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Professor Perry Hobson, the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at Taylor’s University, was invited back to speak at the Lyceum of The Philippines University (LPU) campus in Manila. Prof Hobson had spoken at LPU before as part of their Real Talk Series. His previous presentation was so well received by their students, that he was invited back. Prof Perry Hobson welcomed the opportunity to challenge their students to be able to “Think Outside the Box”. During his presentation, he focused on various trends that are opening up new avenues for innovation – such as disruption from technology.
Disruption that includes new companies such as Uber and AirBnB. He again argued that the shift away from the one-size fits all homogonised hotel chains, and also the adoption of robots in the industry, will bring significant change. He pointed out that, “Change is coming, and to be honest a lot of the hotel managers of the recent past were not asked to be a very innovative. Their main focus was on following the corporate standard operating procedures. But this focus will have to change”. He added that, “guests are increasingly wanting localised experiences and demanding diversity and differences. This is, after all, one of the reason so many people use AirBnB. While hotels chains like to pride themselves on the fact that all their room are exactly the same, the whole point about Airbnb is that no two rooms are identical”.
LPU is one of just four universities in The Philippines to have been designation as a ‘centre for specialisation in hospitality and tourism’ by their Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and is the only one to offer both Masters and PhD’s. LPU are a member of the TU regional tourism research initiative, the ASEAN Tourism Research Association (ATRA). LPU students have visited Taylor’s University on various occasions such as to attend for the PATA International Youth Forum , and their staff have also collaborated with the Taylor’s Teaching and Learning Conference series. Both Taylor’s University and LPU’s College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management are fully accredited member of THE-ICE.