Ian Lee is the General Manager of Hotel ICON and Adjunct Associate Professor of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Ian brings over 30 years of finance, auditing and hospitality industry experience to Hotel ICON and as the General Manager, he oversees the education, talent development and business strategies of the hotel. Ian commenced his tenure at Hotel ICON as one of its pioneering members, holding the position of Director of Finance & Administration from its inaugural opening. Demonstrating exceptional leadership and dedication, he advanced to the role of Assistant General Manager and Acting General Manager in 2019 and 2022 respectively.

Prior to joining Hotel ICON, Ian was with Henderson Land Group for eight years. He held senior management positions including the roles of Assistant Vice President – Hotel Operation & Control of Henderson–Miramar Hotel Management Co. Ltd. and Vice President – Hotel Operation & Control of Miramar International Hotel Management Corporation, S.A.

As Vice President – Hotel Operation & Control, Ian was also a trusted business advisor to the Group’s President and owners. In this capacity, he managed a portfolio of hotels, serviced apartments and sales offices under the Group in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. For this portfolio of properties, his key functions included monitoring and controlling their daily financial operations; working closely with all the key business units in formulating strategic business plans and overseeing budgeting. Ian also led a professional hotel operations team in new project evaluation, business plan development, feasibility study and pre-opening.

Often described as responsible, conscientious and caring, Ian began his career in 1991 in Texas, USA. He has over 25 years of experience in financial management, internal & external audit, management reporting and business evaluation. Before joining Henderson Land Group, Ian held several senior auditor posts at leading audit firms.

Ian holds a bachelor’s degree in business & administration and a master’s degree in business administration with merit. He is a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FCPA).

Professor Haiyan Song is Chair Professor and Associate Dean (Research) of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, and Director of Research Centre for the Digital Transformation of Tourism at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research focuses on tourism demand modelling and forecasting, service recovery, tourist satisfaction, and wine economics. He has played significant roles in a number of international consultancy and collaborative projects, covering tourist satisfaction and service quality indices, Asia Pacific visitor forecasts, web-based tourism demand forecasting system, and development of the Guangdong tourist satellite account, which have considerable impact on tourist destination management.

Professor Song has published over 200 papers in top-tier journals in related fields, including Journal of Development Economics, Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, and International Journal of Hospitality Management. Chief among his contributions to academic publishing are the leading roles he plays as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of China Tourism Research, Resource Editor of Annals of Tourism Research, and Deputy Executive Editor of Tourism Tribune. A frequent guest speaker on international conference circuit, Professor Song has shared his professional insights on issues ranging from tourism impact assessment, tourist satisfaction and service quality indices, tourism demand forecasting, to consumer behavioural studies.

Among his professional affiliations, he is Vice President of the International Association for Tourism Economics (IATE) and Chair of the Board of International Association for China Tourism Studies (IACTS).  Prof. Song is elected Fellow of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism (IAST). The honours he received include the Lifetime Research Achievement Award by the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education in 2010 and 2023 and Michael D. Olsen Research Achievement Award by University of Delaware in 2014.

Professor Kaye Chon (Ph.D., CHE, FIH), a former hotel manager and tourism industry consultant, serves as Dean and Chair Professor, as well as the Walter & Wendy Kwok Family Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Under Dean Chon’s leadership, the School has emerged as one of the world’s premier institutions in hospitality and tourism management, consistently ranked No. 1 globally for eight consecutive years in the “Hospitality and Tourism Management” category of ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

Dean Chon has previously held academic positions at the University of Houston, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Virginia Tech in the United States.

He is an alumnus of the University of Maryland (AA), Georgia State University (BSc), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (MSc), and Virginia Tech (Ph.D.).

A frequent speaker at international conferences, Dean Chon has published over 200 papers in international journals and professional publications and has authored or edited ten books. Notably, one of his co-authored books, Welcome to Hospitality: An Introduction, has been adopted as a textbook in more than 100 hospitality education programs worldwide. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing and the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research.

With nearly 40 years of university teaching experience, Dean Chon has received the “Teaching Excellence Award” twice and the “Research Excellence Award” four times. His accolades include the John Wiley & Sons Lifetime Research Award, the Howard B. Meek Award from International CHRIE, the Martin Oppermann Memorial Award from the International Society of Travel & Tourism Educators (ISTTE), the Michael D. Olsen Award from the University of Delaware, and the Founder’s Award from Purdue University and the University of South Carolina, all recognizing his lifetime contributions to scholarship and research in tourism and hospitality. In 2011, he was honored with the prestigious UNWTO Ulysses Prize by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

He has also been listed in Who’s Who in the World.

Tony Tse joined The Hong Kong Polytechnic University as Director of Industry Partnerships in School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) in 2002, looking after industry relations, consultancy, executive education, and student internships. Tony obtained his PhD degree in 2009 and became a faculty member at SHTM since then. He has taught subjects including Aviation Policy (at Bachelor level), Managing Marketing in Hotel and Tourism Industry and Consultancy Project (at Master level), and Hotel & Tourism Management Education (at Doctoral level). Tony has been appointed as Professor of Practice in SHTM since 2015.

Tony has published more than 60 journal articles, book chapters and conference papers in the field of hospitality and tourism management. He was one of the key members involved in the planning and development of the University’s teaching and research hotel, Hotel ICON.

Tony has served consultancy projects including Mariner’s Club by The Sailors Home and Mission to Seafarers, Guilin Fuda Tourism Strategic Development, Sichuan Yinxing Hospitality Management College, King Abdulaziz University, University of Tabuk, King Khalid University, Business Case for Jamaican Centre of Tourism Innovation, and Wellness Tourism Study in South Australia.

Tony was previously the General Manager, Marketing Communications, of the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Before joining Hong Kong Tourism Board, Tony had worked for Ogilvy & Mather Advertising for 18 years – in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and Sydney.

Tony is a graduate of The University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor of Social Sciences. He has an MBA degree from Macquarie University and PhD degree from Southern Cross University, both in Australia. His research areas are China’s outbound tourism and hospitality education. He was a Certified Hospitality Educator (American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute) and an Accredited Mediator in Hong Kong.

Tony is appointed by the Hong Kong SAR Government as an Independent Director in the Board of Directors at the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (2012-2022), also serving as member of the Council’s Compliance Committee. He is a director of Foodlink Foundation Limited, a charity organization with the mission to reduce food waste; Honorary Professor of Saint Francis University; and Honorary Advisor of Institute of Dining Professionals.

Catherine Cheung, PhD, is an Associate Dean and Associate Professor at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She specializes in the study of Hotel Management. Her major administrative responsibility is overseeing academic affairs and quality assurance within the school. She also serves as the Program Leader for the Master of Science (MSc) in Global Hospitality Business. Catherine holds a BA and MA degrees from Macquarie University in Australia and a PhD in research from the University of Strathclyde. She is a Certified Hospitality Educator awarded by the American Hotel and Lodging Association Educational Institute, and a Trainer for Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA).

Catherine Cheung’s research interests include Hospitality business strategies, Hospitality Human Resources Management, Service Quality and luxury management. She has authored and co-authored over 100 research papers and supervised more than 14 Doctoral students to completion. She has participated in consultancy projects for hotels, airlines, clubs and hospital in the areas of service quality and human resources management in Asia. She has extensive experience in opening hotels in Hong Kong, Australia and Taipei.

Cathy Hsu is the Chair Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Marketing in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Prior to joining PolyU in July 2001, she was teaching in the USA for 12 years in two different state universities. Before becoming an academic, she worked in the hotel industry as part of the Hilton and Holiday Inns teams.

Her most recent co-authored book, Tourism: The Business of Hospitality and Travel (7th ed.), is published by Prentice Hall in 2025. Her research foci include tourist behaviors and emotions, resident sentiment, stereotypes, social listening, and hospitality branding. She has obtained numerous extramural and intramural grants and has over 300 refereed publications.

She has served as a consultant to various hospitality organizations, such as the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, City of Dreams in Macao, Hong Kong Tourism Board, World Tourism Organization, and Kansas Travel and Tourism Development Division. She has provided training to numerous hotel and tourism organizations over the years on service quality, branding, and marketing.

Professor Hsu is the Editor-in-Chief of Tourism Management. She received the John Wiley & Sons Lifetime Research Achievement Award in 2009 and International Society of Travel and Tourism Educator’s Martin Oppermann Memorial Award for Lifetime Contribution to Tourism Education in 2011.

Education:

(1) Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering: U. of Massachusetts, Lowell, US

(2) MBA: University of Hartford, Hartford Connecticut, USA.

(3) D.HTM: School of Hotel & Tourism Administration, HK Polytechnic University.

Work Experience:

(1) 1975-1980: Felton International, Inc. Managing Director, Asia Pacific Region

(2) 1980-1985: Fritzsche Dodge & Olcott, Inc. (a BASF company): Managing Director, Asia Pacific Region

(3) 1985-1989: Selco, Inc. Managing Director, Asia Pacific Region (an investment bank specialized in hotel investment)

(4) 1989-1995: Stamford Hotels Co., Ltd. Senior Vice President Development.

(5) 1995-2000: Marriott International, Inc. Vice President Development, China.

(6) 2000 to now: Old Stone Hotels Co., Ltd. (A wholly owned consultant company specialized in hotel development).

(7) 2021-Present, Professor of Practice (Hotel Development), SHTM, PolyU HK.

Simone Bianco, Ph.D., joined the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as an Assistant Professor in August 2023. He earned a B.S. in Tourism Sciences from the University of Pisa, Italy, an M.S. in Hospitality Business Management from the University of Delaware, USA, and a Ph.D. in Business, Hospitality, and Tourism Management from Virginia Tech, USA. His research focuses on strategic management, multinational corporations’ competition and market entry strategies, as well as the impact of innovative startups on established firms’ business and competitive models. Dr. Bianco’s work has been recognized in leading academic journals such as Tourism Management, the International Journal of Hospitality Management, the Annals of Tourism Research, the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, and the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Research.

Before joining SHTM, Simone accumulated extensive experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, holding various positions in hotels, restaurants, beach establishments, cafés, and industry representation groups across Europe and the United States.

Dr Faye Hao received her PhD from PolyU SHTM. She was a visiting scholar at The University of Surrey (2019) and The University of Houston (2021-2022). Dr. Hao has concentrated on "Technology for humanity," a research focus that underlines the potential of technological advancements to enhance the quality of life for humanity in the hospitality industry. Dr. Hao's contributions to the field have been recognized through several prestigious awards, including the SHTM Research Excellence Award (Outstanding Young Researcher) in 2024 and the School Award for Outstanding Achievement 2024 at School Board Level.

Dr. Hao has successfully secured 15 research grants, amassing over 20 million Hong Kong Dollars from both major public funds including Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee, and Innovation and Technology Commission, and private funds including Accel Group Holding Limited, Minshang Creative Technology Holdings Limited, and Accel Innovation Limited. 

She considers research a powerful tool to achieve higher goals in life. She is committed to undertaking impactful research in hospitality and tourism by exploring technology innovations, Generative AI, Metaverse and Avatar, and Blockchain in Hospitality. On another area of research threshold, she is committed to promoting social justice and humanitarian causes by speaking for the marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Her publication record consists of over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles in leading journals, numerous conference presentations, and book chapters.

Deniz Kucukusta PhD is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Global Engagement at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She holds MSc and PhD degrees on Tourism and Hotel Management. Prior to her academic career, Dr Kucukusta spent several years working in the hotel and travel industry. After her PhD, she worked as a post-doctoral research associate on a project about medical tourism development in Hong Kong. She is a Certified Hospitality Educator awarded by the American Hotel and Lodging Association Educational Institute.

Her academic research interests are strategic management, human resources management in the hospitality industry, and health and wellness tourism. She published her work in top tier academic journals including International Journal of Hospitality Management, Tourism Management, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, and International Journal of Tourism Research, etc. She teaches graduate level subjects including Design for Hospitality, and Managing Human Resources in Hospitality and Tourism Industry. Dr Kucukusta is the program leader of Doctor of Hotel and Tourism Management program at HK PolyU and a member of the APaccHRIE board.