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June 18, 2018

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Shanghai is a MICE benchmark for the world

Q1: How would you assess the MICE market where your property is located? What about the performance of your property?

Christian Humbert: China is the world’s second largest economy and it is continuing to grow. And going into 2018 the MICE industry in China had an estimated value of US$150 billion, according to Smart Meetings.

These figures explain why major international hotel chains in China, despite the country’s economic slowdown, are ramping up expansion plans to cater for the growth.

Our hotel, which is just one year old, is home to the largest hotel event space in western Shanghai. We did exceptionally well last year at W Shanghai — The Bund. We had some of the industry’s top global leaders in financial services conclude a three-day buy-out. Guests were all captivated by nearly 6,000 square meters of meeting and events space, including the 2,050sqm Great Room and 12 function rooms.

Florian Heiner: The MICE market in China is massive, highly sustainable and competitive globally. Shanghai in particular is positioned as a significant and sophisticated urban commercial hub and gateway. It has become a tremendously attractive benchmark as the leading destination for Asia and the rest of the world.

DoubleTree by Hilton Shanghai-Pudong is located in the inner circle of Shanghai. Our hotel is very close to the Shanghai New International Expo Center. SNIEC is extremely well established as a Chinese-German joint venture development and among one of the most successful and ambitious exhibition operators.

We are located close to Lujiazui financial center, minutes from the Shanghai Stock Exchange center, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai New International Exposition Center, Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena and The Bund; therefore, we have a competitive advantage with an elevated experience in MICE activities.

Our property means business for MICE and vice versa as we have a very large 850-room inventory, able to accommodate more than 1,200 guests at the same time. Banquet, conference and catering venues can also receive more than 1,000 people simultaneously within large and medium-sized activities. Sixty-five percent of our business segmentation is from MICE.

DoubleTree is also very well established within the diplomatic community. It has hosted foreign heads of states for many years, including the World Expo 2010 Shanghai and the African foreign ministers of the WHO annual meetings and VIP delegations, including Asia Pacific and China annual meetings of the world’s top fortune 500 companies.

Shanghai represents China to embrace globalization with its upcoming China International Import Expo in November. No doubt with the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center, which is currently the world’s largest exhibition complex, Shanghai will set the tone as the leading MICE destination worldwide.

Michelle Zhang: The Chinese MICE industry itself is burgeoning annually and reflecting endless opportunities for both international and domestic MICE suppliers alike.

Ningbo was one of the original stops on the Maritime Silk Road, and is now a key part of international trade offering more than 110 shipping lines. Ideally located in the heart of Ningbo’s new business district, Sofitel Ningbo spreads over the MICE market targeting small and medium-sized enterprises. The 8-meter-high ballroom, with a capacity to accommodate 500 people, three meeting rooms, has an exquisite lounge with a sophisticated ambiance. It is an ideal venue for exclusive small meetings or effective presentations.

Caroline Cheah: Certainly, MICE business plays an important role at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok and the overall tourism industry. It brings in big revenue for the hotel and Thailand. Our 802-room hotel gains revenue not just from accommodation, but also from the use of meeting rooms and facilities, plus food and beverage for an average stay of three nights. MICE guests also travel to other areas, either in Bangkok or other resort cities in Thailand, for their pre- and/or post-trips, including sightseeing and shopping. Therefore, MICE is the “bread and butter” of Thailand’s tourism.

To further enhance the MICE business, the hotel also works closely with TCEB/TICA by hosting MICE familiarization groups, such as PCMA in September and the Association MICE familiarization group in July.

Q2: More and more hotels are trying to provide exceptional service and create a memorable brand experience to pamper their guests and distinguish themselves from the competition. What’s the strength of your brand or how do you differentiate from other counterparts?

Christian Humbert: Born from a bold attitude and the 24/7 culture of New York City, W brand often breaks the norms of traditional luxury.

Our core values are bald, witty and insider. The strength of our brand lies on all of our passionate employees. We are daring and fearless with everything we do. We are connected and in tune with what is happening around us. And of course our whatever/whenever mindset. We promise to provide whatever guests want whenever they want it, to fulfill every wish and ultimately to deliver the most personalized service.

Florian Heiner: Exceptional service for us is to make a guest feel welcomed, to create meaningful connections with our clients and each individual guest we interact with. The common challenges at most hotels in China are still multilingual communications with well spoken English.

At DoubleTree we have “English Angels” available 24 hours a day at our outlets for international guests to help break down communication barriers.

Hilton has launched with us “Travel with Purpose” and “Meet with Purpose” programs in recent years, which differentiate a memorable travel and meeting experience.

Our “Travel with Purpose” approach supports our MICE sales and operations banquet event management team members, as it provides efficient one-stop service interaction with all our clients.

The “Meet with Purpose” program is a socially responsible and domestic and multi-international companies for mindful dining concepts and banquets, meaning to minimize food waste and to encourage healthy choices. It also offers solutions to incorporate these practices into meetings and events hosted at the hotel. It adds value to the event for attendees and the host companies with food portion control. We source locally and provide sustainable and economically viable alternatives to plastic drinking straws and practices such as paperless registration and energy control such as heat, light and power, when a meeting room is not in use.

Michelle Zhang: We craft magnifique moments with our unique Cousu Main service (tailor made), striving to delight and surprise every guest. Our sense of service comes from the heart — it is genuine, generous, open-minded and caring. We share our passion of hospitality and joie-de-vivre with whoever walks through our doors. At Sofitel Ningbo, each ambassador is nurtured. We support, trust and care for each other, embrace the values that underpin AccorHotels.

Caroline Cheah: Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok’s strengths make our property different from others, such as:

• The largest meeting space by the riverside among Bangkok hotels (19 function rooms, 23 including the breakout rooms);

• Multiple riverside dining choices, including its own Horizon dinner cruise);

• Large function spaces, including the riverside garden;

• The longest river frontage of 338 meters;

• A resort atmosphere that makes guests feel as if they are relaxing in the heart of Bangkok city center;

• The largest hotel car parking space in Bangkok (over 800 cars);

• The best hotel safety and security system in Bangkok and even perhaps in Thailand;

• Panoramic views of the River of Kings from various areas of the hotel;

• Convenient access for guests, with the riverside BTS Skytrain station (Saphan Taksin) located only a few steps away from the Krungthep Wing; the Taksin public pier is also at the same location;

• Various attractions near the hotel with convenient access: Temple of Dawn, Grand Palace, China Town and Flower Market;

• Shopping paradise — only 10 minutes away by skytrain, Central World and Siam Paragon are located in Bangkok’s central business district, officially known as the largest shopping center in Southeast Asia;

• A strong banqueting and events team which delivers professional seamless and dedicated services to customers.

Q3: Someone said the next hospitality revolution happened in the digital age. What do you think the Internet-plus economy will bring to the hospitality industry? Do you use any social media to approach your guests?

Christian Humbert: The Internet plays a crucial role in the hotel industry, because customers have high expectations for a positive experience. Over the past 10 years, many features of the hotel industry have shifted to adapt to the continuously changing behavior of consumers.

Despite all the smart marketing tactics, word-of-mouth is more powerful than ever. A positive experience will not only impact a guest’s stay but it will also influence their online reviews after their trip.

Yes of course, we are very active on social media. We found it the best way to get feedback from our guests. Social media allows us to be innovative and stand out from our competitors. Since our target audience is very active, social media users, by keeping up to date, may just provide a different inside on how us hoteliers should conduct business. One positive WeChat post might be more influential than a big billboard advertisement these days.

Florian Heiner: Mobile apps are great devices to gather information about a customer’s experience and measuring efficiency at major hotel operators.

Hilton has been actively enhancing the functions of apps, striving to develop digital functions such as online room selection, online check-in and digital room keys.

Social media has developed very rapidly in recent years, and hotel guests are willing to share their travel experiences on different social media channels, whether it is outspoken, interactive or visual. The hotel industry has received many constructive suggestions thanks to social media, which has a great impact on improving service and product quality. In particular Big Data analytics will further improve customer satisfaction, personalize marketing campaigns and offers and improve hotel operations.

Blockchain technology will create a major change in the highly competitive hospitality industry to improve the end-to-end user experience, including transparent, efficient and decentralized procurement of supplies to benefit the profit margins of hotels.

Michelle Zhang: The digital revolution has a powerful impact on hospitality. Internet-plus is encouraging the hospitality industry to explore more digital tools and service innovations to maintain a competitive edge in the travel and leisure industry. The true potential to integrate digital services and tools into the customer experience is an essential component for success in the digital economy. We are working with more platforms to maximize online and offline interaction and to realize transformation continually.

Caroline Cheah: Nowadays, the Internet plays an important factor in the hospitality and tourism industry and all businesses. In addition to being a dynamic communication medium, it is also a perfect channel for sales and marketing, as well as for managing relationships with customers, business partners and communities.

With Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts’ Internet marketing strategies, and our own initiatives, we can interactively communicate with our local and international customers through the hotel’s website, e-mail and our social networks, which include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LINE.

Several new hotels will open their doors in both the city and riverside areas — hence, there will be an oversupply of rooms with fierce competition on both accommodation and dining choices. On a positive note, new hotels and the huge stylish ICONSIAM project will help turn the Bangkok destination on the riverside area as the “Bangkok’s new happening destination,” which is also being planned to become a global attraction in the next few years.

The new planned Bangkok Observation Tower, Thailand’s future tallest structure, will also be one of the main attractions of the Bangkok riverside. This project would push Bangkok into the elite club of world cities with skyscrapers.

Q4: The general manager is the person who is in charge of providing strategic direction for a hotel and overseeing daily operations. What do you think is the most important trait or skill for a qualified general manager? Could you give us an example of the most cheerful or stressful situation you have ever experienced?

Christian Humbert: In my opinion, there has to be more than one trait that makes a good general manager. However, I think being personable is one of the most important ones. I have always been the kind of leader that will put myself in my talent’s shoes, yes, we call our employees talent, because in W Shanghai we believe each individual has something special to bring to the table. Being compassionate to one another is our motto. Our staff are our greatest asset. They are the ones who are providing the services and the ones who are directly in contact with our clients.

What a privilege it was to open the most anticipated hotel in China! The premiere of W Shanghai — The Bund has to be the most stressful situation I have encountered. Having opened a few W hotels in the Asia Pacific region and nothing beat this. And do I still have to tell you the most cheerful moment I experienced? Of course, it’s how successful this hotel has become since it opened its doors to the public.

Florian Heiner: Firstly as the hotel general manager we lead by example among team members. By being approachable, passionate and positively infectious is vital. We make things very simple and relevant and communicate with a clear vision of sharing.

It is essential to understand the hotel positioning. You must ensure you get the business segmentation mix right in order to maximize yield.

Gaining and optimizing a market share from its surrounding competitors is fundamental and explains the performance.

Every day can be different and that makes the situation cheerful and it can become surely stressful if not well prepared for the worst.

To engage, listen and empower team members drives me to daily success.

Stress can also impact positively from time to time and useful in particular at a status quo situation as it is like a wake-up call to create positive changes. It all depends on how positively we engage and interact for a good purpose at any situation toward our stakeholders together.

Michelle Zhang: Sofitel spirit aims at becoming a caring chain. It is a hotel delivering more care to our internal guests. Sofitel ambassadors’ enthusiasm will make our external guests feel welcomed and valued. The guests, in turn, will be loyal and return.

In my view, learning with an open mind and spirit of innovation are the keys to make progress. As a general manager, acting in a spiritual leader role, I would inspire the team members and encourage them to share the spirit with each ambassador.

In Sofitel, we enhance the traditional French lifestyle with the local culture and carry forward the core value of AccorHotels.

“Innovation” as one of the most important values, Sofitel Ningbo extremely matches it. Club Millésime presents French cuisines combined with innovative Ningbo traditional refreshments in a deluxe cheerful atmosphere. Our guests are able to touch Ningbo culture behind the refreshments; business expats can taste local foods from various areas within the hotel. The residents like this and it also makes us cheerful.




 

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