EHL CEO: China is one of our home markets｜Multinationals on China

03:26

SFC Correspondent Tao Li, Yang Yulai

EHL Hospitality Business School (EHL) has now taken root in China. In June, the Hainan Lausanne Tourism University announced that it has received formal approval from China’s Ministry of Education to establish an independent campus in Sanya. Ranked number one in the QS World University Rankings for Hospitality & Leisure Management for seven consecutive years, EHL is the world's leading educational and business institution for hospitality and the broader service industries.

In recent years, EHL has deepened its focus on Asia—especially China—by opening local offices in Beijing and Shanghai to expand educational partnerships and corporate networks.

Markus Venzin, CEO of EHL, stated that China is currently one of EHL’s home markets globally, evaluated against both market attractiveness and market accessibility.

Multinationals on China: How does EHL assess the strategic importance of the Chinese market, and where does China sit within EHL’s global strategy?

Markus Venzin: When you look at the accessibility and attractiveness, China is top right. So we have identified China as the home market. We have three home markets, Switzerland, France, and China.

So we want to do more in fewer countries. Being really present in our home markets. We have identified a few extended home markets and we also want to in these markets, be more directly involved and less involved through agents and collaboration partners.

Multinationals on China: What trends EHL has seen from a business and hospitality management perspective, and is that changing the way in which you develop your strategy forward?

Markus Venzin: So we captured trends in hospitality competencies like robotics. We saw yesterday how robots make beds, and they can do the laundry. We know that AI can develop recipes, can make suggestions on how to reduce waste. So sustainability is an issue. We know how to reduce energy consumption in hotels or in restaurants. I think a good grasp on the biggest issue in hospitality industry, which is talent shortage. So we are also working on the soft areas. How can you make this industry more attractive? We are talking about hospitality vibes. I think it's really summarizing how we position ourselves in the market and what we see as the biggest challenge of society today, which is the new pandemic of loneliness. We see restaurants and hotels as a place to socialize, and I think the hospitality industry needs to improve the capabilities to provide opportunities for socialization. People need to connect, need to like to talk with each other as opposed to trying to reduce the transactions by using digital media.

Multinationals on China: Does EHL have any cooperation with Chinese luxury brand?

Markus Venzin: We work with Chinese companies like Jinjiang International Group, for example. We are open to do that. And also in respect to our eventually, if we manage to set up the bachelor in Sanya, this is probably something that we're going to do.

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