Addicted to careers

Lucerne/Geneva. Luxury is not the same luxury. Insiders have known this for a long time, but CEOs rarely speak of it. In recent times, Reto Wittwer has done so several times in the media and reaped headlines. Indeed, he means it seriously: Kempinski Hotels & Resorts will no longer count more properties than the group is old. In 2013, the luxury hotel group counts just 76 properties. There is still potential. However, he wishes to know nothing of mega pipelines à la Marriott, Hilton, Jumeirah or Mandarin Oriental. This self-limitation is a luxury protection, for Kempinski as well as for the guests. Since Reto Wittwer is absolutely convinced: "At some point, there'll be a Ritz-Carlton too much." A conversation about luxury on Lake Lucerne, in the heart of luxury-spoilt Switzerland, on the outskirts of the "World Tourism Forum" in Lucerne.

Berlin. After such panel discussions, there is never one hundred percent satisfaction, but this year's dialogue between two students of the Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne and two employers had its own charm: at the 8th "ITB Hospitality Day" at ITB Berlin, the students Adrian Ruch and Katharina Jaeger, both in their early twenties, asked the Head of Human Resources at Starwood Hotels and the young co-owner of the luxury hotel Suvretta House in St. Moritz questions about their career opportunities and the market – in alternating pairs on the stage. The fully occupied auditorium awaited the results.