HOSPITALITY
establish its School of Hotel & Tourism Management (SHTM) with the intention of making it one of the best hotel man- agement schools in the world. The school’s reputation quickly began to grow. Today, PolyU is ranked number two in the world for research in hotel management and attracts almost 2,000 students from all over the world.
THE HOTEL
In 2005, PolyU decided to convert its student dorms next door to its main campus into a teaching research hotel. In doing this, it had three main aims; to offer managerial training for its stu- dents, to offer “real world” experiences to its students and to become a cen- tre of excellence for the global hotel industry. PolyU provided the US$167m (HK$1.3bn) needed to build the hotel, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management and the University House Complex. In support, the government offered a low land premium. Because of the altruistic nature of
the project, Hatter says PolyU managed to pull in some of Hong Kong’s top designers to work on the architecture, interior design, uniforms and branding at Hotel ICON. He describes Hotel ICON as “a stylish testament to Hong Kong’s creative energy and vibrant art scene.” The hotel showcases work from the city’s celebrated designers and vision- aries including Rocco Yim, William Lim, Vivienne Tam and Freeman Lau. The hotel has 262 rooms and its facilities include an Angsana spa, health club, and outdoor pool overlook- ing Hong Kong's harbour. Its Chinese fi ne dining restaurant Above & Beyond and the more informal Market restau-
Elaborate handcrafted iron gates fl ank the entrance to the Green café bar
As soon as a hospitality textbook is printed it's out of date. Instead, if I want to make a point to my students I can bring in my director of revenue or F&B manager
rant were both designed by Conran & Partners, while the Green café bar was designed by William Lim. Year-to-date occupancy is at 75 per cent. Currently, 24 per cent of guests come from Europe, 15 per cent from China, 13 per cent from the US and eight per cent from Australia. The remainder come from within other parts of Asia. Hatter insists they do
not conceal the fact that Hotel ICON is a teaching and research hotel. “Hotel ICON is a hotel with a purpose," he says. "Far from detracting from their stay, guests wax lyrical about our out- standing service standards.”
The hotel was in profi t after three months and any surplus goes back into PolyU 62 Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE But it’s not just the guests who are impressed by Hotel ICON. The hotel is so advanced in terms of technology and thought-leadership that Hatter reg- ularly plays host to hoteliers who come to be inspired by what they see. From state-of-the-art Bose sound systems in guest bedrooms to the latest Wi-Fi and fl at screen IPTV technology, the hotel is an experiment in futuristic guest experiences. Right now, for instance, Hotel ICON’s prototype paperless guest software system is so far ahead of its time that other hotel operators would struggle to get their hands on it. Even the staff uniforms have been designed using unconventional fabric swatches. Hatter says innovation is at the core of everything they do at the
ISSUE 3 2012 © cybertrek 2012
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