Developing leadership in hospitality 在酒店业中提升领导力
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Interview with Stephan Kapek, Area Manager of Shangri-La Group and General Manager of China World Hotel, Beijing
专访北京中国大饭店总经理及香格里拉酒店集团区域经理Stephan Kapek先生
Congratulations for the appointment as Area Manager and General Manager of China World Hotel, Beijing. What are the biggest challenges you are facing in this new position?
Beijing is not new to me, I have worked here from 2007 to 2009 in Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing. Then I was transferred to the Middle East and came back in 2015 to join again Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing. I spent there almost 4 years and got to know and love Beijing even more. Beijing is a fantastic place for life and work for me and my family.
But the biggest challenge today in all areas of hospitality is getting talent and people willing to work in this industry, which has an enormous potential for the young people in China. We are very lucky to have people working with us for a long time, most of them became managers from waiter and secretary positions.
首先祝贺您被任命为北京中国大饭店总经理和香格里拉酒店集团区域经理,您在这个新职位面临的最大挑战是什么?
我于2007年至2009年在北京香格里拉饭店工作。随后我调往中东,并于2015年回到北京香格里拉饭店。在那里的四年我了解了很多事情,所以我对北京并不陌生,并且非常喜欢这座城市,我和我的家人在这里生活和工作得十分开心。
Your work experience speaks of you being truly a global business leader. What has inspired you to this path? What continues to drive your success?
China World Hotel, Beijing, opened its doors in 1990, and it became one of the first “Western” luxury hotel brands in Beijing. How do you feel to manage such legendary property?
The success of a property cannot rely on the historical success. You need to constantly innovate and update your services, offering the best in whatever you do. So if I was successful yesterday, it is not a guarantee that I will be successful tomorrow, and not even today. Communication with guest is very important.
What steps do you take up to uphold your reputation as a place for elegant and prestigious events and services?
It is a combination of few things. Continuous innovation in services, knowing what is new and happening around you. For example, during the events now everything is cooked in the ballroom and put directly on your plate.
The second important factor is the training plan. Our job training procedure is very strong. As I mentioned, we have a very experienced team who ensure that once we get new people on board, they are first properly trained before handling customers.
China World Hotel, Beijing, is also well known as the ‘second state guest house’ for visiting state leaders. Could you mention some of the most important guests that you have hosted recently?
We normally host some heads of states when there're large government events. We have had recently the ASEAN Cultural Exchange Discussion Forum, and we had a couple of heads of states here.
The most important factors are security and good location. We have both of them because of the easy access and our way to control the building. And then, of course, we know very well how to take care of these VIP customers, and they feel well with us. We know what are their requirements, plus we can liaise between government and them much easier.
Mr. António Guterres - UNSG (Secretary General of the United Nations)Mr. Mahathir bin Mohamad - Prime Minister of MalaysiaMr. Imran Khan - Prime Minister of PakistanMr. Maithripala Sirisena - President of Sri LankaMr. Nikol Pashinyan - Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
What do you think makes your hotel so attractive to be the preferred venue for many flagship conferences and international business events?
Recently you have just officially unveiled the new and upgraded Horizon Club rooms and suites. Could you explain to us some of the most important points of the improvement project at China World Hotel, Beijing, spanning during the last 3 years?
最近,中国大饭店推出了全新升级的豪华阁客房和套房。您能否向我们介绍最近三年这个项目的一些重要特点?
在2019年初,中国大饭店完成了所有客房的升级。2017年底,饭店推出了69间全新酒店式服务公馆,包括开放式公馆、一居室公馆 及两居室公馆三种户型,为常住客带来家的舒 适。公馆出租率达95%。此外,升级完成的豪华阁客房及套房位于饭店十八层至二十层,将原有的客房和套间进行空间重组及提升,每一间都可欣赏到CBD的摩登楼宇,零距离感受都市的脉搏。
What are the most impressive changes that previous visitors of your hotel will notice when they come back to your renowned hotel?
What they will first notice when guests arrive to the lobby is that we haven't changed anything. So, the lobby hasn't changed in 30 years. We are very proud of it and we have no intention of making any big change. Our guests notice the new edition of rooms immediately, and appreciate that we raise our goals.
Our hotel has been an icon in Beijing, and we said this is an icon redefined. We are in China, and our hotel has a combination of modern and contemporary, but we have a very strong Asian influence. I think it is important for people to recognize where they are and we want our guests to do a cultural immersion during their stay. We want them to know that this is Beijing. I get Peking duck for them and have certain amenities in the room of a combination of traditional Beijing and modern style. Maybe some of the staff is not speaking good English, but it is part of the experience to be here as well.
What delightful cuisines await your stay-in guests? What are the current promotions that they should not miss?
We run regularly several promotions. Our Spanish chef have prepared a special Paella promotion recently. We have added also Peking duck to our Chinese restaurant menu, and it is supervised by Shangri-La Master, Chef Yuan. He develops his own recipe by using traditional methods, and we have included in the menu of the restaurant Summer Palace in addition to our Cantonese dishes.
Three months ago we started to adjust our afternoon tea at the lobby. We tried to make it a bit more traditional, with musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments in the afternoon. On weekends we even have an orchestrea playing.
What’s the critical aspect to keeping you team motivated? Will you be using any tricks of the trade that you have previously picked up?
Firstly, you need to make sure that you're handling every person individually and recognizing their contribution first, and highlighting areas where we need to improve.
Are there any up and coming events in the following weeks/months at the China World Hotel, Beijing that you would like to mention?
We are preparing some important events, but maybe one of the most important will be a quite big event that we are organizing with the Malaysian government in September.
How do you manage the area of the four hotels under your responsibility to meet the changing expectations of guests?
I overlook four hotels, but each hotel has their own target. We are trying continually to find out new ideas to target better each market. For example, Hotel Jen is completely different than us, and last months they organized a tattoo event at Beersmith. It was a right thing to do for their target market. On the other hand, we are going to have a Malaysian food promotion event in September, maybe not the right fit for our other hotels.
What continues to fuel your passion after more than 30 years of management experience in luxury properties in prime locations?
Money is not the main thing. Hospitality is one of the worst paying sectors. What still drives people like me to get up in the morning and work until late is the need to share our knowledge to create leaders for the hospitality industry.
What was the unforgettable compliment which you have received from a guest and what was the story behind it?
I received many compliments on a daily basis and it is very hard to pick out one or two or three. But when a staff member went an extra mile to satisfy a guest and the guest write a letter or email to the General Manager personally, it makes me very happy. In addition we share these comments with the team and the concerned collaeges.
Do you live by a particular mantra or motto?
That's a deep question. Just treat people like you like to be treated. Very simple. I respect every job in the hospitality industry, from the cleaner to the management team. For me, everybody's the same. Everybody can call me by my first name. Communicating with every staff member at their level is very important.
What question do you like to be asked that nobody has asked you yet?
I wonder where hospitality will go in 20 years, with AI and robotics on the horizon. Obviously, today you can already check In, get the key and open your room door with your phone, without interacting with people. Someday we will not have telephone operators or reception, or cooking, because it will be done by computers and machines. It’s an interesting point of discussion. But I'm sure there will be hotels in the future that will be specialized in service by humans, even technology maybe allow hotels to do most of the things by machines.
We ended our conversation with Stephan Kapek, but we were delighted to listen all about his rich experience and leadership methods. He is a top executive, who loves Beijing and likes to be treated as everyone. He is responsible for the largest hospitality area in Beijing, the capital of the most populated country in the world. An ambitious man with incredible vision and dream to develop new leaders in hospitality.
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