hotel management agreement and lease negotiations, operator selections. He has overseen valuations representing up to €5.5 billion. Its clients cover a wide range of institutions: banks, investment funds, hotel chains, hotels franchisees and private equity investors. Remy was instrumental in the success of CBRE hotels France and BNP Real Estate Hotels.
Starting in 2017, Remy Rein has been teaching within master, bachelor, executive education programs at EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne. He is a regular guest lecturer invited by major companies within the hotel and real estate industry.
Mr. Rein has an MBA from IMHI Cornell ESSEC with a concentration in International Hotel Finance and Management, a master’s degree in human resources from Lyon 3 University and an Executive Master in Art management from PSL Dauphine.
Heinz Wehrle
Chairman, Horwath HTL Switzerland
Heinz Wehrle
Chairman, Horwath HTL Switzerland
Heinz Wehrle is a highly experienced Dipl. Hotelier and MRICS, serving as the Chairman of Horwath HTL AG, Switzerland. With expertise in various areas such as Project Development, Operator Selection & Contract Negotiation, Hotel Asset Management, Transaction Advisory, and Valuations, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the industry.
He began his journey in luxury hotels, honing his skills through education and internships in Switzerland and Bermuda. Progressing to head various departments including F&B, HR, and Rooms Divisions, he eventually became CEO and led the successful management buyout of the internationally acclaimed Boutique Hotel Guarda Val in Lenzerheide.
After selling the property, Heinz pursued his passion for the commercial real estate sector in the USA. His expertise in this field became instrumental in pre-openings and restructurings of golf, spa & wellness, and conference hotels and resorts across Germany, Spain, and Austria. Additionally, his involvement in aviation led him to hold positions as Director of Operations for UN Missions in Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast.
From 2008 to 2022, as the Managing Partner of Horwath HTL Switzerland, Heinz immersed himself in hotel developments, restructuring, asset management, operator selection & contract negotiation, and hotel valuation based on RICS Standards. In recognition of his expertise, he became a Registered Valuer by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 2017.
Throughout his career, Heinz has undertaken numerous projects in countries such as Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Georgia, Senegal, Montenegro, and more. Furthermore, he strongly believes in the importance of professional education for young professionals and has taken up teaching Hotel Asset Management as part of the Masters in Hotel Management program at the prestigious EHL starting in autumn 2019.
In 2022, he assumes the role of coordinating Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as a board member of the newly established Horwath HTL AG. With his vast experience and passion for the industry, Heinz continues to make significant contributions to the field of hotel management and development.
Dr Jamil Hebali
Senior Lecturer, EHL
Dr Jamil Hebali
Senior Lecturer, EHL
Jamil Hebali, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer at EHL. He developed his academic and scientific research skills at the University of Geneva as marketing researcher. After working as a Teaching Fellow in collaboration with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Jamil increased his expertise in market research and market intelligence with JTI SA as Market Research Projects Associate. He joined EHL as Professor of Marketing and Market Research Manager, his main area of expertise and teaching are marketing intelligence, Big Data, consumer behavior and Brand management, etc.
Jamil obtained a certificate in Business Intelligence from the University of Geneva, and his PhD in marketing from HEC Geneva. He also has an advanced diploma (DEA) in information systems (Université de Savoie, France), a master’s degree in Management and Technologies of Information Systems (Ecole supérieure des affaires, Grenoble, France), and a Bachelor’s degree in Management (Faculté de droit, des sciences économiques et politiques, Tunisie).
Saar Sharon
Managing Director, West Ridge Asset Management
Saar Sharon
Managing Director, West Ridge Asset ManagementSaar is the Managing Director of West Ridge Asset Management, a boutique asset management advisory. Saar is a hotel and real estate transactions specialist with over 32 years of commercial experience, advising on disposals, acquisitions, asset management, funding, development, office conversions, leasing and management and franchise agreement across all hotel asset classes in UK and Europe. Over the years Saar has held senior positions with Colliers, Leonardo Hotels, PPHE and JLL. Since 2005 Saar has helped investors, operators, hotel brands, and lenders generate returns through hotel disposals, acquisitions, funding and asset management. To date, Saar has been involved with hotel property worth more than £12bn in the UK, Western and Eastern Europe, working for public and private companies. Since the inception West Ridge Asset Management In 2016 Saar advised on deals worth over £5bn of hotel real estate deals including the successful acquisition of 102 hotels comprised of 20,000 bedrooms valued over £2bn.
