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Taiwanese entrepreneur Steven Pan, Chairman of Regent Hotels & Resorts, was last Thursday voted ‘Travel Personality of the Year’ at the 21st TTG Travel Awards 2010.
Organized by the TTG Asia Travel group, publishers of Travel Trade Gazette, the annual award recognizes “the most outstanding individual for their vision in developing the travel industry and demonstrating innovation”
Mr Pan, who is also Chairman and CEO of Formosa International Hotels Corporation, recently acquired the Regent Hotels & Resorts brand and announced bold plans to return the iconic Asian hospitality brand to its former glory.
“Regent was born in Asia, has strong brand recognition in Asia, and is now coming home to Asia,” he says. “Our goal is simply to again be the most admired luxury hotel brand in the world.”
Born in Hong Kong in the 1970s, Regent set the benchmark for 5-star hotels worldwide – and became a name synonymous with impeccable service. The flagship Regent Hong Kong was consistently voted the world’s best hotel.
In its golden years of the 1980s and 1990s, the Regent Hotels & Resorts group opened 17 properties over 22 years, including the celebrated Regent Beverly Wilshire.
The brand was subsequently absorbed by Four Seasons and later Carlson Hospitality Group. Now back under Asian ownership, Regent Hotels under the leadership of Steven Pan is poised for a comeback.
Expansion in Greater China, through both acquisition and management in partnership with leading developers, is a key to his ambitious plans – with the international cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong key targets.
Also on the regent radar are major ‘gateway’ cities such as New York, Los Angeles and London.
“We want to return to the gateway cities of the world,” said Mr Pan. “We are well positioned to bring a great brand opportunity to the hotel investment community. We look forward to restoring the original Regent precepts of timeless design and intuitive service to the luxury end of the business.”
Mr Pan’s concept for The Regent is for “Grand Hotels, Bespoke”, with a maximum of 200 rooms and mixed-use including clubs, sports spaces and spas, along with luxury residential properties and boutique shopping arcade.
New Yorker Robert H. Burns, the original founder of Regent International Hotels, has also returned as Honorary Chairman to serve as the brand’s guiding light.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
