The NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality Launches the Hospitality Innovation Hub

The State-of-the-Art Facilities Will Offer Students, Start-ups, Established Industry Partners, and Investors Opportunities to Learn, Discover, Innovate, and Invest

NEW YORK, February 9, 2021—During a time when innovation across the hospitality, food and beverage, event, and travel and tourism sectors is more prevalent and critical than ever before, the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality has launched a new Hospitality Innovation Hub (HI Hub), which will foster entrepreneurship and creative solutions for the industries it serves. It has been funded through a generous gift of $1,000,000, made by Jeffery Yau to support the Tisch Center in this new endeavor. Yau is the CEO of Puyi Optical and Europe Watch Company, based in Hong Kong. His commitment to the Tisch Center is central to supporting the vision of Associate Dean Nicolas Graf and the future of the hospitality industry.

“The state-of-the-art facilities of the new HI Hub offer students, start-ups, established industry partners, and investors opportunities to learn, discover, innovate, and invest,” noted Graf. “It is truly a reflection of the Tisch Center’s ability to not only visualize the future of industry, but to influence it as well.”

One of the main features of the HI Hub is its Experiential Learning Lab, a flexible classroom and event space that is equipped with the latest instructional and video conferencing technologies. Here students will master current best practices, critically evaluate them, identify pain points, and develop innovative responses. They will be able to explore and use current industry technologies such as POS (Point Of Sale) systems, PMS (Property Management Systems), and Revenue Management solutions. Faculty members will contextualize the learning by using these tools to teach and by welcoming global leaders into the classroom as guest speakers. The Lab will ultimately provide students with the unique opportunity to immediately apply their new knowledge and skills to practice and to develop a competitive advantage by mastering the most current technologies.

The HI Hub also features a Prototyping Space, which is fully equipped with coding and virtual reality equipment. It provides Tisch Center students and start-ups involved in the HI Hub’s entrepreneurship programs with the tools they need to rapid-test their ideas and bring their creative concepts to life.

Finally, the HI Hub includes a Co-working Lounge, which will serve as a gathering and brainstorming space for students, faculty members, industry guests, and investors.

Three Tisch Center programs will use the HI Hub as their launchpad. The Incubator Program is a three-month mentoring program designed for early-stage start-ups in the hospitality, travel, or event space. Start-ups that are selected for the program will be invited to use the Hub's co-working space, consult with a wide variety of faculty and industry mentors, and compete for cash prizes ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. This program will be open to all NYU students. A Venture Capitalists and Early-Stage Investor Club also will be launched, and club members can use the co-working space and attend start-up events. Finally, in its second or third year of operation, the HI Hub is projected to launch an Accelerator Program for late-stage start-ups (typically series C) in collaboration with industry partners and investors. Businesses in the Accelerator Program will support Tisch Center students by offering applied research projects, internships, and employment opportunities.

About the NYU SPS Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality
The NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, now celebrating 25 years of academic excellence, is a leading center for the study of hospitality, travel, and tourism. Founded in 1995, the Tisch Center was established in response to the growing need for hospitality and tourism undergraduate and graduate education. Its cutting-edge curricula attract bright, motivated students who seek to become leaders in their fields.

Through its undergraduate degree in hotel and tourism management, its graduate degrees in hospitality industry studies, tourism management, and event management; a plethora of Professional Pathways programs; and its world-renowned hospitality investment conference, students gain the knowledge and the skill sets that enable them to manage change, to communicate, to thrive in complex work environments, and to advance the businesses of hospitality, travel, and tourism. The Tisch Center recently launched the Hospitality Innovation Hub (HI Hub), which will foster entrepreneurship and creative solutions for the industries it serves. The state-of-the-art facilities offer students, start-ups, established industry partners, and investors opportunities to learn, discover, innovate, and invest.

For more information about the NYU SPS Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, visit sps.nyu.edu/tisch.

The NYU School of Professional Studies – Celebrating More Than 85 Years of Excellence in Applied Professional Education
For over 85 years, the NYU School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS) has been a deeply respected institution of higher education that is grounded in applied learning. From its early years, training returning World War II veterans to fulfill the nation’s urgent need for skilled technical workers, it has evolved into a professional education powerhouse that offers 20 graduate degrees, 13 bachelor’s degrees for traditional and post-traditional students, four associate’s degrees, and a plethora of non-degree courses and credentials.

NYU SPS is a thought leader, and serves as an incubator for new ideas in industries that are constantly changing, including real estate, real estate development, and construction management; hospitality, tourism, travel, and event management; global affairs and global security, conflict, and cybercrime; global sport and sports business; publishing; marketing; public relations; project management; executive coaching and organizational consulting, human resource management and development, and human capital analytics and technology; management and systems; translation; and professional writing. It is focused on building skills that open doors to opportunities in emerging fields and global markets. NYU SPS faculty members are leading experts in their areas of discipline, with a hands-on approach that encourages students to push beyond their limits and to break new ground.

Home to some of the largest and most prestigious industry conferences in the world, including the Schack Institute of Real Estate’s Capital Markets Conference, REIT Symposium, and National Symposium of Women in Real Estate; and the Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality’s International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, the School’s invaluable connections to industry leaders is a truly distinguishing factor in the education that it provides. Through career development services and resources provided by the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development at NYU SPS, guest lecturers, site visits, participation in numerous conferences and events, and Global Field Intensives, students benefit from an NYU education that will set them apart. In addition, they have the opportunity to learn from and network with more than 30,000 NYU SPS alumni who live, work, and contribute to innovation in industry around the world. To learn more about NYU SPS visit: sps.nyu.edu.