HSMAI Europe Commercial Career Start Program 2026 Kicks Off This Afternoon!
Supporting the next generation of leaders is one of HSMAI Europe’s key strategic priorities. The Commercial Career Start Program is just one part of a broader vision to attract, develop, and engage young talent.
The HSMAI Europe Commercial Career Start Program supports hospitality students and recent graduates in transitioning from studying to their first roles in sales, revenue, or marketing in the industry.
The idea was born out of HSMAI Europe’s Student Council, recognizing the need for a program like this.
The program offers three tracks: Sales, Revenue, and Marketing. It is structured as a series of online sessions over 12 weeks, designed and delivered by hospitality industry professionals from program partners — Accor, Marriott International, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and IHG Hotels & Resorts — who share how sales, revenue, and marketing roles work in practice, preparing young talent for entry-level positions in sales, revenue management, and marketing in the hospitality industry.
Read more about the program by clicking the link below.
Today we kick off the program with the welcome session, which will be opened by Nelum Gunewardane, Director of Commercial, Northern Europe at InterContinental Hotels Group, with the talk: “The Business Behind the Beds: Your Future in Hospitality Commercial”.
The program received great feedback last year from participants, and it has now become an annual initiative.
This year the program saw a significant increase in interest. This year we received 140 applications (twice more than the first edition last year). Even though we could not accommodate all applicants in every track they applied for, the 2026 edition kicks off today with over 100 participants from more than 10 educational institutions.
A huge thank you to our program partners — Accor, Marriott International, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and IHG Hotels & Resorts —who supported this program last year and are supporting it again this year. Industry professionals from these companies will contribute their time and expertise to support young talent interested in the commercial side of hospitality.
On behalf of HSMAI Europe and the industry as a whole, I would like to express how grateful we are to have seen this initiative come to life last year. Supporting the next generation of commercial leaders in hospitality is not just important, it is essential for the future of our industry.
A very special thank you goes to our amazing Yana Kyrylyuk, our Young Talent Program Manager and everyone involved in bringing this program together. Your dedication, energy, and commitment to connecting students with real industry insight truly make a difference.
This initiative is a great example of what can happen when we successfully bridge the gap between hotel schools and the industry, something that has been a key focus within the HSMAI Europe community for some years now. It’s incredibly rewarding to see an idea that originated from within our network evolve into a program that creates real value for both students and employers.
Also in the next two weeks, HSMAI Europe will host two events for students at Hotel Management School Maastricht in the Netherlands:
- 24th March – Future YOU, local event designed to help young people discover rewarding (and sometimes unexpected) career paths in hospitality, such as revenue management, sales, and marketing. The goal is to show that hospitality can be a place to build a long-term career, far beyond the traditional operational roles they usually associate with the industry. The event will be organised for 200 first year hotel students.
- 1st April – Hospitality Unlocked, the event is organised by the HSMAI Europe Student Council about “Pricing Power, Platform Power, Property Power – Who Really Controls Hotel Value?” for 3rd year Revenue Management & Real Estate students.
Have a wonderful day!
All the best,
Ingunn Hofseth
President & CEO of HSMAI Region Europe
