Robert H. Burns Receives SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award 2020

Mr Robert H. Burns, Founder of Regent International Hotels, has received the SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award 2020, and has been inducted into the School of Hotel and Tourism Management’s Gallery of Honour.

The SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2016 to honour people who have contributed substantially to the development of hospitality and tourism in Hong Kong, the region and around the world.

“I am honoured to receive this year’s SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Mr Burns. “It has been a pleasure to be a part of this incredible global industry. Much of the industry has evolved greatly just in the past few decades, and I feel fortunate to have contributed in some small way. It is an exceptional honour to receive this award from PolyU where the school is known worldwide for its excellence in hospitality and tourism management education. Congratulations to the faculty and staff at the SHTM!”

Mr Burns has spent six decades in the hotel industry, beginning at the Waldorf Astoria in the late 1940s, while attending New York University. Following his time in New York and after four years in the U.S. Army, he completed his undergraduate degree at Michigan State University’s School of Hotel Management with an MBA from the University of Michigan. He then joined Sheraton Hotels’ management training programme, working in hotels in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Nebraska. In 1960, he joined Sheraton hotels in Hawaii. Three years later he became General Manager of the Kahala Hilton in Hawaii, where he was also a faculty member of the University of Hawaii.

In 1970, Mr Burns founded Regent International Hotels in Hong Kong, building one of the industry’s most renowned 5- star brands. The Regent Hong Kong opened in 1980  and under Mr Burns’ leadership, the group opened 18 luxury hotels worldwide in 22 years. In 1992, Regent was acquired by Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.

In 2001, after a five-year restoration, he opened the much-admired Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli in Italy.

Mr Burns was Chairman and Co-Founder of the World Travel and Tourism Council, as well as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and the University of Hawaii’s School of Travel Industry Management.

For 20 years, he lectured on Stanford University’s MBA programme and served as Director of The Asia Pacific Fund and Chairman of The Chrysalis Emerging Markets Fund, ING Barings and a Director of Wharf (Holdings) Limited in Hong Kong.

Mr Burns also lectured extensively through the Asia-Pacific region for the U.S. State Department and PATA. In New York City, he serves on the board of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Expressing his heartfelt congratulations to Mr Burns on receiving the SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award, Professor Kaye Chon, SHTM Dean, Chair Professor and Walter and Wendy Kwok Family Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management, said, “Mr Burns is a longstanding partner of the SHTM and a truly deserving recipient of this award. With steadfast support from industry partners such as Mr Burns, our School is committed to nurturing all the bright minds who will become future leaders of this very exciting global industry.”

See also: Airports, Air Travel and COVID19 - Exclusive Interview with SITA's President of Asia Pacific, Sumesh Patel.

See latest Travel News, Video Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: COVID19, PolyU, SHTM, Regent.