Shangri-La: Multi-pronged approach for growth

In the selection of the top ten manager brands by "CEConline" for three consecutive years from 2006 to 2008, Shangri-La Hotel was rated as the most popular business hotel for managers. The results proved this result correct - from 2004 to the first half of 2008, Shangri-La's room occupancy rate and revenue per room increased by double digits.

In 2009, under the influence of the global financial crisis, the hotel industry was greatly impacted, and Shangri-La also experienced a downward trend in performance. But the good news is that with the recovery of China's economy, Shangri-La has become the first choice for business travelers. Since June, the room occupancy rate in the first-tier cities has increased significantly, and Shangri-La has judged that the performance in 2009 is the same as that in 2008 and slightly increased. How does Shangri-La turn crises into opportunities and seize market opportunities in the new round of economic recovery? Ms. Chen Yanjing, Vice President of the Marketing Department of the Group, shared their experience from three aspects: strategy, brand and employee development.

Coping strategies: Deeply cultivating the domestic market

How was Shangri-La's business in the first half of 2009?

Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, various industries have been greatly affected, with the hotel industry bearing the brunt. This is because the travel budgets of both companies and individuals during the financial crisis decreased compared to the same period, so the number of business travelers and individual leisure travelers declined, which had a direct impact on the hotel industry in China, including ours. .

Our performance in the first half of 2009 was negative compared to the same period in 2008, with room occupancy down about 12%, but this was still within our expectations. Because the proportion of our decline is relatively moderate, lower than other peers in the industry.

Since June 2009, China's economy has continued to recover, and hotel room occupancy rates in first-tier cities have rebounded significantly. Due to the lesser impact of the financial crisis in second-tier cities, the room occupancy rates have not fluctuated much. Hotels in some areas Room sales are very good, such as Chengdu Shangri-La's hotel room occupancy rate of 70%. We expect full-year results in 2009 to be the same as in 2008 or have a slight growth.

In the current situation, what measures has Shangri-La taken to deal with the unfavorable external environment?

We are different from world-class hotel groups in that most Shangri-La hotels are invested and built by ourselves; our business model is also different from the management model of hotel groups that focus on commercial contracts, which is reflected in our focus on sales and operating costs. Control has direct control. For these two reasons, it is easy for us to take the response we wish to take.

We mainly make efforts in two directions: First, to control the cost without affecting the quality of customer service. Second, the major adjustment in sales, showing the continuous attention to China's domestic demand market.

Take the sales department as an example. In 2009, we made significant adjustments to the sales force and organizational structure, and the sales force increased by 80%. Considering the need to serve domestic enterprises and the domestic tourism market, we have made a lot of manpower reserves. Under the premise that Shangri-La Group advocates the control of variable costs, we are still expanding our workforce in the business field. The purpose is to quickly respond to market changes and customer needs, and to improve our income with quality and service.

We didn't slow down our expansion because of the financial crisis. In 2009, Shangri-La will open four new hotels in China. The Shangri-La hotels in Wenzhou and Ningbo have already opened, followed by the Beijing International Trade Center Luxury Hotel and the Shangri-La Hotel in Guilin. We have been investing in second-tier cities, such as Tianjin, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang, and Xi'an. In the future, we have projects underway in Qinhuangdao, Tangshan, Yangzhou, and Qufu in Shandong, as well as development projects in Sanya.

Outside China, the Shangri-La Group has five new hotel openings. These five hotels are the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver, Canada, the first Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, the resort hotel in Boracay, the Philippines, and the high-end island resort in the Maldives. Hotels and Traders Hotels in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Shangri-La Group currently has 65 hotels, and our goal is to reach 100 in the next four years. In China, there are currently 28 hotels, 30 by the end of 2009, and 60 in the next four years.

Brand Culture: Hospitality Shangri-La Love

Please introduce the essence of Shangri-La's brand culture?

The essence of our service is Shangri-La hospitality. It comes from the culture and tradition of Asian hospitality. No matter where in the world the Shangri-La hotel is opened, customers will enjoy the hospitality of Asians.

Hospitality has many connotations, including respect, courtesy, sincerity, helpfulness, and humility. Within six months of entering Shangri-La, every new employee must undergo the training of "Hospitable Shangri-La Love". The training is divided into four units: 1. Hospitality and hospitality in Shangri-La; 2. Exciting guests; 3. Actively make remedial efforts to win customers' loyalty; 4. Carry forward the spirit of ownership. Through the training of our employees, we transform the corporate culture into their basic tenets of serving our guests.

Specifically, how is Shangri-La hospitable?

For example. Not long ago, a female guest stayed in the Horizon Club of Shangri-La Hotel, Shanghai. She found that a luxury watch she was wearing was broken, but she did not know where to fix it. repair. The deputy manager quickly found a professional watch shop through his friends, and found a professional master who could repair the watch. Just before the guest left, the watch was repaired. The guest was very grateful that she did not expect the hotel staff to fix the watch in such a short time. The client wanted to use money to thank the assistant manager, but the assistant manager declined and said, "The smile on your face is the greatest affirmation of my work."

It is not within the scope of the assistant manager to repair watches for clients , but because of our culture of hospitality, he sincerely wants to help guests solve their problems. This is also what Shangri-La advocates. We hope that our employees will always consider how to exceed our guests' expectations and delight our guests in every contact.

In those newly opened hotels, how to ensure the inheritance of Shangri-La's brand culture?

For those newly opened hotels, the most important thing is to make a training plan. The entire human resources process is the premise to ensure the success of the hotel's opening. We have systematic procedures for recruitment standards, training content and arrangements. Shangri-La Hotel established a staff training base as early as December 2004 to accelerate and strengthen the training of staff in order to cooperate with the Group's business expansion in China.

In addition, the hotel group will give strong support to the new hotel, including manpower and various resources in the system. I go to various hotels to inspect, to a large extent, I support them in the opening strategy, and help them analyze and determine the marketing strategy and sales strategy. Therefore, in terms of cultural heritage, the new hotel is not alone.

Employee Development: A Win-Win for Individuals and Businesses

What are the effective steps Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has taken to improve employee satisfaction?

I'll use the sales team as an example. Everyone knows that it is very stressful to do sales in Shangri-La. Many talents joined Shangri-La and saw that the hotel group has provided very good training to help salesmen improve their professionalism. We developed a set of courses "STAR" for salesmen in 2005. We hope that every salesperson can become a Sales star, this course has been registered for copyright, sales staff can get the best training and promotion in a short period of time.

Shangri-La also provides employees with good development space. The group currently has 65 hotels, most of which are owned by the group itself, which provides sufficient autonomy for the development and scheduling of employees. As long as there is an opportunity for promotion, internal employees must be given priority.

In addition, the Group has established a perfect reward system for sales staff to encourage them to improve themselves. For example, sales staff have quarterly or monthly performance appraisals, and the reward system is aimed at individuals and teams. If the team achieves it, there will be rewards, and if the individual performance is particularly outstanding, there will also be rewards. We encourage teamwork as well as individual effort.

We conduct employee satisfaction surveys every year. We have data on what employees are satisfied with and what they are not satisfied with. For the unsatisfactory part, the management of the hotel should take measures to improve. These are all related to the performance appraisal of senior executives. Those parts that need to be improved are mainly due to the large workload and long working hours of hotel staff. This is a challenge for the hotel industry. The senior executives of the group have been thinking about how to shorten the management process.

What attracted you to Shangri-La?

First is the Shangri-La brand, which represents the quality and honor of a service; secondly, five years ago, I saw the future expansion of the Shangri-La Group. As an Asian hotel brand, Shangri-La has invested a lot in the Asia-Pacific market.

Personal growth and business growth go hand in hand. As a professional manager of an Asian hotel, I hope to grow up with the company's development and contribute to the Asian brand hotel becoming the world's hotel brand. During this process, I need to do a lot of learning in a short period of time, the workload is heavy, and there are many opportunities. I am learning every day, and I personally like learning and accepting challenges. If I don’t learn something, I will feel like I lose the challenge.

What was your greatest achievement during your five years at Shangri-La?

During my five years of work, my greatest achievement has been the broadening of my horizons. Work is definitely not only about the growth of professional skills, but also in terms of character and life planning. I think the difficulties encountered in the work, the achievements, the positive and the negative, have their meanings. This is a tempering process in life. Chen Yanjing interprets Shangri-La's hospitality.