Q&A with Andrea Lee - 2024 Young Hospitality Summit Competitor
The Young Hospitality Summit (YHS) is an annual conference hosted by Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, that focuses on the hospitality industry in commerce, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility.
The March 11th – 13th summit included various activities, from thought-provoking discussions to various networking opportunities, and the YHSChallenge where teams worked to create a solution to the case presented.
With this year's theme, "Bridging Concepts, Beyond Realities", YHS 2024 brought together 26 speakers, 65 delegates from 25 institutions, and guests from around the world to present their vision of the future.
She earned her position to represent HFTM by demonstrating consistently high levels of academic achievement, experience in the lodging field, and some outstanding leadership skills, including roles as Marketing Executive for both HTMSA and HAC, Training Manager for ACE Lang, and Guest Experience agent positions in both resort and city properties, and will be working in a property management position role post-graduation.
Andrea and her team placed third in the entire YHS competition! A huge congratulations! #HFTMProud
In this Q&A session, Andrea describes her YHS experience, highlights, presentation and advice for future students interested in the competition.
Describe your YHS experience.
My YHS experience was a mix of exhaustion and excitement. It was full of networking, interesting panels and keynotes, and a space for passionate us to share our thoughts on the hospitality industry. My main takeaway from this experience was the deep and thoughtful connections I shared with students from hospitality schools around the world. We shared similar frustrations and critical thinking, which provided me with hope for the future of the hospitality industry. I have truly been inspired to be a better leader in this industry, knowing there are many like-minded people based on similar values, that we can make the changes necessary for our futures.
What was your presentation about?
This year, 13 teams were participating in the YHSChallenge, in which I was a member of Team 2. Our team consisted of three different hospitality schools in the Netherlands, Canada, and Barcelona. This year’s challenge sponsor was NEOM, where each team was asked to “think creatively to come up with scalable solutions to advance the vision of a circular society”, remembering to showcase a “profound commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability”, and working to reduce waste, energy, and water usage. These ideas are to be implemented in any of NEOM’s projects including THE LINE, Oxagon, Trojena, Gulf of Aqaba and Sindalah.
Our team presented the idea of creating an experience hub, focusing on the aspect of social sustainability, called SyncSphere. Customers will create a profile, detailing as muc
h information as they want, in which our service will then pinpoint an individual with similar interests, personality traits, etc., and provide a space to connect, through movement. Our focus as a team was on mental, physical, and emotional well-being, to create longevity in life - which was one of the main focuses stated for THE LINE. Since our idea was so unique and innovative, we were honoured to place third in the competition! Since we did not quite focus on the environmental aspect, the jury decided to still select us for the next round and take a chance on our idea. I had an amazing time collaborating with my strong-minded teammates. This was a win that we worked hard towards, but I never expected. I will never forget that feeling when our team was called up on stage; it was such an indescribable feeling for sure.
What was the highlight of the Young Hospitality Summit?
The highlight of YHS was the friends and lifetime connections I made. From getting on the transit to EHL, to the very end at the gala, I will never take these connections for granted. Our similar passions, beliefs, and strong critical thinking on industry issues brought us together, no matter the cultural differences we came from. They have truly reignited the spark within me and inspired me for what I want to do as an upcoming leader within the industry.
Do you have any advice for students considering this competition in the future?
The worst they can say is no. I think it’s important to continuously challenge yourself and take those risks. I find that often, our potential is held back because we are expecting to win or to be selected. But just taking those risks and doing it for yourself to say that you’ve tried it and given it your all, is the best thing you can do to continuously develop and grow as an individual. It is going to be busy, and exhausting, but you’ll realize how worth it, this experience truly is. It is always the people you meet that will make it worth the hard work.
I am forever grateful for this opportunity to represent the Lang School of Business at YHS 2024. Thank you to the School of Hospitality, Food & Tourism Management, the Lang School of Business & Economics, our HFTM faculty, specifically Professor Jo and Professor Murray, and my peers who have been supporting me since the very beginning; I could not have been able to achieve this without this support and guidance throughout my university career.