Young hospitality students will meet senior hotel executives in Rabat this month as the Luxury Hospitality Symposium holds its first African edition. The event will take place on 18 September at The Ritz-Carlton Rabat, Dar Es Salam. It will bring together about 50 young people and 20 senior executives and HR directors from Moroccan and international hotel groups. The six-hour event will include talks, panel discussions and networking sessions focused on careers in luxury hotels.
Dr Karl A. Russell, a faculty member at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), founded the symposium.
“Morocco is home to some of the finest luxury properties in the world, regularly recognized among the best globally. But luxury is defined by people first. LHS exists to give Gen Z a voice in that future, and to connect the next generation of Moroccan talent with the leaders shaping the industry,” he said.
Gen Z will have a central role at the event. Young participants will join a panel about their generation, while final-year students from UM6P’s School of Hospitality Business and Management (SHBM) will organise and run the symposium.
The event comes as the hotel sector continues to grow. The hospitality market is expected to be worth $10.79bn in 2026, up from $10.26bn in 2025. It could reach $13.91bn by 2031.
Hotel chains currently account for 52.74% of the market and are expected to grow by 9.22% a year.
The government tourism programme for 2023-2026 has added more than 45,000 hotel rooms, taking the national total above 300,000. The programme has a public investment of 6.1bn dirhams ($660m).
Rabat has also seen new luxury hotels. Hilton opened the Waldorf Astoria inside the Mohammed VI Tower, with 55 rooms and suites and 1,300 sq m of event space.
The symposium will also showcase LuxuryTalent.org, an AI-powered platform that aims to help luxury hotels find candidates based on their skills and potential rather than only their CVs.
SHBM, based in Benguerir, is the only African institution certified by EHL Hospitality Business School. Its four-year English-language degree includes two six-month international internships and a final-year student-led project.
LHS Rabat is being hosted with The Ritz-Carlton Rabat, Dar Es Salam, with support from the National Tourism Federation and event partner Société Hôtelière de Benguerir.
