the hong kong polytechnic university
PolyU Tripartite Hospitality Programme Celebrates 10 Years of Excellence
PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management | October 30, 2024
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the tripartite Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business (MGH) programme, three international leaders of hospitality and tourism education – the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), EHL Hospitality Business School (EHL) in Switzerland, and the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston (UH), USA – have come together to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure the continuation of this innovative educational strategy. The signing ceremony took place on 16 October 2024 at the SH...
Counting the Cost of Contactless
PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management | September 30, 2024
Today’s hotels are embracing the contact-free revolution, seeking to meet the expectations of health-conscious travellers by minimising physical contact and enhancing hygiene protocols. Today, with the tap of a smartphone or even a wave of a hand, hotel guests can access their rooms, make payments and request services. But how much are customers willing to pay to go contact-free in hotels? Thanks to Dean Kaye Chon, Dr Faye Hao and Dr Jinah Park of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, working with a co-author, we now know much more about the factors driving hotel customers’ willingness ...
Robotics, Hotels and Storytelling
PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management | July 29, 2024
With rapid technological progress and a renewed emphasis on health and safety in the wake of COVID-19, more and more Chinese hotels are relying on robotics to facilitate customer service provision. Yet we still know little about how such service robots influence customers’ brand experience – a critical determinant of hotels’ growth and profitability in today’s highly competitive market. Rising to this challenge, Dr Vincent Tung of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-researcher bridge the gap between tourism and humanities research to explore customers’ narratives of hote...
Hospitality in the Time of COVID-19
School of Hotel and Tourism Management | May 28, 2024
Hospitality employees’ stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and their later career trajectories may depend on both their experiences in the workplace and personal traits, according to Dr Wei-Jue Huang of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and co-authors. Hospitality work is demanding, and the pandemic and associated economic crisis may have led hospitality workers to reconsider their career trajectories. Through direct interviews with current and former employees in the U.S. hospitality industry, the researchers explored how workplace experiences during the pandemic affected these...
Does the Fate of Tourism Hinge on Land Use?
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management | March 26, 2024
Changes in land use rights to encourage tourism can have unexpected negative consequences for tourist businesses, according to Dr Michael Lin of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and co-authors. Noting that the impact of land use regulation on tourism has historically been understudied, the researchers performed an impact assessment of a unique form of tourist business in Namibia. They found that although regulatory changes had expanded access to land use rights, the economic outcomes for these ventures were not entirely positive, due to legal complexities and conflicts between stakehold...
Prime Time for Service Robots
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management | January 31, 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted the hospitality industry into a more digitised future. Coupled with the vast social changes and prominent safety concerns, this wave of technological innovation could transform the hospitality workforce, according to Professor Seongseop (Sam) Kim of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and co-authors. Service robots could solve many of the safety concerns felt to this day, but how are they perceived by customers? To probe these issues in more depth, the researchers investigated how feelings of safety and the intention to visit an establishment are shaped by ...
PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management Partners With World Travel and Tourism Council To Define the Future of Global Retail Tourism
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management | September 27, 2023
The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has joined hands with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to support the sustainable development of global tourism. Undertaken collaboratively by teams from the SHTM’s Hospitality and Tourism Research Centre and the Council, the WTTC–SHTM Global Retail Tourism project offers critical data-driven insights into the key trends, challenges and opportunities shaping retail tourism in the post-pandemic era. Although travellers collectively spend billions of dollars every year on shopping, to date there has been a lack of an accurate estimate ...
Holidaying in the Metaverse
PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management | September 19, 2023
In the future, it may be more expensive, time-consuming, and risky to travel halfway around the world for a holiday getaway. What if we could experience a convincing virtual version of the real thing? The Metaverse – a parallel digital realm blending real and fantasy worlds – has been tipped as the next disruptive technology, on track to completely alter reality as we know it, and tourism and hospitality businesses should be preparing for the switch. Dr Michael Lin and Dr Daniel Leung of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and their co-author’s new paper describe the Metaverse’s po...
