Conference Matters 143

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a contradiction or logical? Technology and hospitality:

I first noticed that AI could play a role in the hospitality industry in 2018. Just the thought of it almost made me choke on my sip of beer. I was outraged. How could anyone argue that AI or a technological solution could take over something as human as hospitality, work that revolves around personal interaction? This thought seemed to stem mainly from fear of the unknown. And as often happens when fear takes over, it leads to stagnation and ultimately decline. Let’s go back to 2017. Costs were rising, EBITDA was not meeting expectations, and there seemed to be no clear solution in sight, which led to panic. We finally decided to investigate whether we could reduce the flow of emails to our reservations department. After all, no one goes into hospitality to retype emails into a system. By saving time on these administrative tasks, we were able to focus more on real human contact.

Eline Keijer 'ECS members can speed date to find their ideal translational partner during the annual conference'

Désirée van der Heijde 'Two representatives from the youth department sit on our general board, where they serve for one year

Wineke Remijnse 'You notice that students simply move on because they're already intertwined with the association'

to build a network is especially important for Millennials, who were born between 1980 and 2000. ASAS, the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society, purposefully established a youth department in 2017, which is very active. The Young ASAS initiative is aimed at members aged 45 and younger, with the goal of encouraging mutual networking and motivating them to start projects together. They actively participate in setting up ASAS projects and meetings and hold their own meetings during the annual conference. “We give them active leadership roles with us, which they take on enthusiastically. It’s clear they want to be involved and work with the current leaders to gain experience so they can take over later,” says Désirée van der Heijde, founder of ASAS. “Two representatives from the youth depart ment sit on our general board, where they serve for one year. They hold meetings, send out newsletters to the entire association, do research, and get involved in many sections.” Young members account for one fifth of the total, which is remarkably high. Study day prior to the conference At EFAD, the European Federation of the Asso ciations of Dietitians, the future generation

has full attention and input. For example, the student day is always held on the day before the major biennial conference, which about 30 affiliated professional associations and 45 collaborating universities attend. “EFAD has a very active student network that organises many events. It has a board, activities such as webinars, a newsletter, etc. Although there isn’t any major European EFAD conference in 2024, they will organise their own conference and a live event. It’s a very enthu siastic group of students and young professio nals who often interact with each other,” says Wineke Remijnse, Executive Director. She sees how it’s paying off for EFAD. “You notice that students simply move on because they’re already intertwined with the association. We actively involve them in projects, such as a large subsidised project promoting healthy weight that is currently

being planned. We’re deploying young professi onals in their countries as local contacts where they share information and organise activi ties - an important position with responsibility. We ask them to come and share their expe riences at our conference. They bring their enthusiasm, and that has an impact within the association.” EFAD collaborates with approximately 45 uni versities that teach nutrition and dietetics. This collaboration serves as an incentive since students see how they can move in any direc tion within the association. “We strongly encou rage contact between them and the older, more experienced members. EFAD is not hierarchical; the bar to speak to a professor at our confe rence is low. Everyone is open to sharing know ledge and networking. We get positive feedback from young people who have attended a confe rence. They say that it feels like a warm bath.”

In this case, technology came in handy.

However, going from planning to acting is never easy, especially if you want to develop an AI solution that doesn’t yet exist. We started without the right knowledge, a limited budget and too little time. Yet we saw this development as a competitive advantage. We hadn’t yet figured out that it’s better to collaborate on technology rather than trying on our own.

Our efforts produced Michiel, our AI reservations employee. We were proud, but soon noticed that, like actual employees, AI requires ongoing development and attention. In addition, we neglected the soft side of implementation: how would this affect our colleagues?

Persistence wins, they say. Michiel evolved from ‘Please ask M’ into ‘Thynk Direct’, an application that retains the original idea but is less extensive. Patience is a virtue, it turns out. What could we have done differently? More knowledge, budget and time would have been essential, but above all, we shouldn’t have tackled this project alone. When it comes to technology, collaborating and learning from each other is key.

ERIKšJAN GINJAAR As the enthusiastic and committed CEO

If we want to progress as an industry, we have to look outside our bubble. That’s when technology can make a valuable contribution!

'The bar to speak to a professor at our conference is low'

of Postillion Hotels, Erik-Jan Ginjaar, 41,

believes in hospitality with a capital H.

He’s also a keynote speaker on the impact

and importance of hospitality, leadership,

a safe workplace, self-management,

and innovation in the hospitality industry.

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