Glitz of the Ritz

The Ritz-Carlton, one of the world's top luxury hotel companies, recently won a Platinum Five-star award in China.

Viewed as the top honor of the hospitality industry, the award was granted by the China National Tourism Administration. Only three international hotels in the country were crowned among the first batch.

The Portman Ritz-Carlton, the first hotel opened on the Chinese mainland by the US company in 1998, was the only hotel in Shanghai to receive the inaugural award.

The recognition of the extravagant, consistent and high-quality service the hotel provides is what Mark DeCocinis, Ritz-Carlton's regional vice-president for Asia and Pacific, is proudest of.

In order to qualify for the award, the hotel must have had five-star status for at least two years and be located in the city center or within a business zone. And it must feature unique architecture matching the image of Shanghai.

The hotel must also be luxuriously appointed, and its dcor must feature a mix of Chinese culture and history. It must also have a grand entryway, lobby, refined ambiance, updated hardware, premier club lounge and floors, and provide 24-hour services to club-level guests.

"To identify the criteria was not easy; we had been talking about what made the designation special," says DeCocinis, who also served on China National Tourism Administration's board.

Prior to applying to the Shanghai Tourism Bureau in June 2005, the hotel conducted two hotel-wide inspections in the first and second quarters of 2005 to ascertain compliance to the standards before it could officially be nominated by tourism authorities in 2006.

The trick is knowing how to make guests understand that they are staying at a super luxury hotel, rather than an undistinguished five-star location.

According to DeCocinis, this is "something subjective to the guests".

"When the guests leave, do they have memorable experiences? Did they just receive what they had expected? Do they want to return and be loyal to the hotel? That is the difference hard to describe," he says.

To make sure its guests - a relatively equal mix from North America, Europe, China and other Asian regions - have an unparallel experience, the hotel has focused on developing its staff.

"We mainly focus on people's quality. That is something we believe in. It is our culture; it is natural, and we do it everyday," DeCocinis says.

Since Ritz-Carlton took over management of the hotel from Shangri-La in early 1998, the Portman Ritz-Carlton has adopted a strategy that fosters trust and creates a work environment where employees are treated with respect and dignity, the company says.

From 2000 to 2005, the employee satisfaction rate of the hotel increased from 95 to 98 percent, making it the highest among 60 Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide for five consecutive years, according to the company.

While the staff turnover rate for Asia's hotel industry is 29 percent, the rate at the Portman Ritz-Carlton is 15 to 16 percent.

"Anyone can build a beautiful building with incredible facilities. The challenging part is providing service consistently because of the employees you have encountered, and that is what you have remembered," DeCocinis says. "That is the distinction of the five-star and platinum. People are the most important."

Along with the recognition and allure brought by the award, it also puts higher expectations and greater pressure on the management team.

"The pressure is very high on employees to meet and to exceed the expectations," DeCocinis says.

"Business will increase significantly. The hotel is undergoing a major renovation, because we want to make sure the service is in high standards in the coming 10 years. We are able to charge higher rates, but the value is very important."

With the company's further expansion, DeCocinis expects Ritz-Carlton to run 26 hotels in the Asia Pacific region by 2010. In addition to the three hotels it has in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, the company is now building six more in China, as well as a resort in Sanya, Hainan Province.

"We always fix in major cities, and we will develop in supporting cities," DeCocinis says. "China can support more hotels. The growth of leisure travel and business travel are really what we are looking at. Markets are growing very fast."

(China Daily 09/17/2007 page6)