On July 7–8, 2025, EHL Hospitality Business School’s Lausanne campus welcomed the 9th Hospitality Finance & Economics (HFE) Conference, organized in collaboration with the Center for Urban and Real Estate Studies at Hitotsubashi University and the NUS Institute of Real Estate & Urban Studies. Seventeen researchers from four continents turned each session into a dynamic and insightful exchange on topics ranging from climate risk and affordability to the burgeoning world of digital real-estate markets.
Achim Schmitt, Dean of EHL Hospitality Business School, set the tone with a welcome that linked EHL’s origins from its founding in 1893 as the world's first hotel school to its present-day status as a comprehensive university and global leader in hospitality management education. He highlighted EHL’s continuous evolution to meet the needs of a changing world, emphasizing its expanded scope which now fully embraces the critical intersection of hospitality, finance and technology. That evolution made EHL the perfect host for a conference dedicated to exploring the complex financial and economic forces shaping the future of the industry.
The conference was meticulously structured to foster deep academic exchange. Each research presentation was enriched by a thorough analysis from a dedicated discussant who offered constructive, timely and practical feedback. This structured-dialogue approach was highly praised by participants for greatly enhancing the quality and depth of the discussions. The atmosphere was described by one delegate as "refreshing," as researchers from diverse specializations actively contributed, allowing for truly interdisciplinary connections to flourish.
Several compelling research themes emerged from these sessions. New studies revealed how climate-related risks, such as wildfires and floods are actively influencing mortgage pricing and regional planning policies today. Another innovative presentation introduced an entropy-based measure to explain—and potentially predict—the often-wide discrepancies between the values in volatile tokenized real-estate markets and traditional bricks-and-mortar valuations. Other discussions explored the critical balance of investor participation in funds while examining the precise point at which fund overcrowding begins to diminish returns. Historical insights were presented through an extraordinary dataset encompassing six centuries of house prices, offering crucial long-term context to contemporary affordability debates.
What AI Can Do for Us—Hype versus Reality
Keynote I by Dr. Nikodem Szumilo (UCL).
The first keynote, "What AI Can Do for Us: Hype versus Reality," was delivered by Dr. Nikodem Szumilo of UCL's Bartlett Real Estate Institute. Dr Szumilo directly cut through the noise with a clear message: We won’t be displaced by AI, but by people who use AI well. He pointed to the "AI transformation" already happening at major corporations like Klarna, which is automating customer service, and UPS, which used AI to streamline management roles.
However, he presented this transformation not as a simple replacement, but as a complex process of trial and error. He noted that while Klarna successfully automated tasks equivalent to 700 jobs, it also began rehiring humans specifically to create hybrid "human-AI teams" focused on ensuring quality. These recent developments illustrate the core of his argument: real competitive advantage comes not from merely adopting AI, but from strategically learning how to blend its power with human oversight for higher-quality outcomes.
A key contribution of Dr. Szumilo’s keynote was a practical operating model he called “VIBE” working, an intent-driven workflow where experts describe outcomes and let AI do the first build, then review, test, and iterate. Instead of constructing a model cell by cell, humans specify the objective (valuation, market scan, slides, even an audio brief); the AI drafts; humans sharpen assumptions, verify sources, and push it to decision-quality. Demonstrations showed how this approach can strongly accelerate market research and underwriting without skipping scepticism: multiple models produced convergent valuations on a complex property, but the human role of setting guardrails, challenging outliers, and translating results into strategy remained decisive. Dr. Szumilo also cited controlled studies indicating that AI-assisted teams complete more tasks, faster and with higher average quality, providing evidence that productivity gains are real when paired with expert oversight.
The takeaway for hospitality and real estate was pragmatic: treat AI as a portfolio of tools to train on, govern and continually upgrade. In a host of areas, such as revenue management, guest-experience personalization, O&M, and marketing, data are plentiful. Moreover, decisions tend to be repeated, which makes them prime territory for VIBE-style workflows. The professionals who can steer, audit and integrate these systems will set the pace.
The Hospitalier Effect — Living, Learning, and Investment Vehicles
Keynote II by Dr David H. Downs.
The second day’s keynote was a masterclass in real estate investment from Dr. David H. Downs titled, "The Hospitalier Effect: Living, Learning, and Investment Vehicles." Dr. Downs began with the fascinating origin story of the Michelin Guide. In 1900, the Michelin tire company created a guide to restaurants and hotels with a brilliantly simple, indirect goal: to give people a compelling reason to drive their cars more, thereby wearing out their tires and boosting sales. This anecdote was a perfect example of creative thinking that can add value to an organization.
Dr. Downs then traced the evolution of real-estate investment vehicles. Early single-asset syndications, often defined by “handshake markets”, were ingenious yet opaque, as illustrated by the complex, single-asset syndication of New York's iconic Graybar Building. REITs, created by the U.S. Congress in 1960, answered with access, transparency and alignment. The 1990s recapitalization wave showed how moving from private, tax-loss structures to public, taxable-income vehicles lowered leverage, raised liquidity and professionalized ownership. Alongside listed REITs, large open-end funds have grown in markets like Germany, the UK, and the U.S., giving investors core exposure with a lower-volatility profile. At the other end of the spectrum, real-estate private equity can earn higher returns—if incentives, governance, operating skill and timing are wired correctly.
That bridge led to Dr. Downs’ concept of the “The Hospitalier Effect”, which is an analogy for the profound, outsized impact that a uniquely skilled and expert manager can bring to an investment. The greatest returns often come from investing in people – in their unique talent, energy and skill. Great vehicles do more than allocate capital, they grow talent. Start with investor objectives, wire incentives to operating KPIs (guest satisfaction, service consistency, smart capex, durable cash flow), and build learning loops (e.g., mentorship, apprenticeship, codified playbooks) so teams can ‘compound skill’ just like assets compound value. In hospitality, investing in people is not a soft add-on; it’s the engine that drives returns. Dr. Downs keynote was a powerful reminder that while financial structures evolve, the fundamental driver of value remains human expertise.
A Celebration of Hospitality and Knowledge
Beyond the stimulating academic exchanges, the event was a testament to EHL’s commitment to its founding principles of hospitality. The organizers curated numerous networking opportunities, including a guided tour of EHL’s magnificent campus and facilities. The conference concluded with a relaxed tasting menu at Restaurant 1893, where guests enjoyed seasonal dishes paired with local Swiss and French wines. It was the perfect occasion to continue the day’s conversations and foster meaningful connections in a warm and convivial setting.
We extend our sincere gratitude to the EHL operations team, the generous support from HES-SO, and all the speakers and attendees whose energy and contributions made this event a resounding success. The vibrant talks and ideas shared during these two days will undoubtedly extend far beyond Lausanne, and we eagerly anticipate hosting the 10th HFE Conference in 2026.
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