Carlos Díez de La Lastra, CEO of Les Roches - Spark Summit — Photo by Les Roches

Crans-Montana, Switzerland – The Spark Innovation Sphere Summit has gathered last week around 100 hospitality and tech experts on Les Roches Global Hospitality Education campus nested in the Swiss Alps, to discuss “The Impact of New Technologies on Traditional Hospitality”.

While travel and hospitality will always be essentially a ‘people’ thing, the industry is in quest for innovations. During the event, speakers from the hospitality & tech industries shared insights and discuss about how some technologies such as AI, robotics, VR, holograms, Web3 and others are changing the hospitality industry, especially to enhance customer experience and revenue.

For Pablo Garcia, Director of Spark at Les Roches Crans-Montana, the key highlights of the summit are:

  • “Technology is here and there is no way back, we need to be educated around it, embrace it and lead it. It is a culture we need to foster among hospitality students.
  • The purpose of Innovation is not just about technology, is about making life easier to employees and customers.
  • Innovation and sustainability go together. We need innovation and innovators to create solutions to support a sustainable development.
  • Technology will not replace human being; it will enhance their added value.
  • Innovation is not just about technology; it is a process innate to human beings.
  • Covid 19 has changed our society. We live now in a new normality with hybrid realty and possibilities. Ever-changing business environments are part of this reality. No matter what the type of industry it is, all companies need to re-thinking how to deliver the best customer experience.”

Susana Garrido, Director of Spark Marbella recommended an: “open innovation and a co-creation approach in which Hospitality players have to learn to attract and retain talents to design solutions that ignite change and to choose only those innovative approaches that will be valuable to all stakeholders, avoiding technology just for the sake of technology. “

Carlos Díez de La Lastra, CEO of Les Roches has called for: “a collaboration between industry, education and public institutions, private actors and start-ups which is key to create a strong eco-system looking at adding value to businesses, employees and customers alike.”

With Spark, Les Roches has created a worldwide innovation platform to endorse hospitality invention which encompasses pre-incubation and incubation solutions for entrepreneurs that are delivering revolutionary ideas to the hospitality and tourism sector.

Spark empowers learners, graduates, and corporate allies to design and implement novel hospitality solutions in on-campus living laboratories.

About Les Roches

Les Roches is a distinguished Swiss institution dedicated to fostering innovative and entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow in the hospitality industry. Founded in 1954 in Switzerland, Les Roches offers undergraduate, graduate degrees and executive programs in Luxury, Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. Les Roches has campuses across Switzerland, Spain, UAE and China, as well as partner campus in near New Delhi.

Part of Sommet Education, worldwide leader in hospitality education, Les Roches ranks in the top 5 in the world's higher education institutions for hospitality and leisure management (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2024).

Les Roches has received official recognition from the Swiss Accreditation Council (SAC) as a Swiss University of Applied Sciences Institute. In addition to this recognition, Les Roches is also accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

For more information, please visit: https://lesroches.edu/

About ILUNION Hotels

ILUNION Hotels currently operates 31 hotels located in Spain's main urban and holiday destinations. Its model is pioneering and a benchmark for universal accessibility, diversity, social and labor inclusion for people with disabilities in the tourism sector. Based on a strong belief of real equal opportunity. It is the first hotel company to receive the Global Certification in Universal Accessibility (UNE-170001-2) in all its properties, as well as the EFQM 600+ Seal.

ILUNION Hotels offers its clients unique experiences, supported by an exceptional team of more than 1,800 professionals, of whom approximately 700 have some kind of disability and over 200 belong to groups with employment inclusion challenges. In its 15 Special Employment Centers, this group represents more than 70 % of the workforce.

For more information, please visit: https://ilunionhotels.com/

Anouck Weiss
Chief Communication Officer, Sommet Education
Les Roches

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