TORONTO — After an illustrious career that spans more than 60 years, working in seven countries, Josef Ebner has announced he’ll be retiring, effective Nov. 15, 2024.
Ebner, who currently serves as RVP – Canada & managing director of the Chelsea Hotel Toronto, Canada’s largest hotel property, has worked in 14 properties and seven countries, but the bulk of his career was spent leading the Chelsea Hotel for the past 32 years, where he oversaw the transition of the hotel brand from Delta to Chelsea (under Langham Hospitality Group) 11 years ago.
In a corporate memo from Bob van den Oord, CEO of Langham Hospitality Group, Ebner’s “reputation, not only at the Chelsea Hotel, but across the hospitality industry, has been well recognized through various awards and accolades throughout the years such as the Hotel Association of Canada, Canadian Hotel and Marketing Sales Executives, the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, the Austrian Canadian Council, and SKAL. An especially proud moment for Josef was receiving the 2011 Decoration of Honour in Gold (Goldenes Ehrenzeichen) from the Province of Styria, Austria, and the 2001 Decoration of Merit in Gold (Goldenes Verdienstzeichen) of the Republic of Austria.”
In addition to an accomplished career, Ebner has always been committed to giving back to the community.
“The ability to give back to the community is not only an important philosophy of Langham, but it’s something he practices every day,” says van den Oord. “Under his direction, the hotel has conducted fundraising efforts and provided volunteers to benefit local as well as international charities. These have included the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Special Olympics Canada, and Habitat for Humanity. Since 2013, the hotel has donated more than $1 million in support of SickKids Foundation. On a personal challenge, [Ebner] raised money by climbing mountains such as Kilimanjaro, [raising] $30,000 for Special Olympics Canada, and Aconcagua, [raising] $25,000 for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.”
Since joining the Chelsea Hotel in 1992, Ebner has been passionately involved in promoting Canada as a destination through his participation on sales missions to Asia, Europe, the U.K, Middle East and the U.S. Additionally, Ebner has contributed to many tourism-related student/youth programs. At Cornell University, he has acted as a mentor to the Masters students. Locally, he sat on the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. He also worked closely with many European tourism management schools that provide internships and personally mentors many of the students himself.
After working tirelessly for more than 60 years, Ebner now plans to spend more time with his wife Annette, and daughter Brigitte and her family.
