Innovation, intrapreneurship and liquid organization

Success factors in innovation, intrapreneurship and 21st-century organizations were the three topics discussed by Arnaldo Muñoz, senior vice president of Selina Hotels and former director-general of Airbnb Iberia. Muñoz spoke to 4th-year students of HTSI’s Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism as part of the course Business Strategies & Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

What are the factors for success in innovation or digital disruptors? For Arnaldo Muñoz, “understanding and anticipating key tendencies.” He used the millennial generation as an example, since an Eventbrite report notes that its members value experiences over material objects. Key customer trends in post-COVID-19 mobility, the age of platforms, the application of old laws to disruptive ideas and placing the user at the centre of innovation were other ideas that came up during the discussion.

HTSI Bachelor’s Degree will be taught online until October 30

In keeping with the agreement between the Government of Catalonia and the 12 Catalan universities that are part of the Consell Interuniversitari de Catalunya (CIC), the Bachelor’s Degree at the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management will be offered via streaming from October 15-30. No in-person classes will be offered.

The schools of Ramon Llull University have reached this agreement in keeping with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health of Catalonia to help control the COVID-19 infection rate.

HTSI promotes and strengthens research

The School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Sant Ignasi (URL) is promoting and strengthening its researchers, giving them greater visibility through Recercat and Google Scholar.

Recercat is an official repository of Ramon Llull University that helps to promote HTSI’s scientific activity, giving it more visibility and greater impact. “It allows open access to publications by our professors and researchers. That means it reaches more people, gets read more and gets cited more”, explained HTSI librarian Marta Capdevila.

Also, it increases the impact of scientific work for both the author and the School: results are more accessible and easier to look up, and their conservation is guaranteed.

The experiences of Odile Vila, a successful entrepreneur and HTSI alumnus

We spoke with Odile Vila, CEO and founder of Leitmotiv Weddings (The Wedding Planner & Designer). Vila is an award-winner entrepreneur and an HTSI alumnus. She gave us a first-hand account of her achievements and her path to success.

After graduating in Tourism and Hospitality Management, at just 23 years old you founded a company that organizes and decorates weddings and other events: Leitmotiv Weddings. After all these years, what’s the experience been like?

After all this time and after having organized over 80 weddings, my team and I are proud to have won the 2018 Gold Medal of Merit in Labour given by the Asociación Europea de Economía y Competitividad, and the Gold Star given by the Instituto para la Excelencia Profesional. These awards have helped to make us role models in the sector, both nationally and internationally.

The “agile revolution” and other keys to the recovery of tourism

As a strategic sector, tourism needs to be protected and reconsidered. “Does tourism drive or damage other sectors?” This was one of the notable questions Jordi Ficapal, director of education and innovation at HTSI, asked the educational community of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Sant Ignasi. He did so at a conference marking International Tourism Day. 

Other key topics addressed were the consequences COVID-19 has had on society and the sector, its impact on destinations and tourism businesses, the acceleration of trends that existed before the pandemic, and experts’ predictions on the future of tourism in Spain.

As Ficapal noted, “some experts say we might not see a recovery until 2023-2024.” In other words, “this crisis will last longer than expected, and it will have a greater impact on earnings and employment.”

Ricard Santomà: “soft skills are what let professionals stand out in our sector”

“Soft skills are what let students and future professionals stand out in our sector”, announced Ricard Santomà, dean of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Sant Ignasi. He did so in the webinar “El futuro de la educación en turismo y hotelería”. (The future of education in tourism and hospitality). 

Organized by Turijobs to mark International Tourism Day, the event also included speakers from a number of other schools of tourism.

Santomà predicted that companies will pay more and more attention to skills related to personnel development, like teamwork, adaptability or planning for uncertain circumstances. “When our students finish their studies, their jobs will involve things that don’t yet exist”, announced the Dean of HTSI.

HTSI alumnus Marta Álvarez’s experience volunteering at a healthcare hotel

HTSI alumnus Marta Álvarez told us about her experience helping to transform Hotel Barcelona Princess into a healthcare centre during the critical months of the pandemic last spring. 

A graduate of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Álvarez volunteered alongside other HTSI alumni receiving COVID-19 patients from Hospital del Mar in an experience she describes as transformative.

How did you end up volunteering at Hotel Barcelona Princess when it was turned into a healthcare centre?

At the end of March, a friend from the School told us they were looking for volunteers for a project called Hotel Salud. It involved turning normal hotels into “healthcare hotels” to house patients who weren’t at risk. These were patients who were getting better but who couldn’t be confinement elsewhere for different reasons; often, it was to help relieve the pressure on the hospitals.

Open letter from the Rector of the URL

HTSI reopens with plenty of safety measures

Starting on September 1, the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Sant Ignasi (URL) will open its doors once again. To guarantee the safety of the university community, all measures recommended by the authorities have been taken.

Over the last few months, HTSI has been working on a Reopening Plan together with the company in charge of preventing workplace risks at the School. It fulfils al regulations put forth in the specialized plan for universities approved by PROCICAT (Civil Protection of Catalonia) on June 29.

The measures taken ensure the cleanliness of all facilities and establish protocols for hygiene that prevent the spread of COVID-19 in all activities at HTSI.

Success stories from HTSI alumni

Hearing from former students can help us understand what HTSI students experience during their time at the university. Plus, it gives us a look at the range of job offers in tourism HTSI’s Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management has to offer.

Our alumni work in a wide range of sectors: hotels, tourism management, events, tourism marketing, technology as applied to tourism, human resources…

Hear the success stories of former students of the Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management, or the master’s degrees of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Sant Ignasi (URL) with the following interviews:

• TERESA ROIG,  Account Manager at The Hotels Network

“I studied Tourism because it’s a successful sector that’s key to the economy”

“After a family trip to the UAE I got the idea of doing the 4th-year internship of my bachelor’s program in Dubai. I managed to get a finance internship at the Ritz-Carlton Dubai DIFC. That was definitely one of my best life experiences!”