On the occasion of its 85th General Assembly held 6-7 October 2022, HOTREC, the umbrella association of Hotels, Restaurants, Bars and Cafes in Europe, elected its President, Executive Committee (ExCom) and the members of its Sectoral Social Dialogue (SSD) Committee for a mandate of two years, commencing on 1st January 2023.
Mr Alexandros Vassilikos (Greece), was unanimously elected as new President of HOTREC. Alexandros Vassilikos is the President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.
Mr Marc Van Muylders (Belgium), Vice-President, and Mr Adrian Cummins (Ireland), Treasurer, were unanimously re-elected. Mr Marc Van Muylders was also elected as Chair of the SSD Committee.
Mr Vassilikos was honoured by the trust of the HOTREC membership and stated: “Businesses in the hospitality and tourism sector – 90% of them micro-enterprises – are a fantastic asset to the European economy and society. They have the potential to innovate and transform. Today, the priority is to help them overcome major challenges such as rising energy and food prices and labour shortages. Let’s not forget that we are still recovering from the years of unprecedented closure and faced with a war in the European soil. At the same time, we need to lay the foundations of sustainable hospitality, for the sector to continue to contribute significantly to Europe and its citizens. On behalf of all my colleagues, I want to thank [Mr] Jens [Zimmer Christensen] for the strength he showed leading HOTREC in the last four years, the most challenging the hospitality sector ever faced.” he continued.
The outgoing President congratulated ExCom headed by the new President with the elections and look forward to working closely with them during the remainder of the term.
Meeting in Stockholm, leaders of the European hospitality industry call on the upcoming Swedish presidency to prioritise the recovery of hospitality and tourism businesses, putting a special attention on SMEs and their needs. Over the past two days, representatives of HOTREC members association reflected on their priorities such as surviving the current energy crisis, tackling labour shortages, managing sustainability and digital transitions and short-term rentals.
“As we look ahead, I’m proud of the depth of experience and commitment HOTREC members bring to the table. They represent the diversity of the sector” said Ms Marie Audren, Director General of HOTREC. “We are grateful to these individuals for volunteering their time and energy to ensure that HOTREC and our industry are successful in delivering on their ambitions” she added.
During the annual Gala Dinner, HOTREC announced the winner of the HOTREC award, Ms Elisabeth Haglund (Sweden) in recognition of her precious contribution to the industry. More information is available here.
The new HOTREC Executive Committee (ExCom) is now composed of Mr. Alexandros Vassilikos – President (Greece), Mr. Marc Van Muylders – Vice President (Belgium), Mr. Adrian Cummins -Treasurer (Ireland) Mr. Alessandro Cavaliere (Italy) Mr. Alexandre Archier (France), Mr. Dirk Beljaarts (Netherlands), Ms. Elisabeth Haglund (Sweden), Ms. Maria Schreiner (Austria), Mr. Markus Luthe (Germany), Mr. Morten Thorvaldsen (Norway) and Mr. Ramón Estalella (Spain).
The new Sectoral Social Dialogue (SSD) Committee is now composed of Mr. Marc Van Muylders – Chair (Belgium), Mr. Andrea Chiriatti (Italy), Ms. Fatima Hollander (Sweden), Ms. Johanne Hanstead (Denmark) and Mr. Sami Nisametdin (Finland).
The new Financial Committee is now composed of Mr. Antonio Flamini (Italy) and Ms. Kristin Krohn Devold (Norway).