St. Regis Gets Into Children's Books

Luxury hospitality group extends reading program for kids, Ye Jun reports.

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts announced an expanded and improved "Junior Reading Journey - Family Traditions at St. Regis" program, to offer children staying with their parents at its hotels in China.

The program offers an enjoyable list of both illustrated and audio books.

Each of the families and their children will receive a copy of the booklist and can easily borrow the books through the hotel's personalized butler service, after check-in.

Children who are tech-savvy can also scan a QR code on the list to find an audio version of the books on mobile devices.

The reading experience will be available at all nine St. Regis hotels and resorts in the country, as well as the St. Regis Zhuhai, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2018.

"Education is precious for children," said Fay-Linn Yeoh, senior director of brand management and marketing Asia-Pacific at St. Regis Hotels & Resorts. "This reading journey is part of our offers to parents."

More and more Chinese families recognized the importance of extracurricular education, and an increasing number of parents consider traveling an opportunity to help expand their children's horizons, she added.

Yeoh's estimation is that an average of 8 percent of all guests at St. Regis Hotels & Resorts in China are parents traveling with kids. Resorts have a higher amount of child visitors, at around 30 percent, while city hotels have a smaller proportion.

The children's booklist was first developed in 2015, in conjunction with Disney's first Chinese contract author, Yang Peng, as part of the St. Regis Family Traditions program.

In 2016, Guomai Press, a Chinese publishing house, was appointed St. Regis children's book consultant.

Apart from colorful illustrated books, natural science books have been popular among young guests, according to St. Regis.

Yeoh said this year they have added materials more suitable for even younger children, especially from 2-5, and for more technologically savvy children as well.

The enhanced booklist has increased the program's coverage to include science and literature.

The new list for 2017 has more than 70 quality children's books, including those by renowned United States painter Wanda Gag and Xiong Liang, the Chinese painter who was nominated by the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014.

"The ultimate objective is to create meaningful and unforgettable parent-child reading experiences during their travels," Yeoh said.

Jing Shijia, communications director with Guomai Press, said the company has worked with experts in children's education and renowned Chinese painters like Xiong in the creation of the new booklist.

"Painters like Xiong can adapt traditional tales into modern new stories, and tell them from a child's angle," she said.

At the same event, St. Regis Macao has teamed up with Bugaboo, a "world leader in innovative design", according to the hotel briefing, to offer families complementary use of the limited-edition Bugaboo Donkey Weekender stroller during their visit.

The multipurpose stroller will give parents better mobility when they are engaged in activities and tours around Macao.

The company says the St. Regis Macao's Family Traditions program is full of exciting events for families and their children.

The hotel's Family Traditions package features spacious suites.

The suites' toilets have a lovely set of panda and bamboo-themed toiletries especially designed for children.

The hotel's professional chefs are available to give cooking classes, featuring both demonstrations and hands-on training.

The St. Regis Macao is also organizing a "unique" photo tour in which children get to be creative, taking photos with a Polaroid camera.

Participating families will be presented with the camera and a photo album so that the kids can capture their favorite moments and add notes, to create a personalized memento.

"Macao is not a big place, but there are plenty of attractions and hotels that have good facilities, while the food, from street egg tarts to Michelin three-starred restaurants, is world-class," said Wang Hongyu, a hotel industry expert based in Beijing.

"It is convenient to either fly to Macao or enter from Zhuhai. It is really a good choice for a family tour."

Contact the writer at yejun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/25/2017 page10)