December 27, 2012 - The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) announces the launch of a global competition, which will be held next month, to shape tomorrow’s guestrooms, and by doing so – helping to set new standards for hotel rooms for the future.

The School is inviting industry participation to the competition. Hotel suppliers and providers in design, technology and well-being are invited to join the “Tomorrow’s Guestrooms” competition organised by the SHTM and Hotel ICON, the School’s teaching and research hotel, which will take place from 7 to 18 January 2013.

“There are no physical boundaries as to who can enter the competition,” said Dr Basak Denizci Guillet, Assistant Professor of the SHTM and Co-ordinator of “Tomorrow’s Guestrooms”, “and in fact the more products and services entered in the competition the better as it gives us a wide range to select the best and most innovative ones from.”

Entrants will be reviewed by an expert panel and winners will be granted the unique opportunity for their products and services to be tested and researched in three dedicated guestrooms at Hong Kong’s one-of-a-kind teaching and research hotel – Hotel ICON, for a period of six months.

An SHTM initiative, the three dedicated guestrooms serve as an innovative platform to innovate, develop and showcase new technologies, hotel designs and business concepts in hotel management. The three dedicated guestrooms have their own unique theme; “design”, “technology”, and “well-being”:

Hotel suppliers and service providers who want to play a part in shaping tomorrow’s guestrooms are encouraged to share their products and knowledge via this exceptional platform.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it,” said Professor Kaye Chon, Dean and Chair Professor of the SHTM. “Through these dedicated guestrooms, the School is creating a ‘House of Innovation’ not only for the benefit of education and research but also for the advancement of the entire hotel industry,” he noted.

Entry to the “Tomorrow’s Guestrooms” competition will be accepted from 7 to 18 January 2013. For details and applications, please visit: http://hotelschool.shtm.polyu.edu.hk/tgr.

“Tomorrow’s Guestrooms” Competition Organising Committee

Chairmen:
Professor Kaye Chon, Dean and Chair Professor, SHTM
Mr Terence Ronson, Managing Director, Pertlink Ltd

Members:
Mr Richard Hatter, General Manager, Hotel ICON
Dr Basak Denizci Guillet, Assistant Professor, SHTM
Mr Murray Mackenzie, Education Specialist (Integrated Learning), SHTM
Ms Susana Fork, Director of Rooms, Hotel ICON
Mr Jason Pang, Director of Technology and Innovation, Hotel ICON
Ms Janet Wu, Director of Sales and Marketing, Hotel ICON
Ms Pauline Ngan, Senior Marketing Manager, SHTM

About School of Hotel and Tourism Management
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management is a world-leading provider of hospitality and tourism education. It was ranked No. 2 internationally among hotel and tourism schools based on research and scholarship, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in November 2009.

With 65 academic staff drawing from 19 countries and regions, the School offers programmes at levels ranging from Higher Diploma to Ph.D. Currently a member of the UNWTO Knowledge Network, the School was recently bestowed the McCool Breakthrough Award by the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE) recognising its breakthrough in the form of its teaching and research hotel – Hotel ICON – the heart of the School’s innovative approach to hospitality and tourism education.