Strengthening Ties To Hotel Guests And Local Chinese Communities

Reto Wittwer is president and CEO of Kempinski Hotels S.A. and is tasked with ensuring that the global luxury brand continues its fast growth in China.

What separates the Kempinski brand from other top hotel brands operating in China?
Kempinski marries the best luxury know-how with world-class unique hotel destinations. Top-tier travelers don't want a home away from home — they want unique destinations that break the monotony of standardized models.

Our people also make each of our locations in China special and different. Our main effort is to look at our staff beyond the C.V. and try to build a sustainable pool of talent that can provide our guests a memorable experience.

Finally, as with our newly opened Kempinski Suzhou, we find the best local partners and best locations to optimize value and services to our guests.

How is Kempinski planning to expand in China in the future and use its brand to reach out to Chinese communities?
Well, we are planning an entirely new hotel brand, separate from our Kempinski brand, for a chain of hotels that will operate only in China. As a multinational hotel company, we are the first company in this category to take this type of initiative. This move recognizes that the Chinese market is unique and we are forming our plans around the special needs of our Chinese guests. More information will be revealed soon!

Next, for community outreach to our guests and the community we are involved in many activities. After the recent earthquake, all our hotels in China spontaneously began donation drives. We have a great group of volunteers ready for anything and eager to use our hotel resources to help our local communities. This also helps to build brand equity and a stronger tie to our own human resources.