The SENTINEL project (Cluster Network for Hospitality Sustainable Development and Internationalization) got under way on 1st January which shares know-how with companies in the hospitality contract channel. SENTINEL has been co-financed by the European Union’s COSME Go International program.

The project is run by a consortium of four European clusters that group companies supplying products and solutions for the entire hospitality value chain, from planning, building and interior furnishings right through to maintenance and management. The clusters taking part are CENFIM, the furniture cluster and interior furnishings innovation centre, the Catalan Water Partnership, an association that promotes innovation and internationalization in the water sector, the Fondazione Torino Wireless, the Italian Information and Communication Technologies cluster, and OÖ Energiesparverband/Cleantech-Cluster, the Austrian Sustainable Construction & Clean Tech cluster, all of which have interests in the commercial channel.

The project got under way on 1st January and will run for 18 months. The first step will be the identification of emerging markets that will offer business opportunities over the next few years for companies operating in the hospitality contract sector. Next, an internationalization plan will be developed, through which the members companies of the clusters that make up the consortium will have access to the tools required to access these markets.

SENTINEL plans to send experts from the clusters and companies to visit the markets and verify their potential in situ in terms of business opportunities for companies operating in the hospitality-contract sector.

Moreover, cross visits will also be organised between the four clusters in order to strengthen the consortium and explore the complementary features between the project members’ value chains, such as participation in the InteriHOTEL marketplace organized by CENFIM and the leading event of this type in the hotel interior design sector in Spain.