SESSIONS
Offering a diverse range of speakers and topics, HR in Hospitality strives to produce timely sessions that will help you navigate the ever-changing professional landscape.
Sessions for 2026 are still under construction but please see our sessions from 2025, below, for a glimpse of some of the topics previously featured.
Expo Sessions
Welcome Reception
Kick off the HR in Hospitality Conference by joining colleagues, industry partners, and new peers for an evening designed to spark connections and set the tone for an engaging week. Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and relaxed networking as we gather to celebrate the start of the conference. This casual, high-energy reception is the perfect opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, meet first-time attendees, and start conversations that will continue throughout the event.
Open to all registered attendees—come unwind, mingle, and get ready for an inspiring conference experience.
Breakfast
Breakfast – Great Hall 2
Refreshment Break
Great Hall Foyer
Refreshment Break
Great Hall Foyer
Lunch
Great Hall 2
Refreshment Break
Great Hall Foyer
Networking Reception
South Palm Court
Breakfast
Great Hall 2
Refreshment Break
Great Hall Foyer
Passing Break
Great Hall Foyer
Lunch
Great Hall 2
Refreshment Break
Great Hall Foyer
Farewell Happy Hour
Enjoy networking with new friends and contacts before heading to the beach!
HR Sessions
Leveraging A.I. to Improve Well-Being, Engagement and Performance
Some of the most compelling AI applications – from scheduling to communication tools – can be deployed quickly to increase efficiency, enhance information access and flow, and elevate individual connections. However, not all applications work as advertised, so a healthy dose of skepticism and an evaluative lens is required when considering options.
Our panel of experts will discuss some of the emerging AI solutions that can free team members from value-sucking tasks and responsibilities and create immediate opportunities to mitigate work-related stress and promote more sustainable work settings. Additionally, they will offer important insights for assessing AI tools, as well as the operational requirements and legal implications for ensuring effective use.
(And please note this description was composed without the assistance of AI. 😊)
Talent Management: Ensuring the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time
This session explores innovative strategies for leadership planning that connect performance management with identification of high potential leaders, enabling focused skill and development plans.
Our panel of operational and HR experts will discuss how performance management drives strategic talent decisions, leveraging performance metrics, capability assessments, and individual aspirations to develop future leaders.
Case examples will illustrate forward thinking strategies for building leadership capability that enhance both better performance and higher engagement.
How One Hospitality Group Avoided a 63% Health Plan Increase and What HR Leaders Can Learn
Facing a staggering 63% increase in their group health plan, one hospitality organization reached a crossroads: absorb unsustainable costs, scale back benefits, or completely rethink their approach. In this session, we explore how their HR team chose a smarter path by transitioning to an Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA) to regain control over costs while enhancing flexibility for a diverse, multi-state workforce.
We’ll unpack why traditional group health plans often fall short in the hospitality industry, where high turnover, varied employee needs, and geographic spread create unique challenges. You’ll learn how ICHRA offers a modern alternative with predictable budgeting, personalized plan options for employees, and a more scalable solution for complex organizations.
Beyond cost savings, we’ll dive into the real impact on recruitment, retention, and overall employee satisfaction and how this shift allows HR professionals to move away from benefits administration and refocus on what matters most: supporting people.
Whether you’re navigating rising renewals, low participation, or workforce complexity, this session will give you a practical roadmap to modernizing your benefits strategy with confidence.
Building Your Marketing and Branding Expertise
This session focuses on how hospitality HR leaders can become marketing and branding experts in the race for top talent.
Participants will explore how employer branding, storytelling, and digital engagement strategies can be leveraged to attract and retain candidates who align with both culture and service excellence.
Through industry case studies, the session will reveal how to position hospitality careers as aspirational and competitive, and provide attendees with tools to craft compelling brand narratives and amplify their talent attraction and engagement efforts across multiple channels
Developing A.I. Apps: It’s Easier Than You Think!
Have you ever wanted to create your own tech solutions but don’t have the time or skill? Here’s your chance! In this session, you’ll have the opportunity to develop an AI-based application that can be implemented immediately to address one or more of your current HR needs.
Can’t We All Just Get Along? Conflict Resolution Strategies For The Workplace
Conflict is inevitable in any workplace—but in hospitality, where teams are fast-paced, diverse, and service-driven, tensions can escalate quickly and impact both employee morale and the guest experience. This interactive session explores practical conflict resolution strategies tailored for hospitality professionals.
Participants will learn how to identify the root causes of workplace disputes, communicate effectively during tense moments, and implement proactive techniques that foster collaboration and respect across departments. Walk away with actionable tools to turn conflict into an opportunity for growth, strengthen team culture, and create a more positive environment for both employees and guests.
Right-Sized HR: Building Effective Programs for Clubs and Small Hospitality Organizations
Smaller hospitality organizations and private clubs face the same complex people challenges as large brands—often with fewer resources and leaner teams.
This session explores how clubs and small hospitality operators can design and implement HR programs that are compliant, competitive, and scalable without overextending staff or budgets. Attendees will learn practical approaches to benefits, performance management, training, compliance, and employee engagement that are right-sized for their organization and aligned with their culture.
Executive Coaching Workshop: Leveraging Your Leadership Influence
This interactive workshop is designed for HR leaders who want to build executive coaching capabilities that elevate leadership performance and a service-centric culture. Dr. Sarah Sarkis is a licensed psychologist and certified executive leadership coach who collaborates with individuals, teams, and corporates using a science driven, BS-free approach.
Participants will explore proven coaching frameworks, engage in real-time practice, and learn how to navigate the unique leadership dynamics of hospitality environments. Attendees will leave with practical tools to coach senior leaders in ways that drive service excellence, team engagement, and strategic alignment.
Talent Sourcing Strategies
Discover innovative strategies for attracting top talent in an increasingly competitive hospitality labor market. This session covers new approaches to recruiting that are designed to engage today’s workforce. Participants will learn how leading hospitality organizations are rethinking job design, flexibility, and career pathways to appeal to emerging talent segments. Real-world case examples will illustrate how creative partnerships and data-driven insights can expand candidate pipelines and strengthen retention from day one.
Attendees will leave with actionable ideas to elevate their talent-attraction strategies and build a more resilient workforce.
Effective Visa Management
This session tackles the ever-changing immigration visa landscape. Led by expert in immigration law and workforce planning, the session will focus on minimizing legal exposure while building resilient, future-ready hiring strategies.
Participants will leave equipped to navigate the current compliance challenges and develop robust global talent pipelines
Taking Care of You: Mental Health and Well-Being Strategies For Burnt-Out HR Leaders
HR leaders are often the first to support others, yet the last to prioritize their own well-being. In a post-pandemic workplace marked by labor shortages, constant change, and heightened demands, often alongside significant caregiving and personal responsibilities, burnout among HR professionals is at an all-time high.
This session focuses on practical mental health and wellness strategies designed specifically for HR leaders in hospitality. From setting boundaries and building resilience to leveraging organizational resources and peer support, you’ll walk away with actionable tools to protect your energy, sustain your effectiveness, and lead with clarity and compassion.
Tech Meets Teamwork: The Future of Scenario-Based Learning
In a world where AI and technology continue to isolate us, Znario brings us together.
After years of building and leading teams, Natalie Egan kept seeing the same pattern: training wasn’t sticking, and teams were still unprepared for the moments that actually mattered. The problem wasn’t a lack of learning content, it was a lack of shared, real-world practice. That realization led her to create Znario.
This highly interactive tech-enabled session introduces both Natalie’s journey and a new category of workplace technology designed to empower managers to coach and develop their teams. Instead of passively consuming content, participants will step into a realistic HR hospitality scenario, make a decision in real time, and instantly see how others in the room respond.
The session includes a live, facilitated debrief, anonymous feedback, and real-time reporting that uncovers the thinking behind each choice, revealing decision patterns, blind spots, and moments of empathy across the group. Unlike traditional eLearning or AI simulations, this approach creates connection, not isolation, and generates a new layer of insight into how teams actually think and act.
HR Initiatives For Supporting Environmental, Governance and Social Impact
This panel discussion brings together HR leaders to explore how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives are shaping the future of workforce strategy. Panelists will share real-world examples of how HR can drive sustainability goals, foster inclusive workplaces, and strengthen governance through ethical leadership and transparent practices.
The conversation will highlight the role of HR in aligning ESG efforts with brand identity and stakeholder expectations. Attendees will gain insights into building purpose-driven cultures that attract talent, mitigate risk, and enhance long-term business resilience.
Talent Sourcing Strategies – Repeat Session
Discover innovative strategies for attracting top talent in an increasingly competitive hospitality labor market. This session covers new approaches to recruiting that are designed to engage today’s workforce. Participants will learn how leading hospitality organizations are rethinking job design, flexibility, and career pathways to appeal to emerging talent segments. Real-world case examples will illustrate how creative partnerships and data-driven insights can expand candidate pipelines and strengthen retention from day one.
Attendees will leave with actionable ideas to elevate their talent-attraction strategies and build a more resilient workforce.
Taking Care of You: Mental Health and Well-Being Strategies For Burnt-Out HR Leaders – Repeat Session
HR leaders are often the first to support others, yet the last to prioritize their own well-being. In a post-pandemic workplace marked by labor shortages, constant change, and heightened demands, often alongside significant caregiving and personal responsibilities, burnout among HR professionals is at an all-time high.
This session focuses on practical mental health and wellness strategies designed specifically for HR leaders in hospitality. From setting boundaries and building resilience to leveraging organizational resources and peer support, you’ll walk away with actionable tools to protect your energy, sustain your effectiveness, and lead with clarity and compassion.
Law Sessions
Wage & Hour Update
Wage and Hour issues continue to dominate the labor and employment landscape in the hospitality industry! From tipping, to overtime, to classifications, to overtime, to sub-contracting, class actions, class action waivers… this is a mine field that employers seek to navigate, try to comply with, get caught up in unclear and obsolete regulations and then are accused of “wage theft.” In this session, leading wage and hour lawyers, as well as a top HR executive, discuss the latest wage and hour issues and provide strategies to ensure compliance and on how to respond to the. Somewhat inevitable, allegations of violations.
Takeaways
- Identifying the most relevant wage and hour issues in hotels and restaurants
- Providing a strategy for ensuring compliance
- Discussing the adjudication venues and options
Negotiations 2025: A Look Back and View Forward
The summer of 2025 featured strikes, record increases, required daily housekeeping, and changes in workload and predictive scheduling. Where are we now, how did we get there, and where are we going? In this session, the industry’s top negotiators and local union presidents provide unique insight to the state of labor relations in the hotel industry.
Takeaways
- Overview of where we are
- Explanation of how we got there
- Description of what to expect going forward
Harassment, Discrimination and Evolving Workplace Rules in Today’s Environment: From Dealing with Social Media to Dealing with the EEOC
Who would have ever thought attending at a Coldplay concert would affect an employee’s job? Based on the impact of the internet and social media, are employees ever “off the clock” when it comes to company work rules? As challenging are the new rules at the EEOC – whether it involves a public announcement by EEOC Chair Andrea Lucus on the rights of white workers, warnings about unlawful DEI, limits on the rights of workers based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and new challenges dealing with religious accommodation. Of course, employers continue to grapple with ongoing issues dealing with harassment, accommodation claims under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and ADA, and pay equity claims, including pay transparency laws springing up around the country. This fast-paced session will be led by Barry Hartstein, Co-Chair, of Littler’s EEO and Inclusion Practice and Executive Editor of Littler’s Annual Report on EEOC Developments.
Takeaways:
- Reviewing the impact of social media on work-rules involving non-working time;
- Providing compliance guidelines based on EEOC Chair Lucas’ current view of unlawful DEI;
- Handling religious accommodation requests, whether it involves requested schedule changes, appearance standards and/or religious expression; and
- Additional practice pointers on compliance with the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, state pay transparency laws, and other ongoing workplace challenges.
Investigations: HR’s Roles & Actions Workshop
Workplace investigations are one of the most critical — and challenging — responsibilities of HR professionals in hospitality. Whether addressing employee disputes, disciplinary actions, harassment claims, or questions around pay and wage structures, HR leaders must gather facts thoroughly, fairly, and consistently to ensure credibility and trust in the outcome. A well-executed investigation not only helps resolve internal issues but also protects the organization if a matter escalates to litigation.
This session will walk through the fundamentals of conducting effective investigations, including how to structure the process, collect and document evidence, interview witnesses, and maintain neutrality.
Participants will also learn common pitfalls to avoid and gain strategies for ensuring that findings stand up under scrutiny from leadership, employees, or the courts.
Immigration Update
The hospitality industry has been a major employer of immigrant workers for as long as anyone attending this conference has been in the industry! In addition, many seasonal properties have hired H-2B visa holders to cover short term labor needs.
As the new administration seeks to limit immigration, reduce visas, and engage in mass deportations, hospitality employers are faced with two questions: (1) how do make sure we are in compliance with immigration law; and (2) how do we staff our properties.
In this session seasoned immigration attorneys, an HR professional, and a union vice president provide an overview of the law, a state of immigrant employment in the industry, a preview of the Visa process, and a discussion of what the Union and employers can, and do, to help their employees navigate the new immigration landscape.
Takeaways:
- The state of immigration law;
- The status of H-2B visas;
- The strategies for addressing immigration issues with your employees.
Reduced Federal Workforce Impacts on Hospitality Regulations, Policy and Enforcement
The NLRB has been restructured. The EEOC has changed its focus as has the DOL. The administrative agencies which defined policy are fundamentally different. How does this affect the hospitality industry? Is enforcement different? Are employers’ obligations different?
In this session, we examine the state, structure, and polices of the government agencies that regulate the workplace.
NLRB Perspectives from Former Chairs: Where We Are and Where We Could Be Going
At this time last year, there were two NLRB members, and the agency was essentially neutered. With a quorum on the horizon, how will the NLRB address a large backlog of cases. Is this a traditional Republican Administration that will overturn the most recent decisions of the previous Democratic Board or will this new Republican Board be more receptive to the populist side of the party.
We will interview former Chairs of the NLRB to discuss what could be next for the Board and the impacts moving forward.
Affirmative Action & DEI: What MUST You Do, What CAN You Do?
It has been one year since the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Affirmative Action and DEI. What has the fallout been? What are employers doing? Do employees and other stakeholders support what companies did, and are now doing?
Preparing for an Employment Arbitration Workshop
Employment arbitration has become a common path for resolving employment disputes, and HR professionals play a pivotal role throughout the process. From conducting investigations and coordinating with supervisors to advising senior leadership, preparing documentation for counsel, and even testifying, HR leaders are central to managing these cases effectively.
This session will explore best practices for navigating each stage of and employment arbitration: when to engage legal counsel, how to prepare to testify, and what it takes to successfully guide a case from start to finish.
Unite Here State of the Union
Description coming soon!
HR Professionals Career Advancement: Your Role in a Union Property
Navigating a unionized hospitality environment requires a unique blend of strategic insight, relationship-building, and operational expertise. This session is designed for HR professionals looking to elevate their careers while driving positive outcomes in a union property. Participants will explore how HR can move beyond compliance to become a trusted business partner—balancing labor agreements, employee relations, and organizational goals. Through real-world examples and practical guidance, this session will highlight how effective collaboration with union leadership, proactive workforce planning, and confident contract administration can position HR professionals as influential leaders and open the door to long-term career advancement.
Key takeaways include:
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Understanding HR’s strategic role in a unionized hospitality setting
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Strengthening partnerships with union representatives and operations leaders
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Leveraging labor relations experience to accelerate career growth
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Building credibility, confidence, and leadership presence in a union property
Immigration Update – Repeat Session
The hospitality industry has been a major employer of immigrant workers for as long as anyone attending this conference has been in the industry! In addition, many seasonal properties have hired H-2B visa holders to cover short term labor needs.
As the new administration seeks to limit immigration, reduce visas, and engage in mass deportations, hospitality employers are faced with two questions: (1) how do make sure we are in compliance with immigration law; and (2) how do we staff our properties.
In this session seasoned immigration attorneys, an HR professional, and a union vice president provide an overview of the law, a state of immigrant employment in the industry, a preview of the Visa process, and a discussion of what the Union and employers can, and do, to help their employees navigate the new immigration landscape.
Takeaways:
- The state of immigration law;
- The status of H-2B visas;
- The strategies for addressing immigration issues with your employees.
Plenary Sessions
Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks in Ocean Ballroom
Climbing the HR Ladder – Lessons from a CHRO
What does it take to rise from an entry-level HR role to the C-suite in hospitality? In this candid conversation, seasoned Chief Human Resources Officers shares the career milestones, challenges, and strategies that shaped their path to leadership.
Attendees will gain insight into the skills and mindset needed to advance, the importance of building influence across operations, and how to navigate the unique demands of the hospitality industry. Whether you’re just starting your HR journey or preparing for the next step, this session offers practical guidance and inspiring lessons from the top.
50 Legal Tips in 50 Minutes
Join us as leading hospitality attorneys take turns presenting concise, practical tips for HR professionals on critical employment and labor law issues, including class actions, wage and hour compliance, gender bias and harassment, social media, wrongful termination, joint-employer, and more. Learn what you need to know to stay on top of the broad and ever-changing legal landscape – all in one fast-paced, high-energy session.
Takeaways
- Learn about the hottest labor and employment law issues
- Gather practical tips and strategies to address vexing legal issues
- Identify nascent issues that may be just over the horizon
Leading Through Turbulence: HR’s Role During Organizational Change
In today’s volatile business landscape, organizational change is a constant, and HR is on the front lines guiding the workforce through uncertainty. This session provides HR professionals with actionable, evidence-based strategies for leading their organizations during difficult seasons of change. Attendees will learn how to proactively manage communication, address employee resistance, and implement support systems that maintain morale and productivity. Discover how strategic and intentional actions can transform periods of turbulence into opportunities for growth and resilience across the entire organization.
What’s Changing in Hospitality Labor Policy: A Strategic Briefing for Industry Leaders
Hospitality labor policy is evolving rapidly at the federal, state, and local levels, creating new complexity for hotel operators and HR leaders. This session will provide an industry-level briefing on key policy and regulatory developments nationwide and how policy shifts are shaping workforce strategy across both union and non-union environments.
The State of Women in Hospitality Leadership 2026: What’s Holding Women Back and How HR Can Help
Emily Goldfischer, founder of hertelier, delivers a high-impact keynote on what’s really holding women back in hospitality leadership and what HR leaders can do about it.
Drawing from 750+ interviews with senior women across the industry and new findings from the 2026 survey The State of Women in Hospitality Leadership with Forbes Travel Guide, Emily connects the dots between structural bias, the invisible load, and the leadership patterns that help women rise: curiosity, self-advocacy, boundaries, community, and joy.
Expect sharp insights, practical takeaways, and a roadmap for building workplaces where women can lead and thrive.
