Maintaining Renaissance's Uniqueness In Shanghai

The Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel's Michael Malik is one of the youngest general managers in Marriott International. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Malik now calls Singapore home while his career has spanned Marriott properties throughout China.

There are so many hotels in Shanghai, especially new hotels in the rapidly developing Pudong District. As the Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel is located near the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum and Shanghai's New International Expo Center, what do you view as your hotel's target sources of customers?
Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel is located in the southeastern fringe of the Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone and is close to many important land marks including: The Shanghai New International Expo Center, Oriental Art Center, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone and Jinqiao Export Processing Zone. Our core customers are travelers from multinational companies based in these areas. And of course during Exhibition time its travelers coming to attend Expo.

How does Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel differentiate itself from the other hotels and different brands around the area, especially in MICE sector?
The tagline of "Uniquely Renaissance" demands that our staff should constantly churn out fresh ideas to keep things fresh for our customers. The Hotel is located in dynamic Pudong with easy access to Shanghai's most popular destinations. The richly appointed 1,100-square-meter grand ballroom is the perfect place for meetings, banquets and business activities. We provide a variety of theme breaks to refresh our guests. Choose your favorite color, festive idea, specific cuisine, or let us tailor-make a theme for you. Our team of professional chefs will prepare delectable dishes for your guests to enjoy during their meeting break.

The Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel has very distinctive interior design features with authentic Shanghai elements, what kind of comments and feedbacks have your guests given you?
The design story plays an important role in making the Renaissance experience especially since it inspires all-embracing aesthetics and therefore creates a distinctive look and a unique signature for the hotel. The story is designed to be a journey of discovery. In the hotel, the details which help to launch the mind's journey are the artwork, accessories, furniture, colors, lighting, uniforms, graphics ect. A lot of customers tell us that they like the unique experience of the "In Search of Shanghai" theme in the hotel. Travelers can enjoy discovering design elements by themselves, which allows them have a fantastic experience staying in the hotel.

You are the youngest general manager in Marriott International, what is your unique viewpoint and experience in the operation and management of hotels?
I think we have to know how we approach our customers and try our best to meet their requests. The management should strive to set a personal example for all; also they need to give full play to our staff's enthusiasm. Mr. Marriott's belief is – "if we care for our associates, they will be able to take care of our guests". As a professional hotel management company our mission is to continuously improve our service quality and to make all of our customers satisfied.

What have been some of the challenges since you became general manager of the hotel in 2007 and how do you deal with them?
I think the biggest challenge is that market competition in the hotel industry is becoming fiercer. In our neighborhood there are already two competitor hotels nearby. To maintain the hotels' competitiveness, we need to try our best to figure out what our customers want and to meet all of their needs. Also we need to fully maximize the business opportunities by using Marriott's tools & channels.

What new plans does your hotel have for the MICE sector for 2008?
We always keep good relationship with event organizers. We can always get updated information about what our customers want and prepare for them immediately and in advance. Also our brand new Food and Beverage team is here to serve. David Burley, the Director of Food and Beverage from England, Marc Grebot, the Executive chef from France, Chong Ching Sau, the Chinese Executive Chef from HK all combine into a very strong team able to meet customer needs and special requests.

What corporate social responsibility programs do you currently have and how do you implement them?
Of course, the Marriott group has always had great enthusiasm for charity events. The core value of Marriott is "Spirit to Serve". We always send gifts and goodwill to the communities around We participate in the "Safe Kids China" program and annually hold a "Marriott Charity Golf Day" with our sister hotels to raise money and awareness of fire and burn prevention in schools around Shanghai. Besides that, we work with "Operation Smile", which is a non-profit organization working to treat facial deformities in Children. The program offers employees at the hotel an opportunity to donate 1 RMB, or any portion of their salary, on behalf of the charity on a monthly basis.

With increasing numbers of tourists and company bookers looking for hotel discount information through websites, how does your hotel use email marketing and the Internet to strengthen its online operation?
Our customers can book rooms in the hotel through the Marriott hotel website which links to GDS and travel websites. Besides that, we also send out an E-flyer of our hotel's promotional information to our customers through Xianzai every month.

How does your hotel cooperate with other tourism related departments?
We have a good relationship with the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission and use the tools provided by them to assist guests inquiring about places to see or where to go. Also we keep a good cooperative relationship with lots of large-scale travel websites such as Ctrip and eLong. So it's really easy for the customers to book a room; and all Marriott hotels worldwide have identical pricing.

What changes do you think will appear in Shanghai's hotel industry during the Olympic year?
In my opinion, Shanghai will benefit a lot from the Olympic year. More and more people will come to China in 2008, not only to Beijing but also Shanghai. We should take advantage of this and let more people see the great development of Shanghai and Shanghai's Tourism Industry.