What if the future of hospitality begins with inner development?

Hospitality is a people business. But how do you develop the professionals who will lead the sector in the future?

Students from the four Dutch hotel management schools have started a joint research and innovation project on leadership and personal development in the hospitality sector. The project is a pilot by CELTH, in collaboration with Corendon Hotels & Resorts.

With Corendon's iconic Boeing 747-400 in the background, the official kick-off took place on Thursday 5 March. Students, researchers and industry professionals came together to launch the project and explore initial ideas.

During the opening, Michel Brokke (Project Manager & Coordinator Hospitality, CELTH) and Lobke Elbers (Lead Research & Innovation Human Capital, CELTH) introduced students to the relevance of this research for the sector. CELTH facilitates the project through a multidisciplinary collaboration between education, research and the hospitality sector, together with Corendon, Breda University of Applied Sciences, Hotelschool The Hague, NHL Stenden and Hotel Management School Maastricht.

The future of hospitality and human development is not shaped by organisations alone. It is also shaped by the students who are already thinking today about what human development in hospitality might look like tomorrow.

Pilot as an "idea generator" for Corendon Hotels & Resorts

During the kick-off, Cindy Kasanmoeseni (Head of HR Hotels NL, Corendon) gave a deep dive into the organisation and the context of the research.

Corendon is both client and host for the kick-off and the upcoming progress events. Alongside impeccable hospitality, Corendon also shows clear commitment across the organisation, with employees sharing practical insights on leadership, work culture and talent development.

Speed dating proved effective for innovation projects too, over eight rounds of non-stop ten-minute conversations. Student teams immediately took the lead in an interactive round of questions with Corendon staff, providing an initial form of primary data collection for their research.

Inner development as the goal

The project centres on one question: which skills and leadership qualities are needed to make hospitality organisations future proof? And what does that mean for Corendon's HR challenges?

The project uses the framework of the United Nations Inner Development Goals (IDGs). This framework centres on 23 skills, an overview of competencies that are becoming increasingly important in organisations where people and teams make the difference.

The framework can be seen as a practical toolbox for social innovation and human development.

Jennifer Sies, Lecturer in Leadership Skills at Hotelschool Den Haag, took students through an inspiring keynote on the thinking behind the IDGs and the role of personal development in modern leadership. Alongside her role as an expert in IDGs, Jennifer Sies also supervises the student teams as a lecturer, together with Yoy Bergs, Edwin Sugut Tarus and Tom Kuypers, who all bring relevant expertise to the project.

From student research to sector insights

Over the coming months, the student teams will further develop their research. CELTH will eventually bring the insights from the various projects together in a joint white paper for the hospitality sector, with the aim of sharing new knowledge and concrete insights with the industry.

This pilot fits within the CELTH 2026 to 2030 strategy, which focuses among other things on:

• strengthening knowledge on human development
• collaboration between education and the hospitality sector
• developing knowledge on future skills in hospitality

With this pilot, CELTH takes a further step in connecting research, education and practice, and in developing the professionals who will innovate the hospitality sector.

For more information contact Michel Brokke ([email protected])