The Hospitality Professionals Association hosted its annual Professional Development graduation ceremony last week at the Savoy Hotel in London — with over 100 people coming together to celebrate the achievements of its most recent graduate cohorts.
With three core areas of study including asset management, revenue management and finance management, over the past year, HOSPA has been guiding the graduates through an industry-leading course and offering them the framework to become industry leaders of the future.
Graduates, who were part of the March and September 2022 cohorts, were invited to a champagne afternoon tea designed to enable all of its UK and overseas learners to join together in celebration. As part of the ceremony, there was a presentation to learners who achieved the highest grades, as well as announcing the ‘Learner of the Year’ Award for all three programmes.
These awards are given to the graduates who have gone above and beyond during the course — showing real promise for successful future careers in the industry. This year, the worthy recipients of the accolade included, Chloe Batten for financial management, Anne Wrigley for asset management and Nicola Quinton for revenue management.
Commenting on her experience of HOSPA’s professional development programme, award winner Chloe, said, “I would absolutely recommend the course to any hospitality professional looking to broaden their understanding of the industry and within their own specialism. For only a short course, the benefits are amazing and you can do it comfortably alongside your existing role. And while it can be challenging at times, the support you get from the tutors is incredible.”
“The graduation ceremony was a great celebration and to receive a Learner of the Year Award was a real privilege! I am now about to embark on a new role following a recent promotion and I really think the course has played a big part in this.”
The event also included an all-female panel discussion from inspirational industry leaders Inge van Ootengham, COO of Premier Inn Germany, Angela Duffy, Head of Finance and Shared Services at Leonardo Hotels and Catherine Smith, Revenue Management Director at Awaze. The panel discussed retaining talent in the hospitality industry, which only highlighted the importance of continued professional development and recognising potential within the workforce.
This year, there was also an award for employer of the year, which was given to Leonardo Hotels, a group of over 230 hotels in the UK, Europe and Israel. This award was presented to the group in recognition of its outstanding commitment to promoting and developing education in the hospitality industry.
Commenting on the event, CEO of HOSPA, Jane Pendlebury, said: “We were absolutely delighted to welcome all of our graduates and tutors to this year’s ceremony, which recognised all their hard work. Professional development is the backbone of our industry and if we equip emerging talents with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills, then there really is a bright future for hospitality. At HOSPA, we are continually broadening our educational offering and I encourage all employers across the sector to recognise talent within their ranks and support them through one of our programmes.”
HOSPA is the hospitality industry’s leading authority on financial management, revenue management and asset management. It offers a wide and growing range of opportunities for members, from networking meetings and webinars which address specific topics to extensive professional development programmes and the latest industry data disseminated through a variety of mediums.
Furthering its commitment to professional development, HOSPA has also recently partnered with European holiday giant, Awaze, to launch a first-of-its-kind training programme to develop Revenue Management talent for the ever-growing short-term rental sector — ensuring educational opportunities reach all corners of the industry.