Companies

Going head-to-head in the high-end hospitality sector

By Karen Yip (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-11 16:20

Cleaners work near the sign for Hilton Hotels Corporation's Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong. Building on the success of its four brands - Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton - Hilton Worldwide will launch eight new hotels under the Hilton and Conrad brand in eight key Chinese cities. [Photo / Bloomberg]

BEIJING - China is an epic adventure. The sheer diversity of terrain will take you from the energetic cities to the quiet beauty of towering mountains and isolated villages, where you can hear a pin drop.

Apart from the majestic imperial architecture and the seductive panorama of slow rivers, one thing that strikes many in China is the abundance of luxury hotels, all vying for a slice of the burgeoning tourism revenue that hit $234.8 billion last year.

Yet as good as the growth story in China's hospitality industry gets, when it comes to high-end hotels, it's those that are foreign-managed with international labels that are taking a lucrative share of the market to a different level - delivering consistent customer service to even higher standards with premium facilities to keep fierce competition at bay.

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"Beyond delivering brands that are distinguished by being unique in character and service, I think the ultimate differentiator we have is our people," said Timothy Soper, vice-president for operations in Greater China and Mongolia, Hilton Worldwide.

"We have a great legacy that stretches nearly 100 years but, more importantly, we have a great culture that is driven by providing exceptional guest experiences," he said.

Building on the success of its four brands - Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton - Hilton Worldwide will launch eight new hotels under the Hilton and Conrad brand in eight key Chinese cities.

The management agreements with Shimao Group, a leading Chinese real estate development conglomerate, will result in Hilton brand hotels in Tianjin, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shenyang, Yantai and Wuxi, and Conrad brand hotels in Xiamen and Qingdao.

Recent management agreements with Zhejiang Jiacheng Holding Group will see the introduction of Hilton Worldwide's first Hilton Garden Inn in China and the first DoubleTree by Hilton in Shaoxing city.

In terms of room occupancy, last year saw a strong recovery from the previous year and Soper anticipates this trend will continue throughout the coming year.

Since 2010, Hilton Worldwide has signed approximately 40 management contracts in China with more than 30 of these in cities that are not first tier.

Over the next five years, Soper predicted that Hilton Worldwide might need to hire some 30,000 new people to deliver exceptional guest services at its facilities in China.

The 526-room Kempinski Hotel, which is at the center of the diplomatic enclave, is giving its competitors a run for their money. By blending service reliability with the finest traditions of European heritage, Kempinski presents what it calls effortless perfection for its guests through rich and meaningful personal services.

Among the services it boasts of are the notes staff leave on pillows to inform guests about the following day's weather so they can prepare proper clothing, and weddings they promise will be glitch-free, thanks to a team of well-trained, detail-oriented staff.

"We see ourselves as ambassadors of a luxury hotel," said Wolfgang Putz, Kempinski Beijing's director of sales and marketing. "Because we have a high percentage of repeat guests, our people are attentive, loyal, consistent and multi-lingual."

The luxury hotel group recently won the 2010 best brands award in the category of best service provider. This puts Kempinski, Europe's oldest hotel group, in the same league as Volkswagen, Lego and Apple, among the most successful brands in Germany.

Proud of the low turnover staff rate - about 60 percent of its Chinese employees have served more than a decade with the hotel - Putz said this allows Kempinski to deliver a stable and highly trained team from the well-crafted learning and development opportunities.

In the next five years, the Kempinski group plans to double its portfolio from the current 64 five-star hotels and resorts in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa. In China, four new hotels in key cities will be added to its current 10.

Building on the story around a banyan tree - a symbol of sanctuary under which one finds peace of mind and internal harmony - Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts places special emphasis on providing guests with a sense of place by using indigenous materials.

With the emphasis on high service standards and consistency, spa therapists are professionally trained at Banyan Tree Spa Academies in Phuket, Thailand, and Lijiang, in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

The luxury hospitality group is poised to undertake 18 projects in China under the Banyan Tree and Angsana brands, which will be backed by its recently launched Renminbi-denominated private equity fund, the Banyan Tree China Hospitality Fund, which has total capital commitments of 1.07 billion yuan ($163.4 million).

Being cautious and taking great care in development certainly has its advantages. As a late entrant to China's luxury resort hospitality industry, high-end leisure group Six Senses Resorts and Spas will introduce to domestic and international travelers its "slow life" philosophy in spring 2013 when its resort at Qing Cheng Mountain, in Chengdu, Sichuan, opens its doors.

"Our focus is on experiences, creating memorable experiences for our customers," said Christian Pucher, development director at Six Senses.

Not only can guests expect the resort's signature luxury and contemporary feel to blend with Taoist and Chinese architecture and design principals, but also fresher food from the resort's very own organic garden, and produce, especially the famous kiwi fruits and wine from local farmers.

Guests can expect no Evian water. Instead, they get to enjoy the hotel's own purified, mineralized and bottled water at the resort. Fifty percent of the profits from the sale of the water will go to charity.

In line with the upcoming resort's natural, sustainable ways, it uses organic cotton for its linen and non-bleach cleaning agents. Washing is hung up outside to dry if the weather permits.

"We're trying to get local suppliers within a 600 mile radius to supply to us 'green' products. In turn, we hope to create demand for the local market," he said.

Pucher expects a 50-percent occupancy rate in the first year of operation for the Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain, which will boast 172 keys to hotel rooms, courtyards, pool and garden villas.