Editor’s Note

Welcome to the Hotelier column which profiles the industry skills and personalities of the highly regarded professionals running major hotels in the Yangtze River Delta.

Singaporean Michael Seow has extensive experience in opening new hotels. And it is just as well because the Marriott International, a global hospitality giant he has served for more than two decades, has just handed him another “start from scratch” rebuilding job.

The general manager of Shanghai Marriott Hotel Kangqiao, who returned to the city 10 months ago to take charge of the 338-key property in Pudong New Area, is ramping up the business at his own pace following an encouraging start to the operation.

“It was a wise decision to open the hotel a few weeks before the Chinese New Year because that enabled us to capture quite a lot customers going to the Shanghai Disney Resort during the week long Spring Festival holiday,” said the general manager, who sat down with Shanghai Daily for an exclusive interview. “When you open a hotel you have to do a lot of marketing stuff and going on a lot of sales trips to try and find a way to penetrate the market and get more people informed of our opening.”

Considered a corporate hotel, Shanghai Marriott Hotel Kangqiao, the sixth Marriott-branded hotel in the city, is situated in the middle of the Shanghai Medical Valley with two hospitals — Shanghai International Medical Center and Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Hospital — sitting right next and opposite to it.

Global Fortune 500 companies, such as Siemens, ABB, Solvay and Shell are also located within ideal reach of the hotel.

One of the newest, international-standard and upscale business addresses in Kangqiao area, the hotel boasts quite a number of appealing elements to corporate clients.

They include a modern-looking and extremely spacious lobby, warm and light colors adopted in the hotel’s overall interior decoration. This subtly delivers a low-profile and elegant feel, as well as spacious and well-appointed guestrooms and suites featuring the Marriott aesthetics.

Starting from 40 square meters in size, all of its guestrooms and suites are equipped with luxurious bedding, tasteful in-room amenities, high-speed wireless Internet connection and a flexible work space.

“Our designer has also put it in mind that we are close to the Shanghai Disney Resort, though we are positioned as a corporate hotel,” Seow said. “For example, the sofa in our guestrooms is actually like a sofa bed, which allows a third person to sleep in, making the hotel an ideal option for family clients going to the Disney over the weekend.”

A frequent shuttle service is available every day between the hotel and the resort with a one-way trip taking only about 10 minutes.

The Shanghai Marriott Hotel Kangqiao has been only opened three months but it is steadily gaining popularity, both within and beyond its own neighborhood, as intensive media exposure coupled with innovative marketing campaigns, such as the latest half-priced buffet dinner promotion to mark the annual Earth Hour event, has proved to be very effective to lure customers.

DOCG, the hotel’s Italian restaurant, is packed every weekend while a reservation is definitely needed for those who want to find a seat for the weekend buffet dinner at the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant Goji Kitchen & Bar.

Initially available only on Friday and Saturday, the hotel has recently added another buffet session on Sunday nights, in a prompt and happy response to extremely good feedback from the market.

“We have to be creative in F&B because people like new ideas and attractive promotional packages,” said the general manager, a three-decade industry veteran, who first tapped the hotel business in Singapore back in 1987. “We see people even from Zhoupu residential area and it also surprised me that people working at nearby companies, instead of going home early, would come to our hotel to have small gatherings after a day’s work.”

Featuring four F&B outlets, which also includes the signature Man Ho Chinese restaurant, where traditional Cantonese and Shanghainese cuisines are served, as well as the lobby lounge, Shanghai Marriott Hotel Kangqiao is a perfect venue for a variety of meetings and activities. With one ballroom and seven meeting rooms, the hotel boasts event space totaling nearly 1,100 square meters. Capable of seating 350 people, its pillar-less ballroom, 608 square meters in size, is equipped with a 69-square-meter LED screen, the largest of its kind in the Kangqiao area.

“We are working hard to capture MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) opportunities and wedding banquets and ceremonies are also something we are looking hard into,” Seow said. “We are getting business not only from the two hospitals but also from the patients’ families.”

A goodwill gesture to its neighbors and also an initiative to boost its business, the hotel is offering discounts for single people from the two hospitals on wedding banquets and ceremonies.

“To get business up as soon as possible is the challenging part in opening a new hotel and as a general manager, I have to make sure that we are on the right track and our strategy is right,” said the room attendant-turned-general manager, who, in less than three years, will join the famous Quarter Century Club of Marriott, both an honor and a privilege which entitles its members to free weekend hotel stays for life. “Another challenge we are facing right now, like every other hotel, is the lack of manpower, or the scarcity of talented people as there are so many hotels opened here.”

A loyal Marriott associate since 1994, Seow’s professional stints with the group have spanned a number of Chinese mainland cities including Beijing, Shenzhen, Sanya, Chongqing and Shanghai, which, out of question, remains his all-time personal favorite.

“The hotel line is tough as you need to put a lot of hours into your job,” Seow said. “Whenever in a new position, you have to start all over again and gain new experience but finally it is paying off.”

A world of flavors can be found at Goji Kitchen & Bar’s spectacular weekend buffet, for only 188 yuan (US$29.8) per person. Start off your experience with fresh seafood or try the fabulous roasted meat section. Fans of Italian food won’t be left out either, as the restaurant benefits from an in-house pizza oven. Don’t miss out on this gourmet delight. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 5:30pm-9:30pm.

Man Ho’s interiors will impress every guest with its subtle sophistication and authentic Cantonese menu influenced by Shanghai cuisine. The restaurant has discreetly accessible, luxuriously appointed private dining rooms with a warm, richly colored design palate and highly personalized service. The largest private room can accommodate 20 people. Why not try the exquisite taste of the refined dim sum which includes shrimp dumplings, rice rolls, deep-fried radish pastry, congee, steamed buns and a variety of choices.