Leading Learning Institute (LLI) was launched last month at The Leading Hotels of the World Annual Convention in Venice, Italy, by the company President and Chief Executive Officer, Ted Teng (left in pic, alongside Patricia Smith, Leading Hotels of the World, & Thomas T. Kraft, IFH®).

This new, global initiative, developed in conjunction with IFH Americas, Inc., offers employees at member hotels training opportunities ranging from management development and communications, to sales and revenue management.

Exclusively offered to the more than 450 Leading Hotels in 80 countries, LLI is slated to deliver over 80 training sessions in 20 locations around the globe. For an annual fee registered hotels will have unlimited access to all courses and can enroll their employees directly in the various training programmes via an LLI customized booking platform, making registration easy.

With LLI, The Leading Hotels of the World will be undertaking the largest training and development initiative in its 80-year history.

Said Teng, “Essential to our hotels’ future success is customer satisfaction and revenue generation. Vital to accomplishing these two goals is properly trained staff. LLI was created to make high-quality, consistent training easily available to the largely independent hotels in our collection.

“In a fast-changing and evolving hospitality world, this will not only allow our hotels to attract staff but to retain them as well. Bottom line, this is all about increasing the ability for our hotels to compete with chain brands and stay independent.”

As the market leader in training and development for the hospitality industry IFH® has successfully created a customised development programme based on global know-how, but matched to local and cultural requirements delivered in over six languages.”

The goal over the next three years is to develop LLI into one of the best company internal career development programmes offered in the hospitality industry.

Steffen Weidemann, the new CEO of IFH® highlighted the importance of focused employee development. “The investment that a hotel makes in its hardware must be equalled in the investment in its people. Both of these factors play a fundamental role in the overall service experience, with the employee having the larger contribution.”