Leading the Hospitality of the Future: Talent, Vocation and New Generations

November 20, 2025

The hospitality industry is at a decisive moment.

While it accelerates its transformation driven by digitalisation, artificial intelligence and evolving guest expectations, it also faces a structural challenge: attracting, developing and retaining the leaders who will guide the sector over the next decade.

This was one of the central themes of the Vatel Spain 2025 Round Table, held within the framework of the Vatel Hospitality Business Forum—an open dialogue that brought together industry leaders to reflect on the present and future of hospitality

The session featured senior executives from organisations such as Rosewood Villa Magna, Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid, Vatel Spain, and Iñigo Pérez, Managing Director Travel & Tourism at Catenon, in a conversation moderated by Teresa Llana Armendáriz.

Hospitality as a vocation-driven industry

During the discussion, Catenon highlighted a key idea: hospitality is, above all, a deeply vocation-driven industry. It is an activity capable of inspiring, creating memorable experiences and building emotional connections with both guests and professionals. As expressed during the round table, it is “the industry of happiness.”

This vocational dimension is not a romantic notion, but a strategic factor. In a context of intense competition for talent, organisations that successfully convey purpose, emotion and meaning will be best positioned to attract the next generation of leaders.

Developing leaders through emotion and values

One of the clearest points of consensus was that the future of the sector depends on developing leaders with a holistic vision, capable of combining:

Operational excellence and strong customer orientation

Cultural sensitivity and international experience

Solid values and a long-term perspective

Experience across different countries, functions and cultures has become a clear differentiator in the development of executive careers within hospitality. Leadership today goes beyond managing hotels; it is about leading complex, global organisations in constant evolution.

Attracting new generations: flexibility, impact and genuine development

The conversation also aligned with a reality that is already evident in the talent market. New generations are looking for more than stability:

Flexible and stimulating work environments
Continuous learning and authentic professional growth
Projects with real impact and a clear sense of purpose

For the hospitality sector, this means rethinking leadership models, organisational structures and employee value propositions. The ability to build attractive cultures will be just as important as delivering outstanding guest experiences.

Academia and business: an essential collaboration

Another key takeaway was the need to strengthen collaboration between educational institutions and companies. Only through ongoing dialogue between these two worlds will it be possible to prepare the professionals who will lead the tourism industry of the future, aligning expectations, capabilities and real market needs.

Forums such as the Vatel Hospitality Business Forum clearly demonstrate the value of this collaboration, bringing together talent, knowledge and strategic vision.

At Catenon, we continue to support organisations in the Travel & Tourism sector throughout this transformation, helping them identify and develop leaders ready to succeed in an increasingly demanding, global and human-centred environment.

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Empowering Decisions Through Knowledge

Leading the Hospitality of the Future: Talent, Vocation and New Generations

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