The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) celebrated its "Splendid 40 Years" by hosting a gala dinner at Hotel ICON, the SHTM's world-class teaching and research hotel, on 20 September 2019. Close to 400 guests from around the world attended the occasion in celebration of the School's 40th anniversary.
Loyalty programmes have long been a feature of the hotel sector, but little evidence has traditionally supported whether they represent an operationally and financially beneficial form of investment. Yet a recent study by Dr Dan Wang of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and her co-researchers provides strong evidence that hotels are justified in making such investments, and provides suggestions for how hotels can further capitalise on the benefits.
More than 750 delegates from 42 countries and regions from around the world gathered in Hong Kong to attend the inaugural APacCHRIE & EuroCHRIE Joint Conference cum 4th Global Tourism and Hospitality Conference hosted by the SHTM and co-organised by APacCHRIE and EuroCHRIE on 22-25 May 2019.Themed "East Meets West in Hospitality and Tourism Education", the Conference took place in the very heart of where East does indeed meet West - Hong Kong, a dynamic and vibrant city connecting the world. This exceptional conference provided delegates and the international hospitality and tourism community with an interdisciplinary platform on which to exchange information, ideas and views, and to consolidate research efforts and industry experiences in the field. Together with the APacCHRIE & EuroCHRIE Youth Conference, it stood as an iconic academic milestone of the sector.The joint conference was run entirely by a group of 57 talented SHTM undergraduate students from the Special Events Class, who formed an organising committee to manage the conference and put together an enriching programme for international delegates, ensuring an experience unlike any other. The conference started off on 22 May with a series of workshops on a variety of important topics including "Certification in Advanced Hospitality and Tourism Analytics" facilitated by Mr Steve Hood of the STR SHARE Centre; "Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics" hosted by Mr Duane Vinson of the STR SHARE Centre; "Design Thinking" conducted by Dr Geoff Maree of the Breda University of Applied Sciences; "Hotel Industry Insights and Revenue Management Outlook: An Interactive Simulation Workshop" co-facilitated by Mr Peter Russell and Ms Heidi Anaya of Russell Partnership Technology; "Taylor & Francis Workshop: What's Next in Tourism and Hospitality" moderated by Ms Lindsey Dixon of the Taylor & Francis Group; "Early Career Development: Issues and Strategies" moderated by Prof Vikneswaran Nair of the University of the Bahamas; "Mid-Career Development: Issues and Strategies" moderated by Dr Basak Denizci Guillet of the SHTM; and "Research and Publication: Insights from Journal Editors" moderated by Professor Bob McKercher of the SHTM.Officiating at the conference's opening ceremony on 23 May at Hotel ICON were Dr Peter Kim, President, APacCHRIE; Dr Ralph Burbach, President, EuroCHRIE; and Professor Kaye Chon, SHTM Dean, Chair Professor and Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management. This was followed by plenary sessions covering a whole host of important topics including "Connecting the Dots between Research and Industry Practices", "Current Issues on Hospitality and Tourism Industry", "Service Design" and "Hospitality and Tourism Education: Embracing Innovations". Renowned academics and industry leaders also had the opportunity to attend a series of concurrent sessions, poster sessions and other interesting activities organised during the conference.At the Gala Dinner rounding out the conference on 24 May, the Best Paper Award Presentation was held. The winners were:
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world's leading luxury hospitality company, is excited to announce that Four Seasons Pop Down Hong Kong, the fourth in a global series of immersive events, will arrive in Hong Kong on March 30. The excitement will kick-off with an invitation-only event, followed by a two-day consumer activation in the heart of the city's Central district.
Chef Angelo Agliano brings over two decades of experience in culinary arts to the one Michelin-star Tosca at The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong as its new director.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the foremost gathering of international leaders in the $4.2 trillion global wellness economy, today named Catherine Feliciano-Chon, a leading brand development and communications expert with offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and Tokyo-based spa/wellness investor and entrepreneur Yoriko Soma to co-chair the leading conference on the business of wellness. The Summit returns to Asia for the third time in its thirteen-year history and will take place at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong from October 15-17, 2019.
The mission of the SHTM is to engineer knowledge transfer to the hospitality industry and education institutes. Recently, SHTM successfully combined the research prowess of the School with Hotel ICON's practical experience and endeavour, launching SHTM+ICON Consultancy to offer professional hospitality related consultancy services to the industry.Knowledge transfer includes management know-how, creative solutions, and experiences in a practical setting, and it can help organisations to maintain sustainable growth. The services offered by SHTM+ICON Consultancy include the following.
The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), in partnership with the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP), presented Kieran Bestall with the Rising Star Award Asia. Bestall was presented the award during plenary session at HICAP on 19 October 2018 at the Kerry Hotel Hong Kong.
Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong is pleased to announce the appointment of Executive Chef Matthew Woolford, who will oversee all of the culinary operations at the hotel. Chef Woolford, a native Australian from Sydney, comes to Hong Kong from Shanghai, where he was previously the director of culinary at W Shanghai - The Bund.
Ulf Bremer, a seasoned hotelier with over two decades' of work experience in travel and hospitality, has been appointed as General Manager of the Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong.
Hong Kong-based hotel brand Hotel COZi announces the opening of its third property in the territory. Hotel COZi ∙ Oasis is set to open its doors to guests on 2 October 2018. Located in Kwai Tsing district of Hong Kong, a 30-minute ride from the airport, Hong Kong Disneyland and AsiaWorld Expo, the 583-room hotel features spacious rooms and suites, an all-day dining restaurant, an elegant lounge, meeting and conference facilities, a gym as well as spa treatments.
The Peninsula Hotels is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark K. Kobayashi as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, effective on 1 September 2018. In his new role, he will be responsible for global Marketing, Sales, Revenue, Brand Marketing, Communications, E-Commerce, Digital Marketing, Guest Engagement, Global Guest Database Management and the Global Customer Service Center.
Marco Polo Hotels - Hong Kong has appointed Helen Tan as hotel manager of its three Hong Kong properties: Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, Prince Hotel and Gateway Hotel. In her new role, Tan will be assisting the general manager in supervising the operations departments of all three properties and managing their day-to-day operations.
STR's preliminary May 2018 data for hotels in Hong Kong indicates strong performance results. Based on daily data from May, Hong Kong reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
Initiated and hosted by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the first ever World Summit for Deans of Independent Schools of Hospitality and Tourism was held at Hotel ICON on 27-29 May 2018. The Summit provided a unique platform for deans of 40 institutions from more than 20 countries and regions to discuss and define the future course of strategies for hospitality and tourism schools, and to share solutions to common issues in an effort to promote further growth of hospitality and tourism studies within comprehensive universities.
Experience in the full range of human resources area including talent attraction & retention, performance management and development, organization design, merger and integrations, Bernard Kam, the newly-appointed Director of Human Resources, is responsible for leading the human resource strategies, programmes, trainings and performances for a total of 630 associates and managers in the hotel. Prior to joining Sheraton, Bernard held several senior positions over his 25-year hospitality journey including Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, The American Club, and the recent role as Group Director of Human Resources at Marco Polo Hotels and Plaza Premiu m Group.
Joyce Wong joins Sheraton from her most recent role as Director of Mar keting at Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel. Heralding over 20-year experience across the notable brands, with impressive background and proven leadership abilities, she brings along a wealth of experience in driving sales and MICE business from previous appointments at Inter-Continental, Mandarin Oriental, Island Shangri-La, The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott in Hong Kong and mainland China. In her new role, Joyce will oversee the Sales and Marketing division of this 782-room hotel with 15 event and conference spaces, encompasses proactive sales, event booking, marketi ng communications and reservations teams.
Recipient of the Rooms Leader of the Year for Marriott Intl Asia Pacific 2014 and the finalist of the Rooms Hotelier of the year Asia 2017 in BMW Hotelier Awards, Allwyn brings with him 17-year of hotel operations and guest relations experience across four Marriott hotel brands - Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard and Marriott Executive Apartments in Asia Pacific regions including Fiji, Malaysia, India and Singapore. Before joining Sheraton, Allwyn was the Director of Room Operation at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel. On his new appointment, he will lead and guide the hotel's operations division.
STR's preliminary March 2018 data for hotels in Hong Kong indicates strong performance results. Based on daily data from March, Hong Kong reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
Ms Toth joins Rosewood Hong Kong with nineteen years of public relations, marketing and journalism experience, including a 7-year tenure at The Peninsula Hotels where she served as Director of Communications, Director of Brand Communications, and Director of Public Relations respectively. Ms Toth is a graduate of University College London's School of European Languages, Culture & Society (SELCS), where she received her Bachelor of Arts honours degree.