Cathy Hsu Professor and Associate Director School of Hotel & Tourism Management The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Cathy Hsu is Professor and Associate Director in the School of Hotel & Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Prior to joining the Hong Kong PolyU in July 2001, she was on Kansas State University (USA) faculty for three years and on Iowa State University (USA) faculty for nine years. She is the editor and chapter author of the book, Legalized Casino Gaming in the US: The Economic and Social Impact , published in 1999, and of the book, Casino Industry in Asia Pacific: Development, Operations, and Impact , published in 2006, both by The Haworth Hospitality Press. She is the lead author of the Marketing Hospitality textbook, published in June 2001 by John Wiley and Sons.

Her research foci have been tourism destination marketing, tourist behaviors, service quality, and the economic and social impacts of casino gaming. She has over 110 refereed journal and proceedings publications. She has served as a consultant to various tourism organizations, such as the World Tourism Organization, Garden Hotels in Guangzhou , Kansas Travel and Tourism Development Division, and Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Professor Hsu is the Honorary Chairman of the Board of the International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators, and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism . She also serves on 7 journal editorial boards. She received the Best Article of the Year award from the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in 2000. She is listed in Who's Who Among Asian Americans .

Jeffrey Flowers President Marco Polo Hotels Jeffrey Flowers is President of Marco Polo Hotels responsible for the strategic direction and development of the company and the supervision of 12 hotels in the Asia Pacific region, including three hotels in Hong Kong. Mr. Flowers has over 35 years of hospitality experience. He has held senior management positions at major hotel properties both in the United States and Asia including General Manager of the Ilikai Hotel in Honolulu; General Manager of the Westin Philippine Plaza; General Manager of the Kowloon Shangri-La; and Managing Director of the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

He joined Marco Polo Hotel s in 1991 as Vice President, Development of what was then known as Omni Hotels Asia -Pacific responsible for identifying and negotiating management contract opportunities and joint venture new projects. Promoted to Senior Vice President, Development & Area Director in 1995, he was transferred to Singapore continuing to head development and supervising the Group's operating hotels in South East Asia . Returning to Hong Kong in 1999, Mr. Flowers supervised development, group marketing and overseas hotel operations.

Prakash Chathoth Assistant Professor School of Hotel & Tourism Management The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Prakash Chathoth has 15 years of combined experience as an educator and as a professional in the hotel industry. He has a Bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Delhi, India, and started his career as a Management Trainee with the Hotel Leela Venture Ltd. in Mumbai , India after completing his diploma in Hotel Management in India . After successfully completing his management training program, he worked at various management positions in operating departments for luxury hotels such as the Leela Kempinski, Mumbai and the Hotel Leela Beach , Goa , India .

Dr. Chathoth completed his Master's degree from the Institute de Management Hotelier International (IMHI), France, which at the time was jointly administered by Cornell University, USA and ESSEC Business School, France. He received his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Virginia , USA while specializing in Strategic Management and Corporate Finance applied to the hospitality industry. Dr. Chathoth served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Hospitality Management in the College of Business at San Francisco State University , California prior to assuming the position of Assistant Professor of Hospitality Industry Financial Management at the School of Hotel & Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University . He has several publications to his credit and has made presentations at international business management, service management, and hospitality management conferences globally.

Simon Wong Assistant Professor School of Hotel & Tourism Management The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Simon Wong is Assistant Professor in School of Hotel & Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, specializing in Human Resources Management. He received his PhD from School of Service Management , Bournemouth University , UK and his MBA from Oklahoma City University , USA respectively. In favour of adult learning principles, Simon employs Experiential Training approach in his teaching sessions by using interactive games, simulated exercises and role plays in order to raise participants' level of learning. Simon received School of Hotel & Tourism Management's Teaching Excellence Award in 2004 .

His personal motto is the 3 I' s Interesting, Influencing, and Inspiring. Interesting exercises are developed in order to “influence” people to learn through the process of inspiration. Simon focuses his primary research, teaching and consulting interests on employee motivation, creativity, cross-cultural management and team spirit.

James Lu Executive Director Hong Kong Hotels Association Before joining the Hong Kong Hotels Association, Mr. Lu was the Deputy Executive Director of Hong Kong Tourism Board for 10 years. Prior to that, Mr. Lu worked for Citibank, Dow Chemical Company, Swire Group, Union Carbide and Wang Computers. Mr. Lu is a professional accountant by training and holds the designations of CPA in Hong Kong and Australia . He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerc degree in Singapore , and holds Certificate in Finance and Marketing from University of Pennsylvania , Wharton School of Finance.

Mr. Lu is an Adjunct Associate Professor in Hotel Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong , School of Hotel & Tourism Management and served as a guest lecturer at The Hotel School of Cornell University. He also serves on The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Council, its Finance Committee, and its School of Hotel & Tourism Management's Advisory Committee. Mr. Lu is also an Honorary Fellow of Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies in the UK .

Mr. Lu served as Visiting Professor teaching the subject of Human Resource Management in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Master of Science programme in School of Hotel & Tourism Management in 2006.