Les Roches, one of the world’s leading hospitality business schools, and aivancity, the Grande École of Artificial Intelligence, have come together to launch the first Certificate in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to hospitality management.

The hospitality sector generates large masses of data, and these data can enable optimising customer relations almost in real time through AI. Indeed, a recent report by Skift and AWS Travel and Hospitality found that 73% of hospitality leaders feel data analytics is very important or critical to the business success of their company. However, the same Digital Transformation report also highlighted concern and a lack of confidence in employees having the necessary training to support their company’s digital objectives.

Now, Swiss-rooted Les Roches, which was recently ranked in the top three for employer reputation in the QS World University Rankings 2021, and aivancity, the Paris-Cachan based School for Technology, Business and Society, have designed an innovative program dealing with the challenges of big data and AI in the industry.

The five-day program, running from September 2021, will feature expert faculty from Les Roches and aivancity as well as world-class industry specialists and scientists. It includes two days of sprint design focusing on imagining and prototyping an AI solution for the hospitality industry. The program will be open in a first phase to current students at Les Roches and is a first step in the two institutions’ collaboration.

Les Roches, part of Sommet Education, and aivancity want the minds of tomorrow to understand the language and part of the technicality of AI solutions, its sociological and ethical impacts, as well as its business, managerial and organisational consequences.

Christine Demen-Meier, Managing Director Worldwide at Les Roches, said. “After the creation of a dedicated Master’s in Hospitality Strategy and Digital Transformation and the launch of Spark Innovation sphere, a new start-up incubator and technological innovation in the hospitality industry by Les Roches, this certificate is another step forward to advance the integration of technology within our curriculums.”

“The need in the hospitality industry to digitalise the service is strong,” explained Pierre Ihmle, Chief Academic Officer at Sommet Education. “In any technological development, the notion of ethics is essential, and the human being must remain at the core. aivancity was the perfect partner to develop this certificate with because of their expertise on the subject of AI, of course, but also because of their high consciousness of the ethical impact of AI for our society.”

Tawhid Chtioui, Founding President and Dean at aivancity, added: “AI has become one of the keys to success for any company wishing to improve the whole of its business processes, from production to customer relations, in all activity sectors. The hospitality and tourism sector is in that sense a huge territory of opportunity and exploration for AI.”

Founded in 1954, Les Roches offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in hospitality, tourism and event management following the Swiss model of education. With three campuses across Switzerland, Spain and China, and a student body of more than 100 different nationalities, the institution provides students with a unique culturally diverse experience.

aivancity positions itself as a hybrid higher education institution integrating both technical skills in artificial intelligence but also business and ethical skills and knowledge (including legal issues and the human impacts of AI and data).