Erwin Van Der Graaf

Launched in July 2023, the Hospitality Pact is a unique collaboration between numerous organisations, companies and vocational education in the hospitality and leisure sector. It is a response to the labour market challenges of today and tomorrow. And those challenges are great: where the inflow of new talent into the sector has been under pressure for several years, the annual outflow is high. Through the Hospitality Pact, parties are working together in a triple helix structure to attract and retain staff in the hospitality and leisure sector on the one hand and to upskill and reskill staff on the other. This requires knowledge development and cooperation. The pact provides a 'compass' to work on promoting and improving the labour market of the travel, leisure, food service, events and hospitality sectors. The Hospitality Pact is widely supported: Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, ANVR, HISWA-RECRON, CLC-Vecta, Veneca, CELTH (Centre of Expertise Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality) the MBO council, the HBO and FNV Horecabond are part of the direction group, and the initiative is widely supported in the sector and by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Dutch universities of applied sciences started a pilot for their own doctorate programme, called the professional doctorate (PD), in 2023. This is a new programme centred on practice-based research. Candidates are trained in a research-intensive learning path to become highly qualified research-oriented professionals who learn to intervene in complex practices at level EQF-8/NLQF-8 (European Qualification Framework resp. Dutch qualification framework). More information: https://www.vereniginghogescholen.nl/professional-doctorate-faq#watispd The pilot was initiated by the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and Regieorgaan SIA. Twenty-five universities of applied sciences in seven different fields are participating in the pilot. The ambition is to develop PD programmes that have added value for the candidate, society, the professional field and education and thus complement the existing PhD programmes at universities that focus more on scientific research

* Managing Director for Accor Hotels Services The Netherlands * Managing Director for NordSüd Hospitality in Germany * Responsible for the qualitative and quantitative performance of a portfolio of Accor Managed hotels in Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.

KHN is the largest organisation representing hospitality business in the Netherlands with more than 20.000 members affiliated to more than 230 local sections throughout the country. KHN supports its members by lobbying, providing advice, information and inspiration and offering them financial benefits.

With 3.000 bachelor and master students from more than 50 countries and 12.000 alumni worldwide, Stenden Hotel Management School is the largest hotel and most internationally oriented hotel school in Europe. Stenden Hotel Management School is part of NHL Stenden, University of Applied Sciences.

Managing Director for Accor Hotels Services The Netherlands and responsible for a portfolio of 19 managed hotels in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium and The Netherlands under the brands of MGallery, Mövenpick, Pullman, Novotel, Novotel Suites, Mercure, ibis Styles and ibis.

Managing Director for Accor Hotels Services The Netherlands and responsible for a portfolio of 22 managed hotels in The Netherlands under the brands of Pullman, MGallery, Swissotel, Mövenpick, Novotel, Mercure, ibis and ibis Budget with all together 5.200 rooms.

Responsible for a portfolio of 28 managed and franchised hotels in The Netherlands under the brands of Novotel, Mercure, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis Budget.

Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering is the occupational pension fund for the Dutch hospitality and catering industry. It is an industrywide fund with around 850,000 participants on the current or former payroll of some 36,000 employers. That makes Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering one of the 10 largest pension funds in the Netherlands on both counts. The board of stakeholders requires the governing board to account for its past conduct of affairs and also makes recommendations to the governing board on impending decisions.

Responsible for the Mercure Hotels portfolio in The Netherlands, consisting of 9 subsidiary hotels and 4 franchised hotels with 1.600 rooms.

Managing the largest Accor hotel in The Benelux with 644 rooms and 7 different F&B outlets.

Managing one of the flagship Accor hotels in The Netherlands with 363 rooms and 2 restaurants. Responsible for the extension of the hotel from 187 to 363 rooms and a full refurbishment of all rooms and public areas.

Co-responsible for the pre-opening and opening of this 207 rooms city centre hotel. Overseeing the recruitment of the whole team and setting up sales, marketing and reservatons.

Interim management position, replacing the General Manager.

Hotel Manager in respectively Bastion Hotel Amsterdam-West, Bastion Hotel Rotterdam-Rhoon and Bastion Hotel Rotterdam-Barendrecht. Leading the extension and renovation project of the flagship Bastion Hotel Amsterdam West between 1997 and 1999 as the pilot hotel in a series of extensions the company has undertaken since then.

Working onboard of the M/S Sovereign of the Seas, by that time the tallest cruise ship in the world with 2.800 passengers and 1.200 crew. Stationed in Miami and cruising mainly in the Western Carribean.

Internship for the Hotel and Management School in this 305 rooms city centre hotel in Paris. Working in all different departments; food & beverage, front office, night audit, reservations, accounting, housekeeping and maintenance.