future trends

Vienna-based start-up and-less is revolutionizing commercial kitchens with a simple but ingenious reusable idea: Sustainability in the hospitality industry doesn’t start with the guest’s plate – it often starts much earlier, behind the scenes. One example of this is communal catering: every day, thousands of meals are delivered to schools, nursing homes, and canteens in disposable containers, which end up in the trash immediately after being emptied. Barely visible to the public, this creates a mountain of waste that, according to and-less, is equivalent to the area of around 181 soccer fields every year.

Genusspunkt presents a forward-looking project that shows how social, ecological, and economic responsibility can be successfully combined in the hospitality industry.

On October 22, 2025, Belgian master pâtissier and chocolatier Pierre Marcolini took to the stage at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva—not as a representative of a corporation, but as the voice of artisans, creatives, and small businesses. His opening speech at the “Changemakers for Sustainable Trade” dialogue became a highlight of the conference – a passionate appeal for a more humane, transparent, and value-based economy.

From digital voice assistants to AI-supported training, the hotel and restaurant industry is facing a wave of innovation that is rethinking efficiency, sustainability, and the guest experience in equal measure. Four current initiatives show how future technologies are already changing operations today – and what opportunities businesses can derive from them.

A new service employee is wanted. The position needs to be filled urgently, time is short – and the application arrives at half past midnight. Not by email, but via WhatsApp. The first questions are answered by an AI-supported chatbot, and the date for the trial period is suggested automatically. Everything runs efficiently, quickly and seemingly without any human intervention.

Such processes are no longer a future scenario, but reality. But this is precisely where the question arises: How much should AI be allowed to decide on its own – and when is human control necessary? A new area of tension is emerging between automation and responsibility, which must be handled with sensitivity, especially in labor-intensive industries such as catering and food production.

Today’s guests want to be moved, involved, and touched. Anyone who doesn’t understand how street food is being transformed into couture, why Korean BBQ is becoming an experience, and what miso has to do with crossing boundaries is missing out not only on trends, but also on the great potential of the future of gastronomy.