S02E11: Ricco De Blank | SHKP

It was a great pleasure to sit down with world-renowned hotelier Ricco De Blank for this interview. André Baljeu was lucky enough to catch him whilst he was visiting Amsterdam leading up to Christmas in 2018. 

Given it has been announced shortly before the recording of this interview, that he was stepping down as CEO of Sun Hung Kai Properties based out of Hong Kong, it was an excellent time to sit down with him to understand some of the qualities that have made him such an industry influencer and thought leader with the world of luxury branded hospitality.

Prior to transitioning to the property development side, Ricco was General Manager of one of the most beautiful hotels in the world, The Ritz Carlton Tokyo. It was there André first met Ricco during the pre-opening stages of that project in 2006. It was very apparent to André then, that Ricco was someone who does not accept second best. He holds himself to the same high standards that he expects of everyone that works in his team. He is a true professional.

As Ricco said in the interview, working in the hotel industry requires patience, like a good bottle of wine, only getting better with age, so will the career of someone who fully commits to being a hotelier.

This interview is also available as a video, find it here.

Chapters with time-stamps:

2:04 - Ricco's background 

5:57 - Experience with hotel technology 

9:28 - Phones in the hotelroom 

11:22 - Who is Sun Hung Kai Properties 

12:17 - The life of a hotel property developer CEO 

14:35 - WeChat's influence on travel 

17:15 - Relevance of hotel management companies 

21:58 - Acquisitions and Data Security 

25:44 - The General Manager of a luxury branded hotel 

30:32 - Ricco's advice for young talents in hospitality to starting a hotel career

techtalk.travel's team note: Ricco de Blank passed away in 2019. Together with the entire hospitality community, we mourn his loss and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.