HOW Festival 2025 - a combination of knowledge, inspiration and honest discussions about the future of the tourism sector

HOW Festival 2025 once again proved why it remains the most important regional meeting of hotel professionals - a combination of knowledge, inspiration and honest discussions about the future of the industry.

This year the Festival was held again at the beautiful Falkensteiner Resort Punta Skala, which provided the perfect stage for two days of content, meetings, and the creation of new ideas.

This year's edition was opened by Ryan Minton, author of the book "Thank You for Coming in Today", who delighted the participants with his energy and interactive approach.

Through a simple but powerful game, he showed how a positive and open atmosphere can completely change the dynamics of the team and the quality of service. He especially emphasized the 15:5 rule, as well as the fact that "there is no bad day" in his teams.

An inspiring story followed. Ivan Artolli, a true legend of the hotel industry, who shared with the audience an unforgettable anecdote about a misunderstanding with a client - and a solution that involved 1000 roses. This experience, as he emphasized, was remembered by Sir Rocco Forte himself, confirming the power of true leadership and dedication to the guest.

Innovation Panel in the hotel industry, attended by Boris, Sven and Rusmir, opened a discussion on technology, digitalization and the future of luxury. The participants differed on some aspects, showing how the luxury segment is rapidly changing and seeking new answers to the expectations of the modern guest.

Luc Gesvret devoted his lecture to loyalty - its meaning, long-term impact and the most common mistakes in approaching guests. Adam continued the topic by emphasizing the importance of data, especially when working with guests who stay longer or return. It is this data, when used correctly, that is the foundation of quality personalization.

After lunch, the first HOW Fight Club, with a fierce but humorous debate between Kristian Šustar and Mislav Malenica on the topic of “Smart hotels or smart people?” The debate about who will have real ownership of the guest relationship in the future - technology or people - attracted enormous attention from the audience.

Second day: operational knowledge, practice and interaction

The day began with a morning training session with Edin Mehmedović, followed by a relaxed coffee break with the speakers of the first day, where participants could ask questions without restrictions.

This was followed by a series of parallel workshops developed by the festival partners in collaboration with hoteliers, covering the most important operational challenges of today:

• procurement (Metro),
• wellness and wellbeing programs (No surrender),
• presentation of a real hacker attack and cyber security (A1),
• household and hygiene standards (Essity),
• digital communication with guests (Hoteza),
• sales skills according to “the shoes a person wears” (Davor Bilman),
• practical AI applications in everyday work (Ali Shahid), including using tools like Perplexity to create videos and automate simple tasks.

The workshops demonstrated what the core of HOW is: practical, applicable knowledge that participants can implement in their work the very next day.

Togetherness, fun and thanks to sponsors

HOW brought a distinctive entertainment program this year - from a lively pub quiz to a concert that reaffirmed how important informal networking is.

Special thanks go to the large number of sponsors, without whom HOW would not be what it is. Their support ensures a quality program, community development, and space for new knowledge and ideas.

A look at 2026: a milestone for the industry

At the end of the festival, it was announced that HOW Festival 2026 will celebrate its jubilee 10th anniversary - and already there are rumors that this edition will be unforgettable, with the ambition to push the boundaries even more than before.

/ / / HOW Festival 2025 - a program that combines top knowledge, inspiration and fun like never before is coming