Do you have a motto?

Boutique is beautiful, that's my mantra. It's the small hotels and resorts that often deliver the most authentic experiences, unique touches, exotic locations and are ahead of the curve when it comes to hospitality trends and innovations.

Why Thailand?

I was born here. My grandparents started businesses here. Sixty percent of the population here is Chinese. Thailand to me has always been the leading country in terms of hospitality and hotels. The best thing that ever happened to Thailand was that movie called Lost in Thailand.

What sort of movies and books do you like?

My favorite films are Aliens 1, 2 and 3. I love Sigourney Weaver. They've got everything: scary aliens, no-nonsense woman, strong plots. Also I like the Die Hard series. I like films with a lot of big guns, people shooting each other to death.

I read books but it's been a while. During the last three months of my last pregnancy I read 26 books by Harlan Coben. I love Tom Clancy but he writes rubbish now. The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games - I loved them.

How do you spend your vacations?

When I go on holiday I try not to go to hotels because I don't stop working. I look at what they do, how they do it, whether I could do it better. So if I can go on holiday I get on a boat, I go skiing, I find something else, diving.

What's your definition of luxury?

Nobody can agree on a definition of the word "luxury". At a conference in Shanghai of small hoteliers, a Chinese woman said it was something expensive, something you pay a lot of money for. I wouldn't call that luxury. For me, time is luxury. Freedom of choice is luxury. The ability to choose is luxury. If we can deliver intuitive luxury, which is our slogan, we will have succeeded.

(China Daily 08/15/2013 page15)