Vanessa Borkmann

Vanessa Borkmann serves as Professor for Tourism with a focus on Hotel Management at SRH University of Applied Sciences and leads research in Hotel Industry & Tourism at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) in Stuttgart. She directs the Innovation Laboratory "Showcase FutureHotel" and founded the FutureHotel and Future Museum research networks, driving industry-academia collaboration in hospitality innovation.

Her academic foundation includes a Doctorate (Dr. phil.) from Wilhelms University Münster (2005) on brand optimization for Nivea Beauté and a Dipl.-Kommunikationswirtin degree in Social and Business Communication from the University of the Arts Berlin (2000). Professional experience spans executive roles at Coca-Cola, Volkswagen, and McKinsey & Company.

Professor Borkmann's research pioneers AI-driven guest experiences, digital transformation in tourism, and sustainable hotel ecosystems. She investigates cognitive hotel environments, service design innovations, and workforce evolution through empirical studies like the FutureHotel guest surveys. Her work bridges architectural engineering with hospitality management to create performance-enhancing spatial solutions.

Recent publications reveal a decisive shift toward future-proofing hospitality through workforce development (2021), pandemic resilience strategies (2020), and cognitive room technologies (2019). Key thematic clusters include wellness experience optimization, community-integrated hotel models, and digitalized customer journeys from booking to checkout.

Her research impact is recognized through prestigious awards:

• Hospitality Innovation Award (2017) for transformative contributions to international hotel industry practices
• Fraunhofer IAO Innovation Award (2011) for the Showcase FutureHotel project

As Chairman of Bitkom's Tourism Working Group and jury member for awards like FIABCI Prix d'Excellence, she shapes industry standards. Her team develops real-world implementations such as the mobile check-in system for Vienna's Hotel Schani, demonstrating immediate applicability of research findings.

Professor Borkmann directs the FutureHotel Innovation Laboratory where interdisciplinary teams prototype solutions for smart hotel rooms, sustainable building concepts, and neighborhood-integrated hospitality models. Current initiatives include the Alpen FutureHotel Y network exploring alpine tourism evolution and the Future Museum project digitizing cultural visitor experiences.