Robert H. Burns of Southampton Remembered as Leading Hotelier

The visionary hotelier pioneered modern luxury hospitality with the iconic Hong Kong-based Regent brand which he founded and served as chairman and chief executive officer from 1970 to 1992. The Regent Hong Kong flagship property with its extraordinary Kowloon harborfront location is still imbued with his DNA, as are so many other hotels he developed with his refined touch. Following his time leading Regent, he purchased and meticulously transformed an abandoned villa into the Grand Hotel A Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda in northern Italy, recognized among the top independent hotels in the world.

A native New Yorker, Mr. Burns graduated from the School of Hotel Management at Michigan State University (1958) and received an MBA from University of Michigan (1960), after proudly serving four years in the U.S. Army. He then embarked on his career in hotels which led him to Hawaii. At the age of 34 he was appointed general manager of the Kahala Hilton in Diamond Head, where his signature focus on anticipating guest needs and his deep respect and partnership with all staff members garnered the resort a loyal clientele.

With his vision, extraordinary attention to detail and understanding of what travelers wanted, he then turned to Asia where he revolutionized the concepts of luxury and service in the hotel industry with the creation of Regent International Hotels in 1970.

With the flagship Regent Hong Kong, which opened in 1980, Burns created a luxury hotel from the ground up with innovations that changed the industry, bringing new dimensions in amenities and service that attracted global acclaim. By innovatively combining Eastern traditions of gracious service, exceptional cuisine and a refined sense of art and architecture with Western standards, luxurious spaces and modernized hotel concepts, he created a new era of luxury hospitality with an elevated guest experience and industry firsts, such as spacious marble bathrooms with separate tubs and stall showers.

In 1992 Burns went on to become co-founder of the World Travel and Tourism Council, which works to encourage global industry growth and protect cultural and natural heritage sites important to tourism. He also created the Robert Burns Foundation with a goal of further strengthening ties between East and West by providing scholarships to Asian students for studies in the U.S. In addition, he developed seminars on tourism-related topics in China and a preservation study of Vietnam’s ancient port of Hoi An, which would later become a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular tourist destination. An avid jazz lover, Mr. Burns was an executive board member for Jazz at Lincoln Center

“Bob” Burns will be remembered as not only a visionary hotelier who set new standards for modern luxury hospitality, but as a travel industry advocate dedicated to nurturing future generations of hoteliers and promoting responsible tourism. To his friends and family, he exuded charm, elegance and refinement. He was an eloquent raconteur with captivating tales of a life well-lived, and first and foremost a loving and devoted husband and father.

After 50 years in Hong Kong, his remaining years were spent in Southampton. He is survived by his wife Janice, son Robert III and beloved pooch Homer.