Young Hotelier of the Year wins MBA scholarship

On Wednesday, April 10th the Young Hotelier Awards honored the brightest young stars in the Vienna luxury hotel business. This year the annual gala had an extra special touch – the tenth year anniversary of the Young Hotelier Award. It was also a milestone for Hani El-Sharkawi, head of Modul Career, who won the very first YHA a decade ago and this year was a jury member for the Diversey Contest.

The concept to encourage and support up-and-coming talents working in local top hotels was born in 2004 and supported by the General Manager Council Vienna, a coalition of the general directors of the Vienna luxury hotels. The top prize is handed out in two categories – the Diversey Contest, aimed at under 25s in front line positions, and the Modul Contest, recognizing outstanding persons in the 25-35 age bracket.

Each year, selected candidates are given six months to prepare a presentation on one of three relevant themes deemed pertinent to the Vienna hotel industry. Expert lectures and discussions and feedback rounds are organized and offered to the contenders, who must prepare a 20 minute presentation in English on their chosen topic.

The following themes were posed for investigation by the YHA 2013 candidates:

1. Evaluate the possible impacts on the hotel industry in Vienna due to the installation of the third runway at the Vienna International Airport.

2. How can Vienna continue increasing average rate and yet stay competitive with destinations such as Prague, Budapest and Bratislava?

3. Social Media „Friend or Foe“? The significance of Social Media in the Hotel industry - Types, possible applications and developments by using different examples.

Presentations took place on April 2nd and 3rd at Le Méridien Vienna and were judged by a jury of industry leaders. Winning candidates were invited to an elegant celebration at the Grand Hotel Vienna on April 10th where the awards ceremony took place.

The Modul Contest, sponsored by Modul University, was won by Maaike Schoenmakers of the Hotel Imperial. She will receive a full scholarship to the MBA program at MU, worth €25,000. Second place was claimed by Marvin Pelny of the Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, and third by Kerstin Hofmeister of Hotel Sacher Wien.

The high quality of this year’s presentations evidences how many outstanding young high potentials are working in the Vienna hotel industry. The Young Hotelier Award impressively demonstrated which highly motivated and top-qualified staff will become the future leaders of world class hotels.

Kerstin Hofmeister, YHA and MBA winner Maaike Schoenmakers, and Marvin Pelny

Photos: Markus Hechenberger