'Lifelong development is at the heart of the new strategy'
The floor is given to an enthusiastic chair of the board, Elvire Biegel. She too briefly reflects on the early days. She describes the room we are in as “historic ground” and invites “the greatest dreamer” and “the most enthusiastic man she knows” onto the stage: programme director John Flierman.
John explains that the idea for House of Hospitality emerged around 2015, when the hospitality sector was growing, but was also facing both a declining number of young people entering the labour market and an ageing workforce. It was also a time when vocational education and the business community talked a lot about each other, but not with each other.
Education providers also saw that students were leaving the sector almost as quickly as they were entering it. Vocational education needed to innovate. This was done by creating hybrid learning environments.
“Covid threw a spanner in the works, but after that we recovered well. We are now at a crossroads. We are looking ahead to 2030. Innovation remains important. The challenges faced by the business community are the starting point. It therefore makes sense for companies to take greater ownership of attracting and retaining people.”
The impact of hospitality
Board member Jos Vranken, chair of the Executive Board of Hotelschool The Hague, and Annemieke Stuurman, director of Barentszen, then both make passionate cases for the importance of House of Hospitality.
“Attracting, connecting, engaging, and developing people is of great importance to this sector,” says Jos. “At the same time, it is about a broader idea. It also has to be about purpose.”
He makes a powerful case for linking the importance of House of Hospitality to broad prosperity — 900,000 people employed and 5% of GDP — and to the wellbeing of people and communities. What does the visitor economy do for the level of amenities in cities and regions? What does it do for the pride and identity of places?
“The impact of hospitality is enormous. We need to change the narrative.”
Elvire later adds that hospitality brings happiness.
A strong ecosystem
Annemieke particularly wants to emphasise “lifelong development”. One condition for partners to secure the future of House of Hospitality is working together to attract and, above all, retain talent. Building a strong ecosystem together with education. Enabling talent to enter the sector and stay there. Offering development opportunities. These are important values and conditions for partners.
“That is the story I want to tell.”
Lifelong development is at the heart of the new 2026–2030 strategy. Partners can take the lead in this and continue building, together, an ecosystem that creates value for companies and vocational education. The focus on the challenges faced by companies is crucial. Together, we will find concrete solutions as we move towards a partner-driven network that creates value for everyone.
View the one-pager and discover the shared ambition.