Exclusive Interview with Ms. Stanley Yin, General Manager of Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel

专访上海漕河泾万丽酒店总经理尹海霞

Grand Hotels media :As the first five-star international brand hotel in the heart of Shanghai Caohejing High-Tech Park, Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel enjoys a superior geographic location. From your perspective, what are the advantages of the hotel to attract guests?

Renaissance Caohejing benefits a great deal from its easy access to central business districts and traffic hubs. It is just 20 minutes’drive from Hongqiao Airport & Railway Station, Hongqiao business district, and the shopping and dining hub of Xujiahui. We enjoy an advantage over our counterparts in downtown Shanghai in terms of our geographic location, which offers greater time saving benefits. We are 5 walking minutes from Metro line station. With the operation of Metro line 9 & 12, Caohejing is widely acknowledged, in the past few years, as an upgraded metro station with convenient traffic.

Ms. Stanley Yin: With its solid industrial roots, Caohejing High-Tech Park is alluring an increasing number of international enterprises to set up regional headquarters or offices in its vicinity. This is what we are witnessing at the moment and what we believe will sustain into the future. For the hospitality industry, there is much to expect of this vast, premium business client base.

Grand Hotels media :From Ningbo Marriott Hotel to Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel, you have worked for Marriott International Inc. for more than 20 years. Could you share with us your hotel operation experience and management concept?

Ms. Stanley Yin:First and foremost, I agree with Marriott’s core values and culture. Putting people first, pursuing excellence, embracing change, acting with integrity, and serving our world—all of these ideals are part of what I see everyday at Marriott. In fact, there are plenty of people who have been working in Marriott Group for 20 years, 30 years, or even a lifetime, because Marriott practices what it preaches.

In terms of what resonates with me the most–I would have to say Marriott’s “Spirit to Serve”program. This program, which exists in all of our Hotels, makes our culture more vibrant, our business stronger, and the world a better place.  Investing in and helping the communities where we do business is at the core of the program. Social responsibility, volunteer service, and community engagement allow us as a company to give back to the same communities that support our Hotels.

For me, Marriott is not only a company to work for, but also a guiding philosophy for living my own life. Over the 20 years I have worked for this company, I have gained a more in depth understanding of its culture and values, which in turn, have made me a more knowledgeable and successful person. 

Every moment that I experience something new with Marriott, whether it was my first job, my first opening of a hotel, my first job managing a team of people, or even my first job as a General Manager; each experience is memorable, and these memories I will keep forever.

Grand Hotels media :As an excellent leader, how do you communicate with your employees? What do you want to share with them usually? What kind of spirit do you want your team members to have?

Ms. Stanley Yin:Our Associates are the biggest asset of the Hotel.  As Mr. J.W. Marriott has stated many times, “If we take care of the associates, the associates will take care of the customers, and the customers will come back”. This one statement expresses the amount of care and respect all managers should have for their associates. Care about their career development, care about their training, and even caring for their personal life, all are important to ensuring the associates enjoy their job and have respect for their job creating a great guest experience.  Marriott has won numerous “Best Company to Work for” awards based on this culture, and has once again been listed as one of the “TOP 100 Best Companies to Work for” by Fortune magazine for a continuous 20 years straight.

It’s our belief that the passion and motivation to work does not only come from a satisfactory salary, but also comes from the ability to develop ones own career. The training of our associates is extensive and starts from the first day the associates are on the job with Marriott’s Orientation Training. Marriott arranges different training programs according to the different job levels and departments that exist at a Hotel. Even within our wide range of Marriott brands, the training is tailored to that particular brand, that way ensuring the philosophy or concept of the individual brand is resonated from the associate during interactions with guests. Finally, we also offer inter-departmental cross-training to associates, allowing them the opportunity to develop in other areas of the Hotel. There are many examples within Marriott, where an associate may have started in one departmental area of the Hotel, moved to another, and is now is in charge of both areas.Thegoal, have well trained associates and management that have experiencein numerous departments thus creating career development opportunities and overall a better service experience for our guests.

Here at Renaissance Caohejing, our team is not addressed as staff; instead, we call each other ‘ambassador’. And we have a special name for our service team: the navigator, which forms an integral part of Marriott brand identity.

Grand Hotels media :As the sixth hotel of the Renaissance brand, Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel has very unique facilities and personalized elite services, bringing guests great excitement and deep longing. Could you introduce the unique features of Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel for us?

Ms. Stanley Yin:Renaissance Caohejing offers an appealing and thoughtfully conceived range of local international cuisines in a variety of venues designed to family gatherings and fine dining. Especially, the Smoki Moto, 1st floor, seems to be the center of hustle and bustle, and is likely to win most fame and fortune for the hotel. Our award-winning Korean Chef Min Lee, she has long term culinary experience spanning Burj Al Arab Jumeirah - 7-stars luxury hotel in Dubai and independent restaurants in South Korea. She brings her initiative, creativity and excellent knowledge of culinary trends to Smoki Moto in Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel. With her vast culinary experience and knowledge of Korean cuisine, the Korean cuisine here is acknowledged as the most authentic and worshiped by a large number of Korean guests.

Grand Hotels media :Nowadays, the hotel industry pays great attention on characteristic cuisine and diverse culture. The competition in banquet and accommodation services is also increasingly fierce. So, will Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel put more efforts in these aspects?

Ms. Stanley Yin:Renaissance Caohejing takes every chance to help our guests experience something new. We deliver a unique meeting experience “R.E.N. Meeting” showcasing the personality of the brand, as well as celebrating the inspired brand values: intriguing, indigenous, and independent. From locally inspired beverage and food breaks, to the sights, scents and sounds that offer an experience beyond a traditional meeting.

Hotel guests, particularly younger ones, have become increasingly reliant on their mobile devices, and we are trying to adopt new technologies to appeal to them. “R.E.N. Meetings Expert” - a mobile app that gives our guest’s control of the meeting space from their smartphone. This platform provides distinctive experiences, identifies key customer touch points, and executes signature programming to consistently intrigue and satisfy our meeting planners and attendees.

Guests at Marriott hotels now are able to check-in with just a few taps of their mobile phones before their arrival. It makes travel easier than ever, all guests have to do once they arrive at the hotel is walk up to the front desk and pick up their pre-programmed key card.

《大酒店》：作为上海漕河泾核心地段的第一家国际品牌五星级酒店，上海漕河泾万丽酒店有着优越的地理位置，您觉得酒店吸引顾客的优势有哪些？

尹海霞女士：上海漕河泾万丽酒店凭借优越地理位置，在方便出行的同时，为酒店带来了巨大的收益。酒店驱车20分钟可达虹桥机场和虹桥火车站、虹桥商务区及繁华的徐家汇商圈。就地理位置而言我们相较位于市中心的同类型酒店更具优势，为客人节省更多宝贵时间。酒店距离临近的地铁站步行五分钟可达。由于地铁9号线及12号线的开通运营，漕河泾地区更广泛得被大家所知，酒店出行将会变得更加方便快捷。

以其雄厚的工业根基，漕河泾高科技园区将吸引越来越多的国际企业在其区域内设立地区总部或办事处。我们正见证着这一时刻并坚信这一态势将持续下去。对于酒店行业来说，这块区域仍然有很多机会值得把握，有更多优质的商业客户等待去开发。

《大酒店》：您在万豪国际集团工作超20年 ，从宁波万豪酒店总经理到漕泾河万丽酒店总经理，可以分享一下多年的酒店运营经验和管理理念吗？

尹海霞女士：首先，万豪集团的核心价值观和经营理念是我非常认同的,“以人为本、追求卓越、勇于变革、正直处事、服务世界”，所有这些都在我的工作环境中一一体现。其实集团内像我一样或者拥有20年、30年，甚至终生服务于万豪集团的同事大有人在。除了一致的价值观，万豪是一个言必行的酒店管理集团。

最令我引以为豪的是万豪集团的“服务精神”，这也是万豪集团旗下所有酒店奉行的理念，它让我们的集团文化更具活力，生意合作更强劲，也让世界变得更加美好。回馈万豪所在的社区，是万豪“服务精神”的核心。社会责任、志愿者服务、社区回馈，这些都是我们回报一直支持我们的社区的途径。

万豪对于我来说不仅是工作的场所，也是我人生旅途的导向，在万豪工作的20年中，我越来越深刻理解万豪理念的内在意义，与此同时我也实现了个人职业的发展与能力的提升。

与我而言，最难忘的事情莫过于尝试新事物，不管是第一次选择就职于酒店行业、第一次历经一家新酒店的筹备、第一次管理一个团队，还是第一次成为一家五星级酒店的总经理，这些经历都将成为我永久的记忆。

《大酒店》：作为一名优秀的领导者，您平时怎样和员工沟通？您平时希望和团队分享什么？您认为您的团队应该呈现出怎样的精神面貌?

尹海霞女士：员工是一个酒店运作成功与否的灵魂所在，也是我们最大的财富。J.W. Marriot先生曾说：“我们照顾好员工，员工就会照顾好客人，客人就会再次光顾我们的酒店”，这就意味着所有的管理者都应该给予员工足够的关爱与尊重，关心他们的职业发展、培训，甚至他们的个人生活，所有这些都非常有利于让员工享受他们的工作生活并为能够为客人提供完美的下榻体验而感到自豪。因为这一品牌文化，万豪获得了一系列的“最佳公司”的称号与嘉奖，并连续20年荣获《财富》杂志评选的100家最佳工作场所之一。

工作的动力不仅源于工作环境与待遇，良好的发展空间更具吸引力，因此我们为员工提供了很多培训机会，且针对员工的级别、部门、入职时间等方面都安排了不同方面的培训。在万豪集团旗下的不同品牌酒店，都会根据品牌量身定制不同的培训内容，每一个品牌的哲学与理念都源自于日常工作中员工与客人的服务细节与沟通；另外，酒店还提供交叉培训的机会，让员工在熟练掌握自己所在部门的运作知识与技巧之余，还可拓宽眼界，了解其他部门相关专业知识。在万豪，一个员工的工作始于一个部门，然后调转到另外一个部门，接下来负责两个部门的管理工作。这样做的目标是让训练有素的员工与管理者体验更多部门的工作细节，并获得职业发展的机会，也可以为客人提供更好的下榻体验。

《大酒店》：酒店作为上海第六家万丽品牌酒店，独特的设施和个性化的精英服务会令人心驰神往。您可以介绍一下贵酒店独特之处吗？

尹海霞女士：上海漕河泾万丽酒店各大餐饮设施提供专为家庭聚餐及聚会宴请精心打造的来自全球的饕餮美食及本地精致美味。位于酒店1楼的雾山餐厅，人流攒动、热闹非凡，为酒店赢得多项荣誉。我们屡获殊荣的韩国主厨，她曾任职于韩国的独立餐厅及位于迪拜的七星级豪华酒店——帆船酒店。Min Lee拥有丰富的烹饪经验，她将对餐饮的主动性，创造性及对美食趋势的个人见解融入雾山餐厅。凭借她丰富的烹饪经验和对韩国料理的深入了解，雾山餐厅的韩国料理被大量韩国客人所推崇，被公认为是最正宗的韩国料理。

《大酒店》：现在酒店行业注重特色美食和多元文化，也在宴会服务和住房服务上多面竞争，所以贵酒店是否会对宴会和住房服务上有更多的投入？

尹海霞女士：上海漕河泾万丽酒店抓住每一次机会，帮助客人感受新鲜事物。我们提供独树一帜的会议体验“R.E.N. 会议”，展示品牌个性，激发品牌价值：趣意、地道、独特。从本地特色酒水、食物到视觉、听觉、嗅觉体验，为宾客提供一场超越传统会议的非凡体验。

酒店客人，尤其是年轻的客人，越来越依赖于他们的移动设备，我们正尝试采用更多新技术去迎合他们。“R.E.N. 会议专家” ——一项移动应用程序，让我们的客人仅通过使用智能手机便可对会议空间进行控制。该平台提供诸如，关键客户识别，以及专为会议发起者和与会者提供的签名程序等独特体验。

万豪酒店客人现仅需在到达前轻按几下手机便可办理入住手续，所有客人只需到达酒店后前往前台领取预设好的门卡即可。这使得旅行变得更加容易。