IHG’s soon-to-be-launched brand, expressly designed for the Chinese traveller, promises to respond to their core needs both as professionals and individuals.
“We recognised a clear opportunity for that kind of brand proposition – based on true Chinese consumer insight that reflects their rising affluence and success,” Keith Barr, IHG chief executive officer for Greater China told Business Traveller on the sidelines of the 2011 HICAP conference in Hong Kong that provides a significant platform for investors, developers and hotel players to discuss the hospitality industry's next big step.
Traditionally, Barr observed, international hotel companies rolled out their brands throughout the country, setting up operations that mainly followed global policies. IHG decided to change the gameplan, starting late last year when it engaged Chinese customers in discussion to gain insights into their travel and lifestyle preferences and patterns. "We wanted to start with a clean sheet of paper. We wanted to see what they needed and wanted, why, and see how we could deliver what they were currently getting, in a different way."
The results, which will be implemented in several hotel projects to be announced early next year, will revolve around aspects such as F&B offerings – "the heart and soul of the Chinese community", said Barr, "as food connects friends, family and business partners" – and the lobby, which research showed sometimes convinced or dissuaded clients from patronising a certain property. The style in which guests would be greeted, he added, would also notably change. "How to recognise government officials and VIP guests as well as regular guests, making sure each is accorded a sense of importance and acknowledging them for who they are... our efforts will be to understand the changes they are going through in their lives and enable them to be successful."
China's major hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are expected to receive properties under IHG's new Chinese brand, and so will secondary and tertiary cities "because that's where the future growth is", said Barr. Then, the brand will be brought out of the country, possibly starting in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok, then in time, to longer-haul points such as New York and London. The step is a logical one, following ever-increasing projections of an explosion in the Chinese outbound market.
According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the Chinese are currently the world's fourth largest tourism spenders.
For more details of IHG, visit www.ihg.com
Margie T Logarta
