Hong Kong has always been ground zero when it came to hospitality, tech, innovation and education.  How this came to be, and was put to practical use was the subject of conversation with this week’s guest, Richard Hatter. Richard has an extensive background in the hospitality space, opening many hotels in the Asia-Pacific market over the last 25 years. Richard’s operations expertise led him to become an adjunct professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University which opened up new doors, putting his hotel background, love for technology, a desire to teach, all together to enable Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives within the hospitality industry. 

In the competitive Asian market, innovation with technology was seen as a way to teach students. As GM of hotel ICON, Richard put a technology prototype, development and testing center working with suppliers and hoteliers, and at the same time being a teaching hub for hospitality students. First, this gave suppliers a chance to test their products and viability with real guests, providing the ability to make adjustments to ensure a successful launch. A secondary benefit of this being that the hospitality students would go on to lead the market and be familiar with the suppliers who’s products were being tested. 

In terms of technology, everything from robotics to sustainability in uniforms and reducing food waste was tested. Richard believes that hotels today can learn from these methods. As a center for innovation and creativity it’s very attractive to students and patrons alike. Students come for the education and hotel patrons desired more dynamic experiences during their stay. The hotels themselves could use the opportunity to update outdated systems.

Tune in to this episode of Accelerate to learn more about the teaching hotels, and how education, hospitality, and innovation can become an ICONic experience.