Last week, we held the closing session of the HSMAI Europe Commercial Career Start Program 2026.
This year, we started with 120 participants, of whom 83 completed the 12-week program from beginning to end. We are incredibly proud of the commitment and curiosity that participants demonstrated throughout the program.
Read all about it here
What characterizes the best sales teams?
Remi Morken, CCO, SalesScreen
How to sell when customers do not know they need you?
Benjamin is a French entrepreneur and investor. His job consists in solving major problems that hoteliers face every day. He is the Co-founder & Evangelist of Quicktext, a 24/7 AI-powered chatbot helping hotels increase sales while improving guest experience.
Benjamin Devisme, VP Sales, Quicktext
Revenue Management to Revenue Strategy: Best practices and key learnings to help your organization succeed in 2020 and beyond
John Gallagher, Sales Director, Duetto
Real time pricing
As the travel industry has evolved and become more digitized, markets that hotels operate in today have become faster, more transparent and more competitive than ever, pushing down profit margins. The old school of revenue management, where it used to be enough to pull historical reports from an isolated, non-connected PMS, to decide the future room prices, does not longer apply.
Alexander Edström, CEO, Atomize
Why are guests so unpredictable? Is there anything we can do in order to make them more predictable?
In recent years more and more hoteliers have commented on the fact that it is becoming harder to predict what demand will be like. Guests book later and later, events that traditionally had a high impact now have much lower impact and guests seem to change their mind on what they like. During this session we will discuss in what way we might be able to do in order to steer our guests towards a more predictable behavior.
Niels MekenkampDirector of Business Solutions, EMEA, Cendyn
Storytelling that works
Brands that tell stories are performing better. We will discuss how you can use stories to clarify your message, connect with customers and grow your business. Make sure your team is on the same page and creating marketing that get results. We will also introduce you to a framework that makes it easier for your team to create stories that work.
Christian Braathen, Client Director, Scandinavian Design Group
Commercial Technology Strategy
What choices to make to PMS, RMS, CRS, Channel Manager, cost implications, training implications, integration implications and more.
Julie Grieve, Founder and CEO, Criton
Close the gap between revenue optimization & digital marketing
Finnbar Cornwall, Senior Industry Head Travel at Google UK
Consequences of Inbound RFP Over-reliance – Why is it the Time to Establish a Proactive Meetings & Events Sales Strategy
MICE segment is becoming commoditized, driven by rate and response time. Cost of acquisition and distribution continues to grow. Need periods are more pronounced. Sales teams have subpar proactive skills – order takers vs. hunters. Sellers are fishing in the same pond with less than 10% conversion rates.
Erika Bucsi, Enterprise Director of Sales, EMEA & APAC, Knowland
Navigating the changing hotel distribution landscape
Insights to improve competitiveness in an increasingly volatile environment
Michael Mernagh, Head of Sales EMEA, OTA Insight
Customer Centricity
About delivering the promises made, managing the perception and trust of the brand on social and digital media through the experiences delivered.
Gil Mulders, Former Head of Learning Europe, Intercontinental Hotel Group and Chair of the HSMAI Region Europe People & Culture Advisory Board
3 ways to make more strategic use of your brand
How leaders can use modern brand thinking to engage people in delivering distinct customer experiences that inspire loyalty and word-of-mouth.
Monna Nordhagen, Partner and strategy advisor, Mars
Using Technology to Deliver a Personalized Guest Experience
Michael De Jongh, Chief Commercial Officer, Avvio
Being a General Manager and Leading a team of strong performers
Jarle Moen, Former Thief Executive Officer at the Award winning hotel The Thief, now the Managing Director at the upcoming hotel Sommerro
Coaching a team for strategic selling
Evert Schuele, Vice President Sales, Europe, Africa, Middle East and South West Asia, Hyatt International
Expansion of revenue management capabilities
Damiano Zennaro, Global Director of Advisory services at IDeaS
Laura McNally, Director, Account Management – Strategic and Global Accounts at IDeaS
Retention strategies for Sales professional that works’
Anant Vithlani, Vice President Sales, Nordic Choice Hotels
Intermediaries: Should they be managed like a key account?
Saurabh Bhargava, Commercial Director UK & Ireland, Taj Hotels
HEADER
Subtitle to go here
This is the text within the more information for the session on: Using Technology to Deliver a Personalized Guest Experience
Name Surname, Role, description etc etc etc
Name Surname, Role, description etc etc etc
HEADER
Subtitle to go here
This is the text within the more information for the session on: Using Technology to Deliver a Personalized Guest Experience
Name Surname, Role, description etc etc etc
Name Surname, Role, description etc etc etc
