Sommet Education and Hospitality Community Foundation announce strategic partnership to advance training and sector intelligence in hospitality

Sommet Education, the global leader in higher education for hospitality management with prestigious institutions including Les Roches, Glion Institute of Higher Education and École Ducasse, has entered into a partnership with the Hospitality Community Foundation (HCommunity) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The MoU was officially signed on 7^th October at Les Roches Crans-Montana, ranked number two worldwide in Hospitality and Leisure Management by the QS Universities Ranking by Subject 2025, host of the event. This strategic alliance is built on a shared ambition to combine academic expertise with real-time economic data to deliver tangible solutions to the current challenges faced by the hospitality and tourism industries.

This partnership reflects the strong commitment of both organisations to return data to the hands of hospitality professionals, guided by ethical and collaborative principles. By contributing to education, research, innovation and territorial competitiveness, this marks a new step toward a more sustainable industry ecosystem.

A shared vision for a sustainable and equitable hospitality sector

Florent Varanne, Head of Business Solutions Development at Sommet Education, who is also joining HCommunity’s Academic Committee which ensures strategic alignment between the Foundation’s mission and Sommet’s academic priorities, said:

“Real-time data only holds value when it serves a shared vision. Through this partnership with HCommunity, we have a unique opportunity to turn data into collective intelligence, for the benefit of destinations and the entire tourism ecosystem. Sommet Education is mobilising its academic teams, faculty, researchers and experts, to interpret, structure and transmit this data in a useful and strategic way. In a world where destinations compete long before individual establishments do, the pooling of anonymised data becomes a powerful tool to anticipate demand, adapt offerings and build lasting attractiveness. This partnership opens exciting perspectives to collectively advance performance, innovation and fairness in hospitality.”

Christopher Meignier, President of HCommunity Foundation, added:

“Every day, thousands of professionals carry the hospitality industry on their shoulders. They deserve to fully benefit from the fruits of their labour. With HCommunity, our goal is to give them back control of this value, to help them move forward with greater clarity, better tools and stronger recognition. The partnership with Sommet Education serves exactly that purpose: it directly supports those who keep this industry alive and allows us, together, to move an entire ecosystem forward toward greater collaboration, intelligence and fairness.”

Giovanni Odaglia, Managing Director of Les Roches Crans-Montana, highlighted the school’s role in this initiative:

“Hosting the signing of this new strategic partnership at Les Roches Crans-Montana underscores our role as a hub for innovation, collaboration and leadership in hospitality. Beyond hosting, our campus and students will actively contribute by creating videos and educational materials to help hoteliers understand and leverage the data generated by the HCommunity platform. By combining academic excellence, student engagement and industry-driven innovation, we strengthen our position as a catalyst for impactful strategic projects and prepare our students and partners to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

A collaboration built on three key pillars

More specifically, this partnership focuses on three main areas: training around sector KPIs, applied research and educational projects, and the international deployment of the HCommunity platform.

Training around sector KPIs: Free webinars will be offered to help professionals understand and use the key indicators derived from the HCommunity platform. These sessions will be complemented by in-depth modules led by Sommet Education experts, integrated into the group’s B2B learning solutions.

Applied research and educational projects: Sommet Education will contribute to the Foundation’s projects through the development of case studies and research materials leveraging territorial data. This collaboration will strengthen academic transmission and foster pedagogical innovation.

International deployment of HCommunity platform: The partnership also includes a joint expansion into key markets such as the Middle East and South Africa, with the creation of Data Lakes to support governments and businesses in structuring their tourism development based on real-time, shared data.