Webinar: A Holistic Approach to Hotel Reopening After COVID-19. Because Going Back to Normal Is Not an Option

Many countries have started to put in place plans to restart their economies and ease travel restrictions. The hospitality industry is gradually opening its doors. However, what we will find is that new procedures and systems need to be implemented, while guests' expectations have changed, challenging properties to rethink their operations and marketing strategies.

Going back to normal is not an option, but the disruption caused by the pandemic might just offer the right opportunity for the industry to introduce the bold changes necessary to adapt to the challenges of climate emergency and become more resilient.

This panel, organized by Wayaj under the Sustainable Hospitality in Progress initiative, will bring together several professionals from the hospitality industry to discuss:

• What hotels around the world have learned during the pandemic
• How these insights can be leveraged to speed up the recovery and build more resilient organizations
• Why sustainability must play a central role in the industry's recovery plans
• How will sustainable practices affect RevPAR

Wayaj is a sustainable travel platform designed to provide tools and information to help travelers and travel operators make better choices in the fight against climate emergency. Founded in 2017, it currently lists more than 400 eco-friendly hotels worldwide.

Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8354002892846083339?source=Hospitality.net

Panelists:

Brian Dass, Chief Strategist & Technology Officer - Wayaj, Moderator

Brian Dass is an accomplished travel & hospitality industry executive with over twenty-five years experience developing innovative, scalable technologies for the hospitality, travel & tourism, wellness, insurance, healthcare and financial industries.

In his distinguished career, he has held multifaceted senior management roles in hotel operations and he pioneered and founded two highly successful hospitality technology startups, developing complex CRS & CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, reservation & booking engines and cutting edge mobile applications for clients around the world. His company's were acquired by TravelClick and Pegasus solutions respectively.

José Luis Alonso Martínez, Managing Director - Muralto Madrid Princesa

Passionate about hospitality, technology and exploring the world with his family, during his career José Luis Alonso Martinez has worked in hotel operations, sales, front desk, F&B at top international hotel companies such as Forte Hotels Group, Meliá Hotels International, and Accor Group.

His professional growth has been propelled by a keen interest in technology applied to hotel operations combined with a focus on guest satisfaction. In recent years, sustainability has also become a prominent objective of his management.

Since 2007, he has been Managing Director at the Muralto Madrid Princesa Hotel & Apartments, in central Madrid, where he has been able to reduce the carbon footprint by 16% and he's planning an extensive renovation to achieve Gold LEED Certification in 2021.

Jordi Castelló, Professor of Tourism Market Structures & Sustainability at Ostelea, Tourism Management School

Jordi Castelló has over 30 years of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry. In the last 10 years, he has been focusing on sustainability applied to hotels and destination management. Since 2017, he has been advising on the implementation of the "Committed to Biosphere" labels in projects promoted by the Barcelona Province and by the City of Barcelona aimed at implementing innovative management solutions. He is also a Certified Partner of Earthcheck, one of the world's leading environmental certification and benchmarking programs.

Jordi Castello is currently teaching Sustainability, International Market Structures, Tourism Planning in the Master Program at Ostelea, Tourism Management School and at CETT - University of Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy.

For more information please contact Johanne Dorvil