Highlighting MICE Facilities In China

China Hospital News reader Dong Jie is general manager of Beijing Blue Power Conference Exhibition Design and Beijing Wuhuan Tengfei Travel Agency. Dong’s company mainly specializes in meetings, with outbound business activities as a minor part of their business.

Are there any standards for your company in selecting hotels and MICE destinations? Is the hotel brand a major factor affecting your decision?
Our selection standards for hotels include the height of the meeting venue and whether there is any barrier in the room. Besides, we value hotel’s soft services and their work efficiency. We don’t think a lot about hotel brand when making a decision.

Which hotels do you usually choose for your MICE activities?
Beijing: China World Hotel, Grand Hyatt Beijing, and Shangri-La Kerry Centre Hotel. Shanghai: Pudong Shangri-La Shanghai, Le Royal Meridien Shanghai, The Portman Ritz Carlton Shanghai, and the Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Center. Sanya: Sheraton Sanya Resort and Crowne Plaza Hotel Sanya.

Which hotels impress you most in China and why?
Sofitel Wanda Beijing, Le Royal Meridien Shanghai, and Crowne Plaza Hotel Sanya have impressed me most with their guest-friendly service and unique design.

Which cities do you usually choose for your MICE events?
Beijing, Shanghai, Sanya, Xi’an, Chengdu, and Dalian.

Which companies have you cooperated with and at which hotels have you held your events?
We’ve cooperated with Huawei, Motorola, the Chinese Medical Association, and State Grid, and we’ve held our events at Grand Millennium Beijing, China World Hotel, Shangri-La Kerry Centre Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel Beijing, and Grand Hyatt Beijing.

What problems have you encountered when using hotel products and services? What would like to say to hotel general managers and sales directors?
The problem we often meet when using a hotel product or service is that we can’t find the precise person to help solve a problem when we are in trouble. What I want to say to the general managers is that they’d better have discussions with meeting companies if the event involves coordination between different departments and advise if the person in charge is not available and his/her cell phone does not answer, who is the second person to help solve the problem. For the sales director, he or she should know clearly what each of their subordinates have promised to the client.

What do you think of China Hospitality News and its website? Which departments interest you most?
I am very familiar with China Hospital News and its websites. I’m interested in Hotel News most. I hope you can add one more section in the Hotel department commenting on a hotel’s MICE facilities to let us directly know about those facilities so that we won’t make some wrong choices. On hotel’s meeting rooms: some hotels didn’t give much consideration to the function of their meeting facilities. With the development of MICE services, the demand for meeting venue is higher and higher. For example, the booker will consider the meeting room’s height; its sound-proofing; the pillars in the meeting room; the distance between the decor lamps and the floor; the meeting room lighting and audio-video equipment power; whether things can be hung from the ceiling; the lighting circuits; whether they have a simultaneous interpretation system and booths, the size of the stage; and the color of their tablecloths and desks. This is the basic information that a booker needs to know about a hotel’s MICE facilities. Demands for meetings vary. If a hotel can position their MICE facilities according to their own hardware condition, it is helpful for their sales person when selling their products. There will be demand for MICE facilities classification, professionalism and function, so I hope that you will add one such column in your Hotel department.