David Sproul is the general manager of the Marco Polo Parkside, Beijing Hotel, and he is tasked with operating a five star hotel in the capital city preparing for the Olympic Games.

How do you and Marco Polo Parkside Beijing see Beijing expanding after the Olympics is finished?
With the Olympic facilities being utilized for other purposes, for example as exhibition centers, conference centers, or leisure and entertainment venues there will be many opportunities for the continued growth of the hospitality industry in Beijing.

Why should business professionals choose your hotel as a venue instead of others in the area?
The hotel has multilingual staff and multilingual audio visual facilities and it offers every comfort of a five star operation to meet and surpass the expectations of our guests.

How do you plan to expand your use of email marketing and online advertising to target important MICE decision makers?
By offering new and exiting activity and culture based packages to our bookers and our agents.

What types of preparations are your properties making for the 2008 Beijing Olympics?
The hotel intends to present the best face of China by offering many additional facilities tailored to the requirements of our overseas guests who will stay at the hotel and attend the events at the stadium.

What type of corporate social responsibility programs do you currently have and how do you promote those to the public?
Our green and environmentally friendly program encourages all of our guests and our hotel associates to minimize the use of chemicals in all areas of the hotel, and particularly in housekeeping.

What is your current position in the market and how do you differentiate yourself from other hotels?
With more than thirty years in the China hospitality industry Marco Polo is well aware of the needs of the local business community and overseas travelers.

What will be your focus in terms of hotel's revenue per available room?
Good value, service and accommodation at a five star competitive rate to meet the budgets of our target markets.

What would you like to recommend to that hotel booker if their colleague could only stay in Beijing for three days for business trip?
Book a hotel at a competitive rate near your place of business as traffic can be time consuming in the capital.

Are there any spots in Asian games village area for great entertainment that you could suggest travelers after a long day's work?
Being new to the area I am still trying to locate suitable leisure and entertainment venues for myself. In the future and will be more than happy to share the information based on my own findings, with our guests.