Chelsea Hotel, Toronto’s Josef Ebner set to retire in November

This marks the end of a career spanning over 60 years, 14 properties and seven countries. Like many hoteliers in his time, Josef began his career in an apprenticeship training program where he learned first-hand, the importance of excellent customer service and hospitality — an experience that helped him to become a successful hotelier. 

“There have been many milestones over the course of Josef’s hotel leadership of the Chelsea over the past 32 years, including the transition of the hotel from Delta Hotels to Chelsea (under direct LHG management) 11 years ago,” says Bob van den Oord, chief executive officer, Langham Hospitality Group. ​“His 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) of the Province of Styria, Austria, and the 2001 Decoration of Merit in Gold (Goldenes Verdienstzeichen) of the Republic of Austria.

“One of our strategic objectives and goals relates to ​‘The World — To Create a Net Positive Impact’ and I have not met anyone who exemplifies this more than Josef. The ability to give back to the community is not only an important philosophy of Langham, but it is something he practices every day,” says van den Oord.

Under Ebner’s 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 over $1 million in support of SickKids Foundation. On a personal challenge, he raised money by climbing mountains such as Kilimanjaro — $30K for Special Olympics and Aconcagua — $25K for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.

Since joining the Chelsea Hotel in 1992, Ebner has been involved in promoting Canada as a destination through his participation in sales missions to Asia, Europe, the U.K., the Middle East and the U.S. Over the years, Ebner has reportedly contributed to many tourism-related student/​youth programs. For Cornell University, he has acted as a mentor to the master’s students. Locally, he sat on the dean’s advisory council at the Ted Rogers School of Management, at Ryerson University. He also worked closely with many European tourism management schools that provide internships and personally mentors many of the students himself.

“With genuine passion, Josef Ebner has inspired, shared and developed a vision for the future of the Chelsea Hotel and the tourism industry,” says Rob Housez, general manager, Chelsea Hotel, Toronto. ​“Whether tending to his guests and employees, the needs of the owners of Canada’s largest hotel, and contributing to promoting Canada as a destination, he represents the definition of a leader and a master hotelier. On behalf of the team at the Chelsea, we wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

For his next chapter, spending more time with his family will be a top priority for Ebner.