HSMAI Europe Urges Hospitality Professionals to Support New Initiative Nurturing Its Young Industry Leaders

Connecting Future Leaders event comes to London for the first time, while upcoming HSMAI Europe Awards present opportunities for young talent to be recognised.

HSMAI Europe, the European arm of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), is calling on senior hospitality professionals to support the development of their rising stars – the region’s up-and-coming young hospitality leaders. Bolstering its efforts to help the industry attract and retain talent, the association is bringing its newly launched ‘Connecting Future Leaders’ initiative to London for the first time, an exclusive professional networking initiative for HSMAI members aged 35 or younger.

Set to take place at the InterContinental London Park Lane on Thursday, January 18th, 2024, during the association’s annual commercial conference, HSMAI Europe ROC, the first of four ‘Connecting Future Leaders’ events planned for London in 2024 encourages young leaders across our industry, to share ideas and experiences as part of their personal and professional development, learning from and inspiring one another.

HSMAI Europe is reaching out to its more experienced members, who value networking as a place for knowledge and experience sharing, to encourage their young talent to attend the first Connecting Future Leaders event in London, a concept that has already been successfully piloted in Oslo, Norway, with four informal after-work sessions proving immensely popular with those who attended.

“As an industry facing workforce challenges, we must do all that we can to attract and retain talent, and this includes supporting young talent with a forum where they can share their stories and experiences,” said Ingunn Hofseth, President & CEO, HSMAI Region Europe.

“The Connecting Future Leaders concept provides that platform and also reflects the role our association plays in fostering communication across industries, brands and chains, ensuring our sector is future fit and the talent pipeline robust.”

A dynamic social event, Connecting Future Leaders is envisaged as a region-wide initiative, with HSMAI currently identifying opportunities to take it to other cities across Europe. The special first London edition will be slotted in between the HSMAI ROC conference and the HSMAI Europe Awards 2023, another platform that provides opportunities for young hospitality leaders to gain recognition on January 18th.

Within the awards framework, categories dedicated to acknowledging the role of rising stars include Sales Talent of the Year, Marketing Talent of the Year and Revenue Management Talent of the Year, all of which are open to hospitality professionals aged 30 or under on December 31, 2023.

Award criteria details can be found here and nominee submissions should be sent no later than Friday December 17th, 2023.

Aside from receiving recognition, all recipients of the Individual Achievement Awards also receive complimentary attendance to the week-long HSMAI Europe Commercial Summer Camp 2024, covering travel, meals, and accommodation expenses.

Please contact us at postbox@hsmai.eu if you would like to be contacted about the Connecting Future Leaders initiative in London.