BANGKOK, 3 July 2018: Chanut Piyaoui, founder and honorary chairperson of Dusit International, has received the prestigious SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).
Established in 2016, SHTM’s annual awards honour outstanding personalities, who have contributed substantially to the development of hospitality and tourism in Hong Kong and worldwide.
This year, the recipient was selected in accordance with the theme ‘Celebration of Women in Leadership.’
Chanut established the forerunner of Dusit International in 1948 and opened her first property in Bangkok, Princess Hotel, in 1949. It was one of the first properties in the city to have a swimming pool, elevator and air conditioning.
Determined to own a five-star hotel she opened the flagship Dusit Thani Bangkok in 1970. At the time it was the city’s tallest building.
She opened more five-star hotels in major tourism destinations in Thailand and overseas, and branched out into hotel and culinary education with the Dusit Thani College in 1993, and Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School, a joint venture with Le Cordon Bleu, in 2007.
The SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the 97-year old hotelier, earlier this year.
