Hospitality Innovation Speaker Series
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Industry executives share innovative practices, ideas and products with students
In conjunction with lecturer Audra Quinn’s upper-division Hospitality Innovation course last fall, The Collins College hosted a six-week speaker series featuring professionals from an array of companies that conduct business in the hospitality industry.
WEEK 1:
Gary Wlassak, chief operating officer of Ezer Inc., shared the benefits of using the Ezer mobile application for on-demand and scheduled pick-up and delivery requests. He demonstrated ways that hotels and restaurants could use the application to solve issues such as last-minute requests from VIP guests.
WEEK 2:
The second guest speaker was Matt Ryczek, chief operating officer of Ideahouse and Co., a product development firm. His talk was especially relevant for Quinn’s Hospitality Innovation students in attendance because they are tasked with a culmination project that involves the development and marketing of an innovative product or service that benefits the hospitality industry.
WEEK 3:
Students filled The Collins College’s largest lecture room to capacity for a presentation from Eric Jacobs, chief development officer for Marriott International. He spoke about the company’s new lifestyle brands and how innovative approaches are incorporated to improve guest experiences.
WEEK 4:
Students heard a dynamic lecture from Fedele Bauccio, founder and CEO of Bon Appétit Management Co., an on-site restaurant business that offers full-service management to specialty venues. His company pioneers environmentally and socially responsible practices and is adept at evolving with the industry by adopting beneficial and innovative solutions.
WEEK 5:
Aaron Neilson, Cal Poly Pomona’s director of dining services, shared the story behind the creation and implementation of Innovation Brew Works as a learn by doing brewery and laboratory on campus that allows students to produce, bottle and sell CPP’s own beer.
WEEK 6:
The last guest lecturer of the six-week Hospitality Innovation Speaker Series was Thomas Hines, founder and CEO of Overwatch Safety Solutions. His company provides a personal security application that allows users to alert people if they are in danger by saying a code word or making a specific movement. He shared the innovative ways that hospitality companies can utilize the application to promote guest safety and well-being.