This year's Sir Hugh Wontner lecture took place on February 27 in the Barony Hall and was delivered to an audience of 100 Business School students, staff, alumni and industry partners. Students from across the Business School and from all levels of study then joined the speaker, staff, industry and alumni at a networking reception in the Winter Gardens.
Speaker Michael Levie, Founding Partner and Chief Executive of citizenM Hotels spoke on the subject of: "Re-inventing hotels and offering luxury at affordable prices". Michael, a graduate of IHMI (Cornell/Essec), has worked across a portfolio of international hotel chains and delivered a fascinating analysis of hospitality, the industry and the innovative approach taken by his company.
In 2010, citizenM established a unique and boutique brand of affordable luxury in Glasgow when they opened their 198-room hotel. Voted the "Trendiest Hotel in the World" by TripAdvisor in both 2010 and 2011, they are renowned for their innovative design, and leading the way in their use of technologies.
The Sir Hugh Wontner Lecture has been kindly supported by The Savoy Education Trust for a number of years and we were delighted to welcome their Trustees, Julia Sibley and Margaret Georgiou, to the event. Julia and Margaret had the opportunity to meet undergraduate hospitality and tourism management who benefited from The Savoy Education Trust Scholarships, awarded to students who achieved academic merit at the networking reception.
Director of Undergraduate Hospitality and Tourism Management, Fiona Conway, was delighted with the success of the event and said, "This provides a wonderful opportunity for all of us to learn from industry leaders. The cross-faculty nature of the event was evident in the audience with staff and students from a wide variety of departments attending. Michael delivered a fascinating insight into the hotel industry which was appreciated by staff, students, industry participants and alumni alike".
You can view the video of the lecture above and read Dr Matthew Alexander’s blog on the lecture