Eric D'Ignazio: Hospitality Business Entrepreneur

Show Notes

Eric D'Ignazio, 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