Beijing, January 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the 2015 Asia-Pacific New Hotel Brands Franchise & Chain Bamboo Conference, co-hosted by the Asia-Pacific Hotel Preparatory Alliance, Asia-Pacific Hotel Dream Factory, Hotel Professional Managers Magazine, and co-organized by numerous institutions including the Shandong Provincial Tourism Hotel Association, Chengdu Tourism Hotel Association, Jinan University Hotel Management College, International Royal Gold Butler Professional Organization, and Jinhe International Hotel Management College, was grandly held on January 18, 2015, at the JiaHui Ramada Plaza Shanghai.
Brands such as M Home, Philosopher, Hidden, X2, Flower Inn, Vienna, and Bomei won the Golden Bamboo Award
On the morning of January 18, the 2015 Asia-Pacific New Hotel Brands Franchise & Chain Bamboo Conference opened grandly. Mr. He Zhuanglong, Lifetime Chairman of Hotel Professional Managers Magazine and President of the Shandong Provincial Tourism Hotel Association, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. In his address, Mr. He Zhuanglong said: "After the development of the hotel industry in 2013 and 2014, we have encountered many new situations and challenges, which can be summarized as three 'news.' The first is the 'new normal,' corresponding to the new normal of our country's economic development; the second is the 'new state,' where our management, models, staff morale, and revenue have all undergone changes; the third is the 'new model.' In the face of challenges, only by adapting can we survive; otherwise, the hotel industry will face reshuffling, and every hotel will encounter new crises."
Subsequently, Ms. Yuan Xueya, Chief Consulting Officer of Shanghai Starxing Hotel Management Consulting Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote speech titled "Diverse Genes Forming a New Industry Ecosystem." Ms. Yuan Xueya not only analyzed the new ecosystem of the hotel industry from various 'diverse genes' such as international hotel management groups, domestic hotel management groups, Chinese real estate developers, IT backgrounds, artistic youths, media professionals, and capital players, but also offered valuable insights on how hotels under these diverse genes can face the future, considering the relationship between capital markets and the real economy, profit and responsibility, tools and products, lines and points, amateur performers and professional actors, brands and value, as well as short-term gains and sustainable development.
During the brand presentations, Mr. Chen Gang, COO of M Home Community Hotel, as the first brand speaker, briefly introduced the concept of M Home Community Hotel and elaborated on how to create the M Home brand from both the perspective of professional managers and user needs. Regarding how the M Home Community Hotel product will be launched to the market in the future, Mr. Chen Gang said he would ask himself four questions when designing the product: First, who is the product for? Second, what do they like?ofThird, how can the hotel product make money? Fourth, how can the hotel continue to make money? On this, Mr. Chen Gang explained: "My answer is that brand advantages must lead the competition while maintaining high cost-performance. First, the product must surpass competitors, and for guests, it should still offer high value for money. If there are two competing businesses nearby, my guests will choose me because of the better cost-performance. In the future, as an M Home Community Hotel, it will never stray from its roots; it will always be a community hotel. Going forward, it will showcase shared and win-win opportunities of large community hubs, ultimately forming the concept of a community."
Ms. Hu Xiaoying, General Manager of the Tourism Real Estate Division at E-House China Holdings Limited, a panel commentator, commented on the M Home Community Hotel brand presentation: "We feel that although this hotel is positioned with community attributes, those attributes are not very clearly demonstrated in the overall product. Whether in pricing or hotel decor style, it may become a major competitor to boutique hotels in the future. How to highlight greater advantages in terms of attributes is something both future franchisees and promoters among the public must pay close attention to." Mr. Qian Li, Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Zhe Travel Hotel Management Group, expressed concern: "First, there's uncertainty in the revenue within the business model, with an average room rate of 170 and 85% occupancy required for all stores; second, there are concerns about property—although the rent is said to be 3.5 RMB, it may still have an impact." Mr. Zhang Jingbang, President of Junyu Hotel Management Group, believes: "If the community moves toward elderly care services based on the M Home model, there is also a chance. But the so-called average room rate and occupancy might be higher." Mr. Zhao Huanyan, Chief Knowledge Officer of Horwath HTL, analyzed the two major factors for brand success from both commonality and uniqueness: external factors and internal factors. External factors are timing and location; internal factors mean the new brand must either have money or talent.
Mr. Xu Qihong, Co-founder and COO of Philosopher Hotel Group, delivered a brand presentation on the "Philosopher Boutique Hotel." Mr. Xu Qihong first briefly introduced the Philosopher Hotel Management Group: offering high-cost-performance accommodation experiences and star-level services, aiming to become a leading brand in Chinese artisan-style hotels. He then introduced the three major brand series of the Philosopher Hotel Group: the chain brand leading the philosophy of intelligent living—Tanghe·Yashe brand, the light art brand dedicated to the young and fashionable crowd—Tangfeng Art Hotel brand, and the intelligent application-focused Philosopher brand. Mr. Xu Qihong said: "The value of the Philosopher brand includes, first, the consumer group for apartment-style hotels. One is the trend-setting hotel for the post-80s and post-90s, another is the cultural and artistic themed hotel. Third is the apartment-style hotel, which offers very spacious spaces ranging from 35-120 square meters with comprehensive facilities. Fourth is the application of smart technology." Finally, Mr. Xu Qihong outlined the brand advantages of Philosopher: product innovation, smart technology application, carefully selected properties, butler-style service, scale effect, and global channels. He hopes to draw attention to the apartment-style hotel category through the debut of Philosopher.
Panel commentator Mr. Cai Shuo, Vice President of Regent International Hotels China, believes that the customer base for apartment-style hotels differs from that of traditional hotels. He also noted that every hotel has its own style, and unclear positioning could impact future development. Mr. Sun Yixing, General Manager of Hebei Tianbao Investment Co., Ltd., pointed out: "No matter the hotel type, quality is the fundamental factor for competitive success. By quality, I mean not just hardware and software, but mainly service. Regardless of level, type, or category, the ultimate product of any hotel is service." Mr. Shan Ping, Founder of International Royal Gold Butler Organization, said: "As long as you can make money, you can do whatever you want. We hoteliers should learn from you—you’re all marketing experts."
Mr. Yang Shibing, Vice President of Hidden Group, presented the "Hidden World Hotel" brand to attendees. At the beginning of his speech, Mr. Yang Shibing mentioned that his positioning is not to run hotels but to operate a cultural and creative tourism company. Using hotels as a vehicle, lifestyle as the foundation, and top-level design to build a cultural and creative tourism group. Currently, the group mainly develops the Hidden series of hotels, including boutique hotels, resort villages, resort manors, and the independently launched homestay brand "Little Hidden" this year. Mr. Yang Shibing built several key segments within the hotel: one is the boutique hotel segment, the second is a health-focused dining brand, the third is a life aesthetics gallery. The target customer group of Hidden is very clear—the "four highs and two haves": high standards, high quality, high prestige, high income, with taste and sentiment—this is the group Hidden aims to serve.
Panel commentator Ms. Wu Juan, Founder of Lemei PR, believes that as consumer demands for hotels evolve, more needs will shift from merely satisfying basic accommodation to additional value-added services. Mr. Ye Wentian, a columnist for The New York Times Chinese edition and editorial board member of China Business Journal’s Shanghai bureau, shared two thoughts from a media perspective: one is the intense issue of homogenized competition, and the other is the impact of anti-corruption efforts over the past two years, leaving some government-dependent hotels struggling. Mr. Meng Qingde, Vice President of the Commercial Management Division at Zhifu Group, believes that in the mobile internet era, unique, stylish, and tasteful products are more likely to gain online popularity, making brand-building easier than before. He suggested using the "four highs and two haves" as a customer positioning for promotion, but in actual operations, targeting should focus on artistic youths and the grassroots.
During the conference, Mr. Huang Huixing, Senior Director of the Brand Management Center at Vienna Hotel Group, delivered a brand presentation. Mr. Huang Huixing first shared the six brands under the Vienna Group and provided detailed introductions to their future plans and positioning. Mr. Huang expressed hope that through closer cooperation and collaboration within the hotel management company, the national hotel brand could develop rapidly.
Panel commentator Mr. Wang Qiang, Operations Director of BTG Homeinns Hotels Management Co., Ltd., questioned the three stages of brand development and suggested that national brands must endure solitude and focus on development for a few more years. Mr. Li Yong, Chief Trainer at Jinhe International Hotel Management College, acknowledged its development in Central China but believed Vienna still needed to pay attention to its business model and brand chain strategy. Mr. He Zhuanglong, President of the Shandong Provincial Tourism Hotel Association, first praised the current achievements of the Vienna Group and offered development suggestions, hoping it could better adapt to the new normal of the hotel industry. Mr. Tan Weiqi, Vice President of Hunan Dahan Group and General Manager of Dahan Cultural Tourism Group, stated: "There are many successful experiences here, as well as painful lessons. I am also transforming and need more cooperative models and partners. I believe multi-brand collaboration may be our direction in the future."
In the afternoon of the 18th, Mr. Xia Binbin, Vice President of Asia Boutique Hotel Group Greater China, delivered a brand presentation on the X2 Boutique Hotel. Mr. Xia Binbin first briefly introduced the opening status and design team of X2 Boutique Hotel. He believes good design and service concepts can ultimately come together seamlessly. He cited boutique hotels in Thailand as examples, highlighting their ingenious water area designs, and pointed out that reasonable pricing, authentic Thai therapists, affordable prices, and natural Thai spa products—these three selling points combined with a boutique hotel—create a certain quality of X2 lifestyle fashion. Finally, Mr. Xia Binbin expressed hope in finding suitable partners in China. X2 does not mean large-scale expansion in China; he hopes one store can appear in a major city within the next two years.
Panel commentator Ms. Yuan Xueya, Chief Consulting Officer of Beijing Starxing Hotel Management Consulting Co., Ltd., believes: "This brand is worth promoting for vacation destinations in China, and the Thai design team’s understanding and interpretation of vacation brands are very thorough and perfect, with excellent cost-performance, much cheaper than Chinese teams." Mr. Zhao Yudong, General Manager of Beijing Media Center Co., Ltd., strongly agreed with Mr. Xia Binbin’s logo-free approach in both design and execution. Ms. Yang Ling, General Manager of Hong Kong Cloud Return Media Group Co., Ltd., said: "I’m very happy to see such a boutique brand come to China, and it was spoken about very well. The design process pays more attention to local preferences, meaning what domestic guests would like."
Next, Mr. Lü Shaochang, Founder of Cloud Hidden Hotel, gave a brand presentation on "Cloud Hidden Oriental." Mr. Lü Shaochang proposed: Creativity + Design + Operations + Capital = Creative Hotel Cultural Industry. Its brand strategy plan is "Cloud Hidden Oriental," an oriental lifestyle aesthetics hotel that embodies warmth in our lives, explores cultural connotations, refines creative cores, and interprets aesthetics in our daily lives. Mr. Lü Shaochang believes the best creativity always stems from a deep love for life. What is the best design? The best design originates from positioning design aesthetics. The best operations serve all human connections. The best investment is investing in oneself and in people whose lives are improving and have stories to tell.
Panel commentator Ms. Li Yici, Deputy General Manager of Henan Tiandi Hotel Management Co., offered suggestions: "Chinese consumers need to be cultivated. An elegant woman must be nurtured by a gentleman, but for the future \L丝 or tycoons in the hotel industry, or industry insiders, I hope we enter this industry from different sectors, cultivate the industry, ultimately cultivate humanity, and then cultivate humanity’s answers to life." Mr. Zhang Zhiquan, Vice Dean of Jinan University Hotel Management College, shared two thoughts from an evaluation perspective: "It should be a combination of visibility, reputation, behavior, and loyalty. This combination is viewed from the consumer’s perspective—we very much hope to gain recognition from the target customer group, but whether that recognition is possible involves many factors." Mr. Li Xiaopeng, Engineering Director of CTS Hotels Management Co., Ltd., believes: "The brand, design, product, consumer, and service personnel must ultimately be connected by logical relationships. First, we must understand the needs of market consumers, and ultimately our creativity and service procedures can integrate well, resulting in a product that earns consumer approval."
The final brand witnessing the power of new brands—Mr. Wang Dezhi, Vice President of East China Region for Bomei Hotel Group, delivered the last brand presentation. Mr. Wang Dezhi first introduced several brands under his group. Bomei Hotel Management Co., Ltd. has gone public and has formed a strong alliance with Asia Boutique Hotel Group. It currently plans to establish headquarters in three regions: Chiang Mai, Thailand; Shanghai, China; and Shijiazhuang, China. The currently operating Shijiazhuang Bomei Boutique Hotel aims to offer guests a uniquely different choice.
Panel commentator Ms. Zhang Qing, Dean of the Tourism College at Shandong Youth Political College, believes boutique hotels represent a new leap for the hotel industry. Boutique hotels have surpassed accommodation functions, competition, and even brand-building—they may have even surpassed tourism activities themselves. From the perspective of Mr. Yang Weiquan, President of Canada Concord Hotel Management Consultants China, the concept design is clear, the theme is clear, and nowadays consumers care less about accommodation needs and more about "experience." Mr. Ju Weiping, President of Beijing Paires Hotel Management Consultants Co., Ltd., said: "Our hotels are not for everyone. They are for a specific segment. Of course, you can create brand tiers at different levels. But when initially building, progress should be steady—don’t spread too thin or try to turn all customers into your own."
After the seven brand presentations, Mr. Cheng Yong, President of Beijing Zijing Information Technology Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote speech on "Hotel Points Sharing." Mr. Cheng Yong believes: "After the 'Eight Regulations,' everyone has been transforming—from serving the government to serving society, shifting to market-oriented marketing. During this transformation, some difficulties have been encountered. Standalone hotels struggle with membership development, have low direct room sales rates, and if a hotel has a loyalty program, its attractiveness is lower compared to larger chain brands." He also introduced the alliance’s benefits for hotel members and a win-win cooperation model, then used specific cases to describe the e-commerce platform included in the interconnected system. By building the platform to better serve the hotel industry, and leveraging big data for precise marketing in hospitality.
Mr. Liu Jincai, Founder of Green Leaf Roaming Network, delivered a keynote speech on "Building China’s Hotel Friendly Alliance Online Platform." Mr. Liu Jincai said: "We position the Roaming Network as a cross-industry idle service point exchange platform—that is, not only including hotels but also golf courses, scenic spots, RVs, cruise ships, postal stations, and other professionally managed, standardized service providers. Any idle resources can be traded on this platform." He believes: "When platforms cooperate with enterprises, money isn’t always necessary. Although money is essential, many steps here don’t require cash—just the exchange of services and service rights."
Ms. Li Yici, Vice President of Henan Tiandi Hotel Management Co., as the host moderator, led a brainstorming session on the themes "Looking Ahead to the Next 10 Years of the Hotel Industry" and "Platform Thinking for Hotel Brands." Panel guests included Mr. Zhao Huanyan, Chief Knowledge Officer of Horwath HTL, Mr. Shan Ping, Founder of International Royal Gold Butler, Mr. Zhang Jingbang, President of Junyu Hotel Management Group, Mr. Cai Shuo, Vice President of Regent International Hotels China, Mr. Qian Li, Vice President of Zhejiang Zhe Travel Hotel Management Group, and Mr. Li Yong, Chief Trainer of Jinhe International Hotel Management College. Ms. Li Yici introduced the first topic, "Looking Ahead to the Next 10 Years of the Hotel Industry," drawing from her personal experience choosing cosmetics. Mr. Zhao Huanyan believes the past decade in China’s hotel industry was a competition of hardware, while the next decade should be a competition of software. Mr. Shan Ping stated that hotels need to return to their essence. Mr. Zhang Jingbang, comparing data from 2013,2014, and 2015, observed a rapid decline in the five-star market and called for the establishment of a trading platform and better asset disposal. Mr. Cai Shuo said: "In the next ten years of the hotel market, opportunities exist—it depends on whether you’ve planned and built the hotels that the target market needs." Then, Ms. Li Yici used the example of buying a car to introduce the topic "Platform Thinking for Hotel Brands." Mr. Qian Li believes hotel management groups must balance expansion and management when building brands—branding should start with management, shifting from brand expansion to current brand management. Finally, Mr. Li Yong summarized with three keywords: brand, platform, bamboo.
At the end of the conference, a grand award ceremony for the Asia-Pacific Hotel Brand Golden Bamboo Awards was held. Mr. Zhao Huanyan, Chief Knowledge Officer of Horwath HTL, Ms. Yuan Xueya, Chief Consulting Officer of Shanghai Starxing Hotel Management Consulting Co., Ltd., Mr. Shan Ping, Founder of International Royal Gold Butler Organization, and Mr. Li Jianjun, Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Hotel Preparatory Alliance, presented the "2015 Asia-Pacific Hotel Brand Golden Bamboo Awards" to winning brands, including M Home Community Hotel, Philosopher Boutique Hotel, Hidden World, X2, Vienna Hotel, Flower Inn, and Bomei Boutique Hotel. Mr. Li Jianjun, Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Hotel Preparatory Alliance and President & Editor-in-Chief of Hotel Professional Managers Magazine, delivered the closing remarks. This forum provided a great platform for the gathering of nearly a hundred hotel industry elites, where everyone actively shared valuable experiences. We believe that in the brand-new 2015, new brands will rise like the bamboo forest theme of this conference—unyielding in adversity, growing steadily upward,and the next decade of the hotel industry will be even more brilliant.