The travel and hospitality industry is not a field most people imagine our graduates entering upon graduation. They would not be too far off from the truth; according to the SMU Dato' Kho Hui Meng Career Centre, less than 1% of our graduates actually do. It is thusly admirable that pioneer-batch alumna, Ho Shyn Yee (BBM, 2004), bucked the trend and impressively built a lifelong career in travel and hospitality, growing from strength to strength with each step. Today, Shyn Yee is Director of Product and Technology at Expedia Group after having worked in hotel management companies and development consulting for many years before pivoting to the online travel tech giant. Despite all of her successes, Shyn Yee remains down-to-earth, compassionate, and big-hearted. We believe that Shyn Yee has more than 24 hours a day -- apart from giving back to SMU by currently serving as the President of the SMU Travel and Hospitality Alumni Group, and giving talks to students, Shyn Yee gives back to society too, working regularly to improve the lives of underprivileged communities in Singapore and overseas*. It is no wonder she is highly regarded, deeply respected, and beloved by many. The Office of Alumni Relations could not be prouder of her.
(*see bottom of article)
Hi, Shyn Yee! As the Pioneer batch of SMU, please share with us your SMU experiences back then.
Being part of the Pioneer batch of students at SMU was very memorable. We first started studying in container classrooms at the Evans Road Campus then the much bigger, historic Bukit Timah campus. It was an exciting time for us because SMU was like a start-up. We started student clubs from scratch -- many existing CCAs in SMU today (e.g. ICON, Eurhythmix, Guitar club etc.) were started by my batch! In fact, I founded ICON (then known as the International Relations Club), and alongside with five schoolmates, we formed an all-girl bandcalled Scarlett; we opened for Taufik Batista at the inaugural Patron’s Day celebrations! We had a lot of autonomy, and took the opportunity to develop and cultivate a vibrant student life, a distinct SMU culture.
Were you nervous about being the proverbial 'guinea pig' batch?
No, not at all! (laughs) On the contrary, we weren't worried about finding jobs after graduation. Having said that, I think our parents were understandably nervous for us because there was no precedence.. I was also offered a place at the NTU Business School, but I chose SMU ultimately because I was curious and impressed by the recruitment process. The university had a partnership with the Wharton School of Business from UPenn, and we were required to take the SATs, write entrance essays and undergo interviews. I thought that that was refreshing and different, and was very curious about the undergrads that this new approach would attract and select.
What was your most memorable experience or moment at SMU?
There were so many. I led the SMU ICON club (back then, it was called International Relations Club), and as part of the Buddy Programme we created, I hosted an exchange student from Austria. He ended up being my husband. (Editor: WHAT?!) Hahaha, yes, we became fast friends and fell in love. After we met, we continued to live apart for 3 years to pursue our personal interests – upon graduation, he moved to Shanghai to study Chinese while I worked in Malaysia and Thailand. Thankfully, things worked out and we now have two beautiful children together.
For me, the most memorable period has to be my exchange programme to Grenoble, France. I was one of the first two recipients of the ASEM-DUO Fellowship Programme, which provided me with EUR 6,000 for my exchange. Without this award, I would not have been able to afford to attend an exchange programme. This exchange programme provided me with the experience of being on my own for six months -- it would be a precursor to providing me with the confidence to be able to live in a foreign country by myself (after graduation). I am very thankful to SMU and then-Head of International Relations, Dr Isabelle Malique-Park, for making that happen for me.
Speaking of which, you have been in the hospitality industry since graduation. What or who inspired you to enter this field, and how?
Well, ever since I was a teenager, I have been very interested in the hotel industry, and wanted to attend hotel school. When I was 15, I stayed at a Sheraton hotel in Switzerland, and was fascinated at how well run it was, marvelling at the high level of service excellence, at how guests were made to feel at home. In the end, I did not attend hotel school but I was still keen to learn more about the business. I cold-emailed hotels all around the world for internships and was rejected most of the time. By a stroke of luck, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels and Resorts (now Marriott) extended a 6-month internship programme with their HR team in Singapore. Without hesitation, I applied an LOA for a full semester (I believe I was the first student to do that ever) to pursue the internship. That internship opened many doors for me, and also more subsequent internship opportunities for SMU undergraduates. When I graduated in 2004, Starwood offered me a full-time position under their Sales & Marketing Management Trainee programme; part of the yearlong programme required on-the-job training in Bangkok and Langkawi for three months each time. That was also a very mind-blowing experience for a fresh graduate.
I've been in the travel and hospitality industry ever since. After the trainee programme, I relocated to Bangkok for two years with the Westin Grande Sukhumvit before moving back to Singapore to work with Millenium & Copthorne Hotels under CDL, Horwath HTL Consulting, Starwood for a second stint, and now Expedia Group.
That's a 15-year career. How did you end up in Expedia?
Well, my time working with Starwood, Millennium & Copthorne and Horwath HTL gave me a very thorough end-to-end view of the lifecycle of hotel development and management -- from conducting market feasibility studies to developing a hotel or resort, and then sustaining the business profitably. As travel was moving online very quickly, I wanted to gather experience and knowledge from a global travel technology company to augment my understanding of this dynamic business. Thus, I joined the strategy team at Expedia Singapore (then a joint venture between Expedia and Air Asia) in late 2013. Since then, I have had the opportunity to be involved in multiple business priorities, such as leading our regional merchandising efforts in Asia, the go-to-market retail strategy for Expedia China, our global market expansion roadmap, chat apps technology and local relevance strategies. Actually, there is a great bunch of SMU alumni working at the Expedia office in Singapore (including four SMU student interns currently), and I'm the longest serving one! (guffaws)
(Shyn, extreme right, with fellow SMU alumni colleagues and student interns at Expedia^. Needless to say, Shyn is viewed by her juniors as the proverbial Big Sister, taking care of and mentoring them)
^SMU alumni and interns in Expedia pictured:
Front row from left: Zac Chen (BSc(ISM), 2014); Teo Tian Chong (BSc(Econ), 2013); Crystal Lee (BBM & BSc(Econ), 2014); Sean Chua (BSc(IS), 2015)
Back row from left: Grace Lee (BBM, 2015); Gail Tan (BBM, 2014); Melissa Lin (BSc(Econ), 2012); Yeo Hui Ling (BBM, 2015); Chia Kai Leng (BSc(IS), 2014); Allyson Lim (BSc(ISM), 2021); Rachel Lee (BSc(ISM), 2020); Ho Shyn Yee (BBM, 2004)
Not in picture: Tay Jun Ru (BSc(ISM), 2012); Muskaan Gupta (BSc(Econ), 2020)
What was the best career advice you've ever received?
I've kept in touch with SMU Chairman Ho Kwon Ping since graduation. As the Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree and having been in the industry for a long time,Mr. Ho has a wealth of experience and interesting perspectives. I remember writing him my first email in 2004, and being very surprised when he responded within a day. He has always been very kind, patient and generous with his views and advice. One piece of advice resonated deeply with me -- you see, I had always dreamt of becoming a GM of a hotel and run a hotel one day. Mr. Ho, however, had different views. He wished for me to desire more of myself. With my business degree, I could aspire higher. So... I did! (laughs) Similarly, the day we launched the SMU Travel & Hospitality Alumni Group, Mr. Ho asked me, “So what is next? You can’t stop here, you have to think ahead of what is next for the group.” I’m very thankful and humbled to have his mentorship and in pushing me to always aim for more. I have found genuine fulfilment and job satisfaction at Expedia. Technology is the future; it is cutting-edge, and very exciting work. So, thank you, Mr. Ho!
What advice would you yourself give to juniors who would like to enter the travel & hospitality industry today?
The travel and hospitality industry is huge, dynamic and multi-faceted. Don't let the perception of it being a poorer paymaster deter you. Success is not only determined by how much money you make, but also how much impact you can create. When you find out how best you can contribute and differentiate yourself, the riches will follow.
Wow. What's next for you?
I would like to leverage on my privilege to give back through various community impact projects. We all have some form of privilege and can be an ally for someone or a community; we can trigger positive change with actions of all scales. In 2017, I participated in the inaugural National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) Company of Good Fellowship programme, a talent development programme empowering executives to engage in corporate giving. With my colleagues, we developed the Expedia Early Explorers programme in which our diverse employees around the world share their countries and cultures with underprivileged kids. Expedia Singapore has piloted this programme with a local social organization, Daughters of Tomorrow -- while we occupy the children through activities, their mothers (most of them single mothers) attend a course that equips them with skills necessary to gain employment. In 2018, I also volunteered in the Fundraising Ball Committee of AWARE, Singapore’s leading gender advocacy and research group. They are doing very important work locally in addressing sexual harassment and gender discrimination. This year, I’d like to look into sustainable tourism and human capital development in Southeast Asia, as I believe tourism has the long-term ability to uplift economies and communities.
(Shyn with her Expedia Early Explorers project report at the NVPC Company of Good Company event)
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*At time of publication of this article, Shyn continues with corporate giving, being part of a specially selected team of ten global Expedia Group employees (from North America, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, France, United Kingdom, Thailand) in Puerto Rico for a week. The group is there to visit the organizations Expedia Group has been working with in the post-Hurricane Irma and Maria recovery efforts (e.g. installing solar panels to power the only two remaining schools on St John Island and rehabilitating Flamenco Beach on Culebra Island, which is one of the world’s top 10 beaches). Whilst there, they are supporting Para La Naturaleza, a local environmental conservation NGO working on recovering and conserving much of the natural habitats and conversation areas on the island.
(Top: Shyn with fellow Expedia Group Global Ambassadors and the team at Para La Naturaleza on Culebrita Island, Puerto Rico)
(Bottom left: From left, Shyn, with Maria, Daniel and Antonio, Environment Interpreters with NGO Para La Naturaleza)
(Bottom right: Shyn with Ian, a Puerto Rican social worker with Love City Strong on St John Island)