An Interview with Mr. Rüdiger C. Hollweg,
General Manager of Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai
专访上海凯宾斯基大酒店总经理霍威先生
老早就听说，上海凯宾斯基大酒店的入住率特别高，餐厅日日爆满，其中的小龙虾、大闸蟹更是风靡整个酒店业！如今，终于有机会实地体验一番，笔者怀揣着兴奋与好奇的心情，随大酒店团队一起，来到了坐落于陆家嘴金融贸易中心核心地带的上海凯宾斯基大酒店，对酒店总经理霍威先生进行了专访。
采访室巨大的落地窗前，黄浦江美景一览无余，不远处错落的现代建筑和天际线，共同构成了令人惊叹的美景。而坐在对面的霍威先生，则仿佛从油画中出来般，充满了欧式的优雅与风度。资料显示，霍威先生已从事酒店行业几十年，曾在德国、西班牙以及中国三亚的多家凯宾斯基酒店担任过要职，而他执掌过的酒店更是跨越了时间和地域，遍布德国，法国，西班牙，美国，泰国以及中国等多个国家。去年，霍威先生携数十年的成功酒店管理经验自信而来，期望为上海、尤其是陆家嘴地区的服务领域提供更多的创新思路和发展。事实证明，在霍威先生卓越的领导下，原本就底蕴深厚的上海凯宾斯基大酒店更是如虎添翼。
于上海凯宾斯基大酒店而言，2017 年是丰硕的一年，亦是成功的一年。这一年，酒店业绩突出，各项工作指标都超过了预期，而客房和餐厅更是呈爆满状态。同时，这一年，也是凯宾斯基酒店集团成立的第120 周年，作为凯宾斯基在陆家嘴地区的高端奢华酒店，上海凯宾斯基大酒店，算是以自身杰出的业绩为凯宾斯基120 周年庆典献上了一份厚礼。
当被问及酒店的餐饮为何如此火爆时，霍威先生的回答给我们解开了这一谜题，原来，酒店共拥有4 家餐厅和2 间酒吧，分别为元素西餐厅、海蓝意大利餐厅、阿尔贝鲁西班牙餐厅、新天世纪中餐厅、30 层全江景新天酒吧以及富丽堂皇的大堂吧。其中，元素西餐厅是凯宾斯基酒店集团独有的特色餐厅，提供来自世界各地的美食，作为以餐厅起家的凯宾斯基酒店集团而言，120 年的积淀，其特有的元素西餐厅无论是味道还是服务标准，都是极好的。海蓝意大利餐厅，由意大利厨师主理，提供正宗意大利口味的美味，阿尔贝鲁西班牙餐厅则提供地道西班牙菜。元素西餐厅则提供多种口味的当季小龙虾、大闸蟹等自助餐，它在传统味道的基础上进行了创新，将当地口味与国际口味相融合，获得了客人的一致盛赞。难能可贵的是，这些餐厅的经营，处处充满了欧式的严谨，无论是菜品质量还是服务态度，均属一流水准，难怪酒店餐厅人气爆满、客人回头率日益增高。
另外，得益于客房和餐厅的人气，由于酒店的入住率日益攀升造成了早餐每日人满为患, 这就出现了客人在餐厅就餐欲座无席的情况。在以服务至上的上海凯宾斯基大酒店，这种情况必定是不允许的，因此，酒店决定开放在二楼的海蓝意大利餐厅作为另一处分流住店客人享有舒适惬意早餐之所，由于意大利餐厅本身的优势更适合于满足喜欢欧式早餐的客人，入住上海凯宾斯基大酒店的客人可自由选择前往一楼的元素西餐厅和二楼的海蓝意大利餐厅用餐及休息。小小改变，瞬间将原本拥挤的早餐难题迎刃而解且得到了客人的无数好评，笔者亦不得不佩服酒店这一了不起的思维。
而谈到上海凯宾斯基大酒店的其他方面，霍威先生亦如数家珍，介绍道，酒店拥有686 间各具特色的客房和套房，下榻于此的宾客可饱览黄浦江开阔美景及陆家嘴繁华城景，更有极具欧式奢华特色的旋转楼梯，满足客人观赏需求的同时，还可为行政楼层的客人提供私属空间。会议方面，酒店拥有可容纳720 人的无柱大宴会厅及刚刚翻新的3 间面积大小不同的多功能厅和8 间会议室，可举办各类豪华宴会并为商界精英客人们提供完备的会议服务。另外，值得一提的还有位于酒店30 层的水疗中心，大落地窗装潢，奢华尽显，入夜时仿佛置身黄浦江之上，客人可在此尽享浦江风情。
除硬件设备外，上海凯宾斯基大酒店在软实力上亦不可小觑，尤其是服务方面。于此，霍威先生显得很自豪，他道，120 年来，凯宾斯基酒店集团的服务体系不断被完善，上海凯宾斯基大酒店更是完美的继承了凯宾斯基的服务精神，每个人的脑海里都深深刻着服务两个大字。整个酒店团队上下齐心，以服务为本，从容淡定的迎接每一个挑战，全力以赴的照顾好每一个客人，经营好每一家餐厅，大家用一个个真诚的微笑，一缕缕热情的目光迎接每一位客人，期望让每一位客人都感受到家的温暖。以如此精神服务于客人，酒店入住率日益高涨自是必然。
最后，被问及上海凯宾斯基大酒店未来发展的时候，霍威先生充满自信道，近期，上海凯宾斯基大酒店通过强化商务和旅游这两大板块，已经看到了前所未有的增量。随着全方位服务设施和项目的引入、餐饮及厨师推陈出新，上海凯宾斯基大酒店已踏入高速发展阶段。于此，大酒店传媒深有同感，120 年凯宾斯基酒店集团的底蕴加上酒店自身完善的服务体系以及霍威先生带领下的酒店团队的辛勤付出，我们完全有理由相信，上海凯宾斯基大酒店已步入黄金时代！
This journalist has long heard that the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai boasts an extraordinary occupancy rate, and mob scene is a familiar sight at its justly famous restaurants: the crayfish and hairy crabs available here are culinary delights highly regarded in the hotel industry. Recently, much to his excitement, he had a chance to interview Mr. Hollweg, the General Manager of the luxury hotel at the heart of the Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone, to discover what makes it so special.
Looking out of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the room, you’ll see the sweeping views of the mighty Huangpu River and the throng of high-rises that shape Shanghai’s breathtaking skyline. Sitting opposite, Mr. Hollweg looked graceful and stylish like a man that had just stepped out of an oil painting. In his decades of experience in the hotel industry, several of them being executive positions in various Kempinski hotels in Germany, Spain and in Sanya in south China, he has worked around the world including in Germany, France, Spain, the US, Thailand and China. Last year, buoyed by his rich experience, Mr. Hollweg came to Shanghai, hoping to fuel the development of the service sector of the city, and particularly, that of the dynamic Lujiazui area, with his innovative ideas. Under his outstanding management, the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai has made a great leap forward.
For the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai, 2017 is a fruitful, successful year in terms of its performance, which has exceeded all the targets it has been assigned. Amazingly, all its guest rooms and restaurants have registered sold-out success. At the same time, this year also marked the 120th anniversary of the Kempinski Hotel Group. As a high-end member of the Kempinski Hotels in the Lujiazui area, the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai has graced the celebration of the anniversary with its exceptional achievement.
When asked about the much sought-after F&B service of the hotel, Mr. Hollweg gave him an inspiring reply. It turns out that the hotel has four restaurants and two bars, namely Elements Restaurant, Acqua Italian restaurant, Albero Spanish restaurant, Suntime Century Chinese Restaurant, Red Passion Bar on the 30th floor that overlooks the Huangpu River and the magnificent lobby bar. Among them, Elements Restaurant presents the distinctive features of the Kempinski Hotels and provides food from around the world. Having grown out of a restaurant, the Kempinski Hotels boasts its unrivalled 120 years’ experience, which has set the Elements Restaurant apart from others in terms of the taste of the food and the service standards. The Acqua Italian restaurant, presided by an Italian chef, offers authentic Italian food while the Albero Spanish Restaurant delivers quintessential Spanish gourmet experience. The Elements Restaurant offers a variety of seasonal delights at its buffet, e.g, crayfish and hairy crab; the recipes are an innovative improvement of the originals that combine the traditional and the international flavors and has won diners’ unanimous approval. And better yet, the restaurants are operated with a typical European strictness, a quality that has guaranteed the excellence of both the food and the service. It is no wonder that the restaurants have won such high popularity and so many return guests.
In addition, thanks to the increase of the occupancy rate, every morning the restaurants were so crowded with breakfast eaters that there were not enough seats available. To solve this dilemma, the hotel has opened the Acqua Italian restaurant on the Level 2 as a comfortable alternative venue to accommodate some of the guests alongside the Elements restaurant on the Level 1. The small change has instantly addressed the problem and has reaped thumbs-up from numerous guests—the journalist counted himself among them.
Mr. Hollweg is equally savvy to the other aspects of the hotel: it has a total of 686 rooms and suites with unique features. The guests staying here can enjoy the soothing view of the Huangpu River and the glamour of Lujiazui, and feast their eyes on the European-style grand spiral staircase. The executive floors, however, afford ideal private space. In terms of meeting facilities, the hotel has a grand, pillar-less ballroom to seat 720 people, three newly refurbished multi-function halls in different sizes and eight meeting rooms to host a variety of deluxe banquets and to provide sound meeting service for elite guests. The spa center on the 30th floor is equipped with large, luxurious floor-to-ceiling windows. Guests can admire the night view of the Huangpu River as if they were cruising on it.
In addition to its infrastructure, the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai is also noteworthy in its soft power, especially in terms of its service. While talking about this, Mr. Hollweg proudly said that over the past 120 years, the service system of the Kempinski Hotels has kept improving. The Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai is continuing on this fine tradition, and service is in the DNA of each and every team member. From the management to the grassroots, all the team members pour out their hearts to make their service perfect. They are braced for all challenges, ready at the service of each guest and well versed in the operation of each restaurant. They greet each guest with sincere smile and friendly eye contact to make every guest feel the warmth of home. Such quality service has naturally translated into the hotel’s high occupancy rate.
Finally, when asked about the future development of the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai, Mr. Hollweg said with full confidence that it had recently attached more attention to business travelers and tourists, a market that has shown unprecedented growth momentum. With the benefit of the new service facilities and projects, new catering service and newly-recruited chefs, the Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai has geared itself to a track of rapid growth. The media department of the hotel cannot agree with this more. Given the 120 years’ rich heritage of the hotel group, the impeccable service system in Shanghai and the team’s commitment under Mr. Hollweg’s leadership, we have every reason to believe that the hotel has entered its golden age.
