Education Day

Education Day

”Creating the Indispensable Concierge”

All delegates
Dress code: Business

Location: Hyatt Regency Sydney

“Creating the Indispensable Concierge”

Each year brings new trends and technologies that reshape the way we work. And each year brings us new opportunities to improve our skills, align with emerging tech and trends, and bring an even higher level of service to our guests and our hotels. For the past year, we’ve been on a journey of discovery…interviewing many of our members and Les Clefs d’Or directors, as well as hospitality industry leaders, trend-setters, technologists, influencers, and educators. The result is a truly exciting and comprehensive deep dive into the latest travel trends, tech innovations, and insights that will shape the concierge profession and the broader hospitality sector today and in the future. All in service to helping us become truly indispensable to our guests and hotels.

The Education & Training Committee in partnership with Education Day sponsor Alliants, is proud to present this program and invite you to engage in the conversation. By the end of the day, our goal is for you to walk away with actionable, reusable metrics and an enhanced sense of confidence in promoting our indispensability as a Les Clefs d’Or Concierge. 

Bill Brichta of Shape Strategies, a business and innovation consultancy, was engaged to help discover these insights through many interviews with our members and respected industry giants.

Shannon McCallum, VP Hotel Operations, Resorts World Las Vegas

Tristan Gadsby, CEO and Co- Founder, Alliants

Shane O’Flaherty, Global Director: Travel, Transportation & Hospitality, Microsoft

Gregor Vogel, VP Product, Siteminder Australia

Stuart Greif, Exec VP, Chief Strategy, Innovation & Operating Officer, Forbes Travel Guide

Jordan Kestle, Head of International Projects, SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern

Sarah Dandashy, Hospitality Influencer

Marco P. Nijof, Director of Hospitality & Guest Experience, Value Retail

Brian McKenzie, 1st Vice President, Netherlands

Renata Cury Farha, 3rd Vice President, Brazil

Roderick Levejac, Committee des Sages, France

Florian Mugg, Central Europe Zone Director, Austria

Virpi Vidal, Scandinavia Zone Director, Finland

Nella Mirante, CSR Corporate & Social Responsibility Committee Chair, Canada

Gregor Maximilian Köck, Les Clefs d’Or Award Committee Chair, Austria

Mayako Sumiyoshi, Past President Japan and Past Zone Director SEAO, Japan

Michael Romei, Chef Concierge, Mandarin Hotel NYC; CEO, Creating Service Magic Hospitality

During the Education Day in Sydney, Bill Brichta along with a team of outstanding guest presenters will take us on an experiential journey of learning that will help move us from beloved, helpful and knowledgeable concierges to being truly indispensable.  The interactive morning sessions will have us exploring the opportunities ahead of us and important pathways of becoming indispensable, including how to Think Like an Owner® as we learn directly from hoteliers.

Education Day continues as we explore emerging trends in hospitality that are becoming important factors shaping our future, allowing us to innovate our skills. Our presenters for this section are Tristan Gadsby, speaking about AI, and Gregor Vogel and Jordan Kestle talking about how our own approach to innovation in a time of technological change will help us grow stronger in the future.

After our very successful introduction in Madrid, we’re excited to have two members present through our “KEY Talks” Unlocking Excellence segments. Sharing their insights and knowledge on issues that touch our world every day are Rodolfo Parra from Canada and Michelle Exarhos from Denmark 

Our afternoon sessions introduce us to a truly innovative idea in self-discovery, along with two exciting and interactive workshops that will help us put all the information we’ve learned into memorable and useful strategies we can use when we get back to our homes and hotels.

The first workshop is called “Unlocking Your Concierge Superpowers” where we explore our superpowers and build scenarios on how our self-discovery will impact our own personal growth, goals and skills, bringing new dimensions of service to our guests and hotels. Our guest presenters along with the members of the Education Committee will circulate around the room as conversations and creative thinking occurs, stepping in to offer insightful suggestions and encouragement. The workshop culminates in three group presentations sharing what we’ve learned together and how this information can make concierges truly indispensable even in an age of emerging AI advancements.

The second workshop is called “How We Innovate – The Indispensable Concierge” where we bring trend knowledge, Thinking Like an Owner, and our new personalized self-discovery together to ideate and innovate new ways to build great guest experiences once we return to our desks. We’ll build programs around what we’ll do differently after our Sydney Congress, how we’ll communicate differently to our hotel management and our guests, and how a better understanding of our relationship to emerging technology can be a tool to provide the kind of personalized service that’s been in our blood from the very start. Again, our guest presenters will help us along the path to innovation and discovery. This workshop also culminates in four group presentations sharing our visions moving forward.

SUMMARY:

Beloved. Ingenious. Knowledgeable. Helpful. Welcoming. Les Clefs d’Or® members are known to be all these things for our guests and hotels in cities and countries worldwide. But there’s one accolade each member must reach to be truly valued and relevant to a traveler’s experience, and that’s…indispensable. We’re excited to share our thinking with you, our esteemed guests and our hotel leadership once we return home.

The Education & Training Committee wishes you an enriching and productive day. #LesClefsdOrEdu

09:00	Welcome by Education Committee
	Creating the Indispensable Concierge with Brill Brichta
	featuring Jane Lyons, Jade Cooper
	KEYTalks – Funding Your Future with Rodolfo Parra
	Trends Shaping our Future with Bill Brichta
	featuring Tristan Gadsby, Jordan Kestle and Gregor Vogel
	KEYTalks – Reimagining Relevance with Michelle Exarhos
12:30 – 13:30	Lunch
	Keynote address by Ashley Fell
	Discovering Your Authentic Self with Bill Brichta
	Unlocking your Concierge Superpower Workshop        facilitated by Heather Byron and Jordan Kestle
	How We Innovate – The Indispensable Concierge Workshop        facilitated by Heather Byron and Jordan Kestle
17:00	Conclusion of the Education Day