Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
AI and digital innovation are rapidly reshaping travel & hospitality. Yet many transformation efforts stall not because of technology, but because organisations struggle to translate innovation into sustained performance in a service-driven environment. This session challenges the assumption that digital transformation is primarily an operational or technological exercise. Instead, it explores how leadership decisions, team dynamics and the human capacity to deal with continuous change determine whether AI-driven innovation delivers real business value or remains a missed opportunity. Bringing together industry experience and academic insights, the session connects AI adoption to the realities of hospitality organisations and the evolving needs of the next generation workforce. The discussion moves beyond tools and trends, focusing on how transformation impacts teams, performance and decision-making in practice. Participants will leave with sharper insights into why leadership matters more than ever in AI-enabled transformation, and how travel & hospitality organisations can move beyond transactional efficiency towards more resilient, future-ready ways of working.
Host:
Lea Jordan
Member of the Board of Experts
ITB Berlin Convention
Speaker:
Dana Jiménez Herrera
Researcher, Senior Lecturer Leadership and Organisational Behaviour
Hotelschool The Hague
Jeroen van Velzen
Serial founder, investor, and founder coach
Elevaide
AI and digital innovation are rapidly reshaping travel & hospitality. Yet many transformation efforts stall not because of technology, but because organisations struggle to translate innovation into sustained performance in a service-driven environment. This session challenges the assumption that digital transformation is primarily an operational or technological exercise. Instead, it explores how leadership decisions, team dynamics and the human capacity to deal with continuous change determine whether AI-driven innovation delivers real business value or remains a missed opportunity. Bringing together industry experience and academic insights, the session connects AI adoption to the realities of hospitality organisations and the evolving needs of the next generation workforce. The discussion moves beyond tools and trends, focusing on how transformation impacts teams, performance and decision-making in practice. Participants will leave with sharper insights into why leadership matters more than ever in AI-enabled transformation, and how travel & hospitality organisations can move beyond transactional efficiency towards more resilient, future-ready ways of working.
Host:
Lea Jordan
Member of the Board of Experts
ITB Berlin Convention
Speaker:
Dana Jiménez Herrera
Researcher, Senior Lecturer Leadership and Organisational Behaviour
Hotelschool The Hague
Jeroen van Velzen
Serial founder, investor, and founder coach
Elevaide
