As the General Manager at the Hilton Shanghai, Volkmar Ruebel is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Hilton's first China property and arguably the most bustling hotel lobby for guests and business professionals in Puxi.
Volkmar has been with the Hilton organization for 42 years and has collected extensive experience in hospitality management. With 40 years in Asian locations like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, he has opened seven different five-star outlets in the region.
Prior to his posting in Shanghai, he worked with the Hilton Tokyo Bay for 7 years, a property that achieved the highest revenue among its competitors at the time and became the most successful hotel within Hilton.
He joined the Hilton Shanghai in 1995 and has seen many changes of this city as well as the growth of the property progressing and participating actively with the city.
We recently asked him about how his great experience assists him in his running of the Hilton Shanghai.
What are some of the changes you have implemented since taking the reins at Hilton Shanghai?
Well, first of all, I do not rein the Hilton nor the people, I am serving the team. Talking about changes, I have seen almost everything being changed here at the Hilton Shanghai, all the way from hardware, business mix, to the company philosophy. Today even being the first five-star hotel in town back in 1988, we have up-to-date technology, the finest Spa, state-of-art banquet facilities at the Top of the Hilton, a motivated and committed team, and a proud team with strong culture and services.
The lobby area of your hotel is one of the busiest hotel lobbies in Shanghai. What makes this so and how do you create atmosphere in the lobby?
The lobby in our hotel is one of the traditional lobbies in Shanghai, which is, unlike the other hotel lobbies, where you step into an office block. The Hilton Shanghai is a purpose-built hotel and the lobby reflects this.
Of course, our lobby has something special and created the feeling that is typical to traditional hotels with a long history. It gives a cozy and pleasant atmosphere – furniture is inviting, music soothing, services good, food quality is high and we serve at all times the best coffees, teas, and pastries – all of these build up the atmosphere.
In addition, perhaps because we were the largest hotel and are now the second largest hotel in Shanghai, the lobby, being the center of the hotel, is where people gravitate, go in and out. Naturally, with 720 rooms on top, people tend to meet at the ground floor, which brings life and activity and if properly managed, makes the lobby inviting, lovely, and interesting.
How does Hilton Shanghai differentiate itself from other top-level hotels in Shanghai?
Being the first five-star hotel in Shanghai, we have maintained consistency of the team over the years. Consequently, there is in great depth of knowledge and experience, being professional and reliable, and we further built so much confidence in our customers that they return upon their future visits.
Over 60% of our guests are returnees and they are our loyal clients over years. As I said, one of the primary attributes is the consistency of the team, and the strength that comes from long services. Our team members treat guests like friends and important people as they recognize them and guests are happy when they are back.
On top of that, we have maintained the hotel in very good shape. We have the highest technology that satisfies guests and caters to their needs and requirements in today's business environment, including wireless and high speed Internet access.
In 2006, what types of changes in the hotel do you expect to make?
In 2006 the hotel will continue to grow. As a matter of fact, we started to build our first batch of mock-up rooms and in 2006 the hotel will launch an extensive renovation programme including all guestrooms from top to bottom to create Guestroom Of The Future with state-of-the-art facilities, designed by the world renowned interior design company Wilson and Associates.
In addition, the hotel will be revitalizing the F and B outlets, e.g. Atrium, Lobby, Top of the Hilton, including banquet function rooms, planned to be starting before the end of 2006.
What are some of the challenges to operating a hospitality business in Shanghai and China?
Consistency. Guests expect to get highest quality services at all times regardless of difficulties or obstacles you may have. And this can only be completely achieved/guaranteed by consistency of services and flexibility to adapt, which by concerted efforts of the team can help the property stay ahead in an ever changing business environment.
Bottom line is that the hotel is putting the clients first. We need to remain focused on them and maintain this to be the first priority, which should be understood by all team members throughout the organization.
What type of training and incentives do you offer your staff?
Hilton probably has the most vigorous and diversified programmes within the hotel industry in the world in terms of training. Our team members have an average 60+ hours of training per year in various disciplines, e.g. guest satisfaction, motivation, skills, behavior, etc. In addition, they have opportunities to participate in the Hilton University which offers 350 on-line training courses in general knowledge as well as specific professional skills supported by on-the-job training intensified with career training classes throughout the year.
As far as incentives are concerned, we pay general bonus based on hotel performance each year, along with some independent rewarding policies, to ensure team members are motivated, periodically or continuously; e.g. programmes compensating in employee service satisfaction, revenue generation, sales incentive, even learnings, etc.
Hilton recently signed a worldwide deal with Formula One racing. How will this impact the hotel's operations in the coming years?
By tradition, Hilton is very forward thinking as Formula One is supporting and assisting our sports marketing. This allows us to join other F1 racing sponsors/forces in order for us to become dominated on the F1 challenge. In the meantime, this is well in line with our being the exclusive sponsor of Tennis Masters Cup (TMC), family hotel and the official major caterer to the event.
In 2005 the Hilton Shanghai provided outside catering services for both F1 Grandstand of 2,500 persons per day and 16,000 persons at the TMC stadium. All are to the entire satisfaction of organizers/sponsors and the reputation allows us to be partnering with the sports marketing in the years to come.
If a traveler only has 24 hours to stay in Shanghai, how do you suggest they spend their time?
Well, if you stay at the Hilton, you do not need to bother to go anywhere else as you can appreciate the sightseeing from our Top of The Hilton.
Seriously, of course, you will wish to see the Bund; besides, the Shanghai Museum is a must. If you want to get a feeling of the life, optimism, and future in the air, you may visit Huaihai Road, Nanjing Road, or Xintiandi. You can also see Pudong where skyscrapers are there to get a feeling of Shanghai, which indeed represents the progress China has made over the years.
If you could offer a rookie some advice about how to succeed in the global hospitality sector, what advice would you give?
Passion! Passion!! Passion!!! With Passion, everything else follows. If you do not have passion for the hotel industry, e.g. the service, quality, people – being exceptional our business needs commitment, not merely relying on contribution, you better do something else.