Gloria International Hotels have spread themselves throughout China with their four different brands. Heading the group's transformation is Willie K.H. Ooi, who has worked for Gloria for almost five years and is originally from Malaysia. As Senior Vice President, Ooi is propelling the brand beyond its humble beginnings to tackle new challenges in China.

How is Gloria positioning itself in the China hotel market?
Under the umbrella of Gloria International Hotels, we basically manage four different brands, namely Gloria Grand, Gloria Plaza, Gloria Inn and Gloria Resort.

Our Gloria Plaza Hotels have been positioned to cater more for the domestic mid-range business travelers and meeting groups due to our good location. However, at certain Gloria Plaza Hotels, we have seen an increase in international arrivals overtaking our traditional domestic markets.

On the other hand, our Gloria Inns are well-positioned to meet the lesser demands from cost-conscious domestic travelers by providing clean and comfortable accommodation.

Our more diversified Gloria Resort products range from the 5-star Gloria Resort and the 4-star Cactus Resort, both in Sanya, to a smaller 3-star Gloria Holiday Villas in Qinhuangdao. However, all three resorts cater specifically to both the leisure and meeting segments, with focus on the domestic travelers as well. At the same time, we have also recently opened our first 5-star Gloria Grand in Haikou and have on the books, another two Gloria Grand Hotels to open within the next 16 - 24 months.

What sort of changes have you implemented since taking over in your new position?
The first major change was implementation of an E-CRM policy and culture amongst our group of hotels. The software was jointly developed with an IT company in Beijing and included sales management, cross-selling and our frequent guest recognition and rewards Gloria Partner Program.

Secondly, a "Guest Service Center" at all Gloria International Hotels and Resorts focusing on our customers was also implemented. This was very much needed to raise the service level at our hotels by making it easier for our in-house guests. At the same time, this reduced pressure of handling telephone enquiries via the Front Desk, resulting in better service being extended to guests on a face-to-face basis at the reception counter.

What difficulties do you see in branding the various Gloria products and how will you overcome them?
Having four different brands carrying the Gloria name comes with a lot of challenges as guests who have experienced our 5-star product expect a similar experience and welcome at our smaller 3-star products as well.

Our strategy over the next few years would be to focus on the high-end product carrying Gloria's brand and the low-end products carrying a different brand name.

What are some challenges to operating in China?
Human resources would be the single biggest challenge facing operating hotels in China today. This is due partly to the booming development and opening of new hotels all over China today. The lack of qualified staff coupled with the high staff turnover has forced our hotel group to embark on more innovative and creative ways to secure and retain our workforce.

For the above reasons, we have embarked on more practical and ambitious programs to retain staff through motivation, incentives and career development. This has resulted in reduced staff turnover rate and improved employee satisfaction level at most of our hotels.

How does Gloria train and re-train its staff?
We currently have a Group Training Center overseeing the various training programs for hotels. Over the last six months, we have been conducting non-stop training for our hotels' management and staff.

For management training, this year we sent management staff with potential to Dusit Thani College, Thailand with lecturers from SHATEC and Temasek Polytechnic Singapore.

We are currently finalizing a hospitality education program with an overseas hotel school to provide on-going training courses for our staff and a "Train-the-Trainer" program. This would ensure that we will have a pool of trainers to roll out specific training programs across our hotels into the future.

What was the best advice you received when starting out in this industry, and what advice could you give to others just beginning their journey in the hospitality sector?
Many years ago when starting out in this industry, I was told that one has to be service-oriented and love meeting people. Whilst this is true, it is not sufficient to sustain one's journey in the hospitality industry. I still believe in the three words my late sister told me: Adaptability, Passion and Compassionate!

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