• Alumni Profile: Ren Hirose: A Passion for Excellence
• TIM School Commissioned to Update PATA History 
• School Moves Forward With Technology
• Professor John R. Cox Honored With Prestigous Presidential Teaching Award
• Sustainable Tourism Program Receives Two New Grants

After an hour with Ren Hirose at the chic W Honolulu Hotel, you begin to understand why, at a very young age, he�s risen to become the General Manager of Starwood�s star brand: the W Hotel. Ren Hirose illustrates a path of success that the TIM School is proud to see its graduates tread. The
level of success achieved by Ren in his still budding career, however, is not the most inspiring aspect of his evolving tale. Rather, it is the focus, dedication, hard work, passion, and value he places on teamwork, which makes him a source of inspiration for his fellow workers as well as students. 
 

Ren loves his work. �For me, every day is a different day,� explains Ren.  �It�s hard to plan a day,� which is precisely what he enjoys about his job as the W Honolulu�s General Manager.  Hours are filled with meetings, sometimes up to eight hours a day, and he is bombarded with up to 30-40 e-mail messages daily. Such a demanding schedule requires hard work and relentless determination, but it also requires passion - an

Ren Hirose

Upon his graduation from the TIM School in 1985, Ren didn�t envision himself where he finds himself today. It was his passion that guided him - not a
specific goal - even when the exact location of his journey was unknown. What Ren did know was this: he wanted to take on challenges; he wanted to take advantage of any and every learning experience and opportunity that came his way, and in so doing, he wanted to maintain a positive and ethical attitude.

Ren began his journey to the top job at the W by completing valuable internships at well established Sheraton Hotels around the State. He spent the summer after his freshman year at TIM interning on his home island of Maui as the �Junior Social Host� at the Sheraton Maui. TIM alum Ernie Nishizaki took an interest in the enthusiastic young man from Maui and passed on positive reports about him.  He completed three more succeeding internships at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider and the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and the Waialae Country Club.

He landed his first full-time position after graduation with the Sheraton Royal Waikoloa Hotel Reservations. He was hired as a management trainee, where he quickly rose to the positions of Reservations Manager and then to Reservations Assistant Front Office Manager. Ren moved on to take positions at the Sheraton Makaha Resort and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, but it was the opportunity he was offered at the Sheraton at Fisherman�s Wharf in San Francisco that first truly tested, and then proved his creativity, determination, and business acumen.

When Ren signed on at the Sheraton at Fisherman�s Wharf, the hotel was losing revenue and clientele.  The hotel had failed to meet its budget for the past five to ten years. Thus, the Sheraton decided to bring in a new managing team and to put $5 million into renovations. Ren was second in command, as the team succeeded in averting an employee strike and improved guest satisfaction scores. 

He was ready for the next challenge: the Orchid Mauna Lani Hotel, which Sheraton had taken over from the Ritz Carlton. Again, he worked on a team that turned around an under-performing hotel. They talked to guests and employees for input, then recommended significant changes in décor and services, resulting in successful results once again for the hotel. In 1999, the owner of the Orchid asked Ren to convert their Colony Surf Hotel into the W Honolulu.

Now, as the General Manager of the W Honolulu Hotel, Ren uses all that he�s learned to provide his guests with the unique W Honolulu experience of modern convenience and style tailored to the sophisticated business and leisure traveler.

He does not underestimate the value and necessity of teamwork. Ren encourages people to work with colleagues, knowing how vital it is to build good surrounding networks, instead of trying to prove themselves independently. �If you�re not a team player, others won�t want to help you,� says Ren, �and you�re likely to find yourself alienated.� He also feels that working under a mentor is valuable, as he or she offers guidance and a source off which one can bounce ideas. His mentor was Ernest Nishizaki, a TIM Alumnus, and General Manager of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Finally, Ren believes that the skills he developed and honed as a part of the TIM community helped him to achieve the level of confidence and problem-solving skills he exhibits today. His professors challenged him and made him think beyond the obvious. He also feels that being a part of TIM provided him with necessary contacts and a credible name behind which he could stand, before he was given the opportunity to create a name for himself. Perhaps such belief in the foundation he built for himself at the TIM School has led Ren to his alumni organization, TIM International Inc. He is as passionate about the alumni organization as he is about his professional career.

Ren is without doubt a unique individual, much like the image the W Honolulu Hotel portrays. 

For half a century, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has served
as the voice of tourism in Asia. Founded in Hawai�i in 1952, PATA now
encompasses 2,200 worldwide travel industry organizations representing
both the private sector and governments. To commemorate PATA�s 50 th anniversary, the TIM School has been commissioned to prepare a second edition of the history of the organization. Originally written by the TIM School to celebrate PATA�s 40 th anniversary, The Story of TIM School Commissioned to Update PATA History PATA will be updated to provide an account of five decades of tourism development in the Pacific Asia region and the growth of PATA as the leading regional tourism organization in the world.

Co-editors for the project are Dean Emeritus Chuck Gee, who is a PATA Life member and currently chair of PATA�s education development and certification committee, and Matt Lurie of Australia, who is also a PATA Life member. Since April of this year, Gee and Lurie have been working with TIM school faculty George Ikeda and Russell Uyeno conducting surveys and interviews with key PATA officers, members, and staff to identify the major issues to be covered in the history update. They were assisted by TIM research assistant Suzanne Kirio and graduate student Julia Yim who researched PATA�s records and proceedings for the past decade to ensure a comprehensive and accurate chronology of events.

According to TIM�s Director of Research and Training George Ikeda, �The accomplishments of PATA in helping tourism development in Hawai�i and the region are pretty well known in the industry. But PATA has been more than a tourism marketing organization. It helped found the School of TIM at UH and has co-sponsored TIM�s highly successful Executive Development Institute for Tourism since its inception in 1979. We owe a lot to PATA.� The writing of the history is funded by a special $25,000 grant from former Ambassador L. W. �Bill� Lane, Jr. who specifically requested that TIM School work on both the first and second editions of the book. The revised history will be published in time for distribution at the 50 th annual convention in April 2001 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tourism and information technology (IT), two very vibrant and important industries, are both critical industries for Hawai�i.The School of Travel Industry Management (TIM) is expanding its research, teaching and service activities in the area of information and communications technology, e-commerce and tourism.

The School�s tourism and IT resources and expertise are being tapped both here in Hawai�i and internationally. It is working with the World Tourism Organization to develop a standardized international curriculum in Tourism Information Technology, which will be offered globally in institutions of higher learning and in executive seminar format. Interim Dean Pauline Sheldon, who wrote the first book on the topic, will be chairing the Research Program of the international ENTER Conference on IT and Tourism to be held in April in Montreal, Canada (www.enter2001.org).

Locally, TIM faculty are working with the Hawai�i Tourism Authority IT Facilitation Committee to increase the level of IT in Hawai�i�s tourism industry to better serve our visitors. Graduate students are actively researching IT topics such as applications of smart card technology in the travel industry and design of tourism web sites.

Plans for the Gee Technology Learning Center at the School are well underway under the direction of Dr. Mark Hukill. The Center will house an executive video-conferencing center and a multi-media classroom, both of which will be the hub of the School�s new Distance Learning initiative. Plans for distance on-line courses also are well underway. Dr. Dana Tesone offered the first fully on-line course in the spring, which was well-received by students and is serving as a model for future developments.

Many other TIM School professors have added web-enhancements to their courses and the design of more completely on-line courses is underway. The School plans to begin a Distance Education Program with an on-line post-graduate certificate program in Travel Industry Management in the near future.

The TIM School�s own Professor John Cox was bestowed with high honors in September. He became a recipient of the University of Hawai�i�s Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching award. The award recognizes faculty members who have made significant contributions to teaching and student learning.

Professor John Cox with  Miss Hawai�i 1999 Meijide Gentry

He believes that TIM graduates must have the ability to write, speak, reason, and relate to others in a satisfactory manner to hold down a job. Cox has continued to hold high standards in his classes. He takes a personal responsibility to ensure his graduates are ready to embark on successful careers. Mahalo Professor Cox for all your time, hard work and dedication to the TIM School!

The TIM School continues to expand its capacity of providing research and service to the tourism industry, local government and community and special interest organizations. TIM faculty are reaching out within the University and the larger community to work on applied research projects which address the relationship between tourism and the environment. In Spring 2001, a group of faculty and students from TIM, Architecture, and possibly Botany will work on management strategies to preserve and respect the ecological, social and cultural resources of the Saddle Highway on the Big Island. Another group of students will identify how signage in high use areas such as the Diamond Head State Monument, Hanauma Bay Marine Park and the Manoa Cliffs Trail affects visitor behavior. Yet another group of students will develop a plan for small alternative health oriented businesses to offer services to visitors.

Projects often require a multi-disciplinary or entrepreneurial approach to address the complexity of issues arising from tourism related efforts. These projects and additional applied research efforts will be funded in part by a $409,000 grant to fund research and service through STEP-UP (Sustainable Tourism and the Environment Program-University Partnerships). Private businesses, government agencies, and other industry related organizations are invited to identify needed research and service opportunities related to sustainable tourism development through this program. Projects may include:

• Market Research
• Visitor Education Programs
• Resource Management Plans
• Visitor Recreation & Wellness Programs
• Needs Assessments
• Policy Analysis

More recently, TIM also received a $44,000 grant from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology�s Sea Grant Program for coastal and marine recreation sustainability. Dr. Sam Lankford is the lead researcher on both of these grants.

STEP was established in response to the growing recognition of the relationship between tourism development and environmental quality through a generous gift of $500,000 from Bill & Jean Lane for the�Ambassador L.W. �Bill� Lane Lectureship in Sustainable Tourism and the Environment.� The mission of STEP is �to promote tourism policy in Hawai�i which supports beneficial social, cultural and environmental relationships in the tourism development process and facilitates the use of sustainable practices within the existing tourism industry.� STEP is organized to provide research, training and education. STEP-UP is about making a connection between the educational experience of students and the research and service needs of Hawai�i�s communities. Through faculty guided student research, the program can address a variety of needs such as grant writing assistance for agencies and organizations, training and specialized instruction, research and specialized planning, and marketing services.

In addition to writing and managing grant projects, STEP-UP has assisted the TIM School in expanding the curriculum in sustainable tourism. Currently, a new course is being offered and a certificate program is being developed.

STEP-UP helps students work with the community and cultivate new approaches to issues related to tourism and the environment. For more information about the STEP-UP program and the Lane Lecture Series, please contact Jill Lankford at 956- 8025.