Organisation

General Assembly

The General Assembly is HOTREC’s highest decision-making body and brings together the representatives of all members associations. It is notably responsible for:

• Approving applications for membership and observer status;
• Electing the HOTREC President and other members of the Executive Committee;
• Approving the annual accounts and determining the budget;
• Amending the statutes and the bye-laws of the association;
• Adopting HOTREC position papers.

The General Assembly generally takes decisions by consensus.

The General Assembly usually meets twice per year.

The member associations take turns in hosting the General Assembly according to a rotating schedule. In addition, the Executive Committee chaired by the President, has the authority to take decisions on relevant issues. The day-to-day management of HOTREC Secretariat and its activities are overseen by the Director General. Moreover, HOTREC’s Working Groups and Committees play an important role in the organisation. Each Task Force and Committee is in charge of one specific policy area and gathers the expertise of several representatives of HOTREC’s members.

The Executive Committee consists of eleven members, which have been elected by the General Assembly for two years.

The Executive Committee consists of eleven members, which have been elected by the General Assembly for two years. The Executive Committee is chaired by the President.
The Director General prepares and attends the Executive Committee’s meetings.

The members of HOTREC’s Executive Committee:

• Jens Zimmer Christensen – President – Denmark
• Marc Van Muylders – Vice-President – Belgium
• Adrian Cummins – Treasurer – Ireland
• Alexandros Vassilikos – Member – Greece 
• Antonio Flamini – Member – Italy 
• Dirk Beljaarts – Member – Netherlands
• Markus Luthe – Member – Germany
• Melissa Morandi – Member – France
• Morten Thorvaldsen – Member – Norway
• Ramón Estalella Halffter – Member – Spain 
• Václav Stárek – Member – Czech Republic

• Joan Gaspart – Observer – Spain 
• Bernd Geyer – Honorary President – Germany 

The Brussels-based Secretariat, is in charge of the day-to-day management of the association and its activities.
The Secretariat works in close liaison with the President and the Executive Committee, as well as member associations. It is led by the Director General.

• Tourism
• Sustainability
• Social Affairs
• Visa policy
• Data protection
• Other areas: EU Funding, organisation of Sectorial Social Dialogue Committee, Restaurant, bar, cafés and late-night entertainment Working Group, Sustainability Working Group and other ad hoc meetings

• Accessibility
• Collaborative economy
• Digital issues
• Hotel classification (Hotelstars Union)
• Quality
• Standardisation
• Statistics
• Taxation
• Other areas: organisation of Distribution Working Group, Short-Term Rental Working Group

• Internal communications
• External communications
• Social media management
• Website management
• Graphic design & publications
• Events management
• IT & databases coordination