It was during this magical time that the delegates in attendance at the 2026 HFTP CIO Summit – EMEA, made up of many of the top minds in the world of hospitality technology, consumed the valuable insights of this exclusive conference like honey bees. They experienced this key industry event along with the glory of the Nederlandse Lente.
During one of the networking breaks, where attendees connected (or reconnected) while debriefing on what they’ve learned from the previous educational session or keynote presentation, I had a chance to speak with a delegate who is also a floriculture enthusiast. The breathtakingly beautiful and abundant Dutch tulips were a topic of conversation throughout the event. During our chat, I used the term blossom when bloom was the appropriate word. Gently, I was corrected and told that blossom refers to the flowers in the process of opening, often indicating a peak. By contrast, bloom refers to the flower itself in a state of full, open maturity. Both are used as nouns and verbs to indicate a state of flourishing. Looking back at the event, I see that the conference itself had moments of both blossom and bloom.
Moments of Blossom (i.e., Opening, Developing)
The event opened with a visit to the Zandvoort Circuit, provided by our activity sponsor Ireckonu. Once the adrenaline faded and heart rates settled, clear parallels
emerged between the fast-paced world of auto racing and the evolving landscape of hotel technology.
We recognized how we’re all striving for success in a fast-paced, high-tech field of play. We race against the clock and our competition. We emerge victorious when we are cool-headed, lead with team-centric collaboration and ignore distractions to stay the course. The race day outing exploded in powerful beauty. The afternoon, much like the race cars, went by so fast!
Transitioning from the raceway to the plenary sessions, the event maintained its dynamic momentum. The hospitality and travel industry is, by every imaginable measure, in a state of significant and pressing change.
Challenges and opportunities exist. Solutions are needed. However, an argument can be made that now is the time to earnestly evaluate how we find solutions. It may be imperative for all of us to question our default paradigms so that we may navigate toward a new and better tomorrow. We must use higher-level cognitive processes for problem-solving.
The organizers should be applauded. They responded by orchestrating sessions that aimed to equip delegates with the tools needed to address today’s unprecedented barriers.
The keynote presentation by Matthew Syed brought the heat. By referencing world-class sport, peppered with personal anecdotes from his many interactions with many
of the world’s top athletes, Syed delivered mental building blocks in the form of semantic distinctions. Not the least of these was the distinction between a fixed mindset
and a growth mindset. He proposed fostering cultures that favor those who are curious and constantly learning rather than know-it-alls. Syed effectively argued that hypothesizing and psychologically safe colleagues are the cutting-edge assets of tomorrow’s successful organizations.
At the conclusion of a robust session, Syed served up this truism: while AI-powered computation is powerful, data is downstream from the questions and courageously asking the tough questions is where the real power lies.
Another session, led by Amazon’s Phil Le-Brun, further contributed to the discussion of organizational culture.
By summarizing the highlights of his book The Octopus Organization, LeBrun argued how today’s most successful organizations operate more organically, in contrast to the mechanical and hierarchical organizational constructions of previous centuries. By illustrating examples of what he termed anti-patterns (e.g., drafting too many priorities and sharing confusing communications), Le-Brun drove the message around how conditions of clarity, curiosity and ownership lead to engaged team members and transformative organizations. Blossoming!
Who could argue against the notion that artificial intelligence promises significant change to our industry? For many in the room, myriad tools and agents are already helping to pave a way to new possibilities. Others, not yet fully comfortable with the newest developments, are seeking greater mastery. A plenary session on the realities of the new AI-driven world, featuring Mike Rawson (formerly of CitizenM), was informative and interactive. The session consisted of concise insights on AI’s current state-of-play performance.
It included essential regulatory details pertaining to the EU AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for AI. Meanwhile, delegates enjoyed the chance to discuss where they currently stand in their AI journey. All done in an intimate, safe, face-to-face forum with their peers. Without doubt, this is a must-know and evolving topic for today’s technology leaders.
Michael Levie’s roundtable discussion was a highlight of the event. Delegates were randomly grouped into teams and assigned opposing sides to debate charged
topics centered on accountability and the realism of industry expectations. What emerged was an energetic exchange in which everyone contributed, allowing
the group to collectively surface and unpack important nuances across each issue. Perhaps most importantly, it reinforced the value of investing time in thoughtful, shared dialogue. Sharing challenges and wins. Blossoming together.
Moments of Bloom (i.e., Full and Open Maturity)
The sustainability panel underscored a notable shift in the industry, reflecting more nuanced, informed and forwardlooking dialogue. While the pressures that climate change inflicts on the industry remain far from solved, the conversation with Floris Licht (general manager of the DoubleTree Amsterdam and founder of Hotels for Trees) and Dr. Anna De Visser Amundson (professor of responsible consumption at the Hotelschool The Hague) illustrated just how far the industry has evolved.
Powered by research in behavioral economics, hospitality leaders are learning to nudge both guests and team members in directions that improve lives and the environment.
Meanwhile, often enabled by the use of advanced technologies, we are finding ways to remove the sludge of friction that prohibits the advances we seek. All of this represents a new level of sophistication, evidenced by real-world examples produced by the panel. The plenary session presented by HOTREC’s Director General Marie Audren addressed how the more than 50-year-old organization is dedicating time and resources to “rebalancing platform power.”
Recognizing an increasingly digital world, the Brussels-based association aims to create conditions for hospitality to thrive. A current focus, and the dominant topic within Audren’s plenary, is leveraging the European Union’s digital policies, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Market Act (DMA), to eliminate fraud and
thwart gatekeepers who attempt to stifle competition. After more than five decades of service to hospitality, HOTREC and other such industry associations continue
to flourish by providing value in an everevolving market.
As mentioned above, both blossoming and blooming indicate of state of flourishing. How terrifically appropriate these terms are as descriptors of our industry, as evidenced by the hard work and passion of the delegates of the 2026 CIO Summit – EMEA, the presenters and the team of people who made it happen.
