Four Seasons Beijing, the city’s newest corporate address (see previous news), is using the new 72-hour visa free stay for transit visitors to Beijing to offer a special stay and experience package. The benefits include two nights' in a deluxe category room, a round-trip airport transfer and a city explore programme, and is priced from RMB7,400 (US$1,176).
The visa policy (see news) came into effect on January 1 as part of China's ongoing efforts to boost its hospitality and aviation industries. In Beijing, which has seen a rapid influx of hotels due to the 2008 Summer Olympics, competition for the visitor dollar continues to be intense. The 313-room Four Seasons is the latest deluxe player to have come on the scene, with the Mandarin Oriental – whose opening was delayed by a disastrous Chinese New Year fire – being scheduled to debut in 2014.
Despite a higher profile in North America and smaller presence in Asia, the new hotel, according to general manager Sanjiv Hulugalle, sees Chinese guests making up "about 70 per cent of our market mix", with the rest coming from the US and around Asia. He added that they were enjoying patronage from regional hubs such as Shanghai, Chongqing and the like. Business for their events and F&B outlets is "90 per cent domestic" said Hulugalle – a Four Seasons veteran of 18 years.
He attributed Chinese corporate clients' familiarity with the brand to "their frequent travels and knowing who provided high service standards", adding that "the Beijing market is a very mature one".
Going beyond offering the basics – such as congee for breakfast and Mandarin-speaking frontliners – to this demanding clientele, Four Seasons Beijing make sure room mattresses are firm, "which is what they like", Hulugalle observed, and that the flat-screen TVs and technology are also state of the art. "Those details are really important to them."
What should really appeal to high flyers is the presidential suite, dubbed the Imperial Suite, that takes up the entire 27th floor, and features its own balcony, as well as the helipad (Four Seasons Beijing is one of two hotels in the city to have one) for those exclusive arrivals and departures.
For more about the hotel, visit www.fourseasons.com
Margie T Logarta
