HMA talks with Kosmopolito Hotels' newly appointed president Winnie Chiu.

 

One of the main challenges is human resources. To this end, KHI believes in investing in the right people for the right job, offering the right remuneration packages both tangible and non-tangible and most importantly, making our associates feel that they are part of a ‘growing family’ with a ‘voice’.

In six months’ time, we will have in place our own Central Reservation System and this will allow us to further leverage on a stronger distribution platform and strengthen our presence in the market place by addressing the market needs in real time and being more receptive to the ever-constant changing travelling trends. With this in place, we will then roll out a group wide loyalty programme. 

As a relatively new player in the industry, it is crucial for us at this point to ensure a strong brand position statement in the market place and so  we are consistently driving home the message of an 'Asian inspired experience' when guests stay at any of our hotels, regardless of the hotel brands and location where we operate. 

We are also pursuing strategic partnerships with key industry players such as with major airlines etc and will be carrying out consumer surveys to identify our strength, consumer behaviour, sentiments and trends.  We recognise the growing importance of branding, to ensure consistency of product and service against customer expectations and as a growing company, we are prepared to invest in the marketing and technology platforms that can support such a strategy, 

 

Currently KHI owns and manages 17 hotels in Hong Kong, China and Malaysia. Another seven hotels are scheduled to open within the next few years.  Next year will see the opening of the Dorsett Regency Hotel Kwun Tong, Hong Kong and Dorsett Regency Hotel Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong; Dorsett Regency Hotel Zhongshan and Dorsett Regency Hotel Chengdu in China.  The Dorsett Regency Hotel Singapore is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2013 whereas the Dorsett Regency Hotel London, United Kingdom is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2015.  In addition, we will be opening another two hotels in Malaysia.

 

We believe that the future promises rising demand from fast-growing Asian populations and as such, KHI is constantly looking at opportunities to further penetrate into these areas.  We aim to expand our portfolio either by building properties from scratch or taking over abandoned buildings, buy hotels that are not performing well, and turn around the properties by strategising on our key brands, and also study the feasibility of hotel management contract in the near future to boost the group's income.

 

There are four brands under KHI umbrella and these are the “Boutique Series by Kosmopolito”, “Grand Dorsett”, “Dorsett Regency Hotels & Resorts” and the value-led “Silka Hotels”.  

Our brands cater for different market segments such as the hotels under the 'Boutique Series by Kosmopolito' which offers a collection of upscale individually charming hotels that embody the best offerings of the Kosmopolito brand.  Each one has its own individual characteristic that would appeal to both the leisure and business market and at the same time offer all the modern day conveniences which would assist the busy travellers in their day-to-day business. 

 

Finally, what are the three key things a hotel needs to be successful in your opinion?
First, it is the quality of service that will inevitably make the difference to business success and we totally believe in investing in retaining the right people for the right job.

Second, promise of delivery of service.  It is obvious that service rather than price is what drives most customers to return to the places they have come to know and trust. Hence it is imperative for us to live up to our reputation of delivering an Asian inspired experience for all our customers and to achieve this; investment in continuous training and development is on our top-most priority list. Third, flexibility and the ability to evolve with industry trends.