Eric D'Ignazio: Hospitality Business Entrepreneur

Eric D'Ignazio is a 14-year Japan hospitality veteran who's resume includes InterContinental Hotels and the The Accor Group.  Eric has spent his entire professional life working in Japan and has had a very non-traditional hotel career path where he eventually became Representative Director at Accor for seven years. It seems his destiny was to work in hospitality as he got his start as a child working at his grandfather's Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. Eric recants the training and cultural insights gained from his career start with a very traditional Japanese company. We talk about his new company AssistINT he co-founded, focused on hospitality industry consulting and IT development for Japan market-entry.  And, we discover numerous mutual coincidences among our Japan journey, which leads to some interesting comments. Other topics we cover:

• Childhood lessons from working at his grandfathers Italian restaurant
• What makes Japanese hospitality the best in the world
• The "Omakase" mindset and guest expectations in Japan
• The difference between Omotenashi and Hospitality  
• Consistence and Courtesy - What foreign companies can learn from Japanese hospitality
• Predictions for the future of Japan 
• The challenges of hospitality recruiting and training and how to address this
• Tekizai Tekisho - the Japanese 4 character idiom explained
• The Free Unsolicited Business Idea   

AssistINT: https://www.assistint.com/
Eric D'Ignazio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dignazio/

Great Sleep Starts Here = gugu Sleep Company: https://gugu.jp
Japan Adventures via Camper Van = Dream Drive: https://www.dreamdrive.life

• Use the code word "ZEN" to receive discounts