Kempinski Introduces Its "Lady In Red" Brand To Beijing

Recently Kempinski Hotels held a brand promotion meeting in Beijing at which Reto Wittwer, the president and CEO of Kempinksi Hotels, reviewed the history of the group, as well as outlining its future plans to the attendees.

Brand History
In 1864, Berthold Kempinski, founder of the Kempinski brand, and his brother set up an inn called M. Kempinski & Co, which later grew into a restaurant that provided both accommodation and food services. In 1897, Hotel Betriebs-Aktiengesellschaft was established as the forerunner of today's Kempinski. Today, Kempinski has grown from a family business into a global group. It is the most established European luxury hotel brand and has made "hoteliers since 1897" its logo. It is also the only hotel group that does not use "hotel and resort" in its logo.

Reto Wittwer stated that as a European hotel brand with over one hundred years' history, Kempinski has never strayed from its European roots. Just like luxury watch, bag, clothes, and car brands from Europe, Kempinski provides a luxury European experience to guests. Focussing on portfolio growth, especially in emerging markets, at an immense pace led the group to refine the Kempinski brand, looking to its European roots and hospitality traditions. Not only does the group emphasize its development strategy on adding properties in key European cities to its portfolio, but Kempinski has also evolved into a brand that offers a combination of European finesse but at the same time safeguarding each hotel's individuality.

At present, there are 60 Kempinski hotels around the world, each representing the culture and uniqueness of their own region. By 2012, there will be 44 more projects opened across the world. There are now a total of ten Kempinski hotels in China. In addition Kempinski China also manages the Kempinski Ulan Bator in Mongolia. It is estimated that by 2012 there will be about 20 Kempinski hotels in China.

Latest Development Trends
At the meeting, Wittwer also outlined the latest developments for Kempinski. In the present economic climate, an increasing number of hotel management groups in China are paying more attention to e-marketing and Kempinski has just launched. The group introduced several initiatives that it sells via its website. One of the initiatives is ‘on line booking' bonus where guest who books via the group's website enjoys a credit which can use for consumption in the hotels. Some Kempinski hotels offer a free upgrade if a guest books online. Individual hotels are also encouraged to put some of their advertising budget into e-marketing to target their customers directly.

Wittwer introduced The Lady in Red, Kempinski's concierge concept, which, he said, brings a refreshing feeling to guests and is a new measure that Kempinksi has taken to increase its brand awareness. The Lady in Red is easily recognized by guests and is a common theme across Kempinski Hotels, a European presence in all properties, with small modifications in dress to respect the local customs. As Kempinski's First Lady and ambassador, the Lady in Red personifies the European character and customized service immediately associated with Kempinski Hotels. The Lady in Red will be present in the lobby of each hotel, and will provide guidance to guests, while at the same time taking note of their preferences. For guests that are in town for the first time, The Lady in Red will have advice regarding sightseeing and popular restaurants according to the guests' needs.

Providing Value-added Service Is The Trend
In reply to a question from China Hospitality News as to how Kempinski works to ensure service quality under the current economic situation when the whole hospitality industry is cutting prices to attract guests, Wittwer stated that hotel managers should look at the current difficulties caused by the financial crisis in a far-sighted manner. If the price is reduced, the service quality will be downgraded accordingly. This will harm the guests and leave them with a bad impression. Even after the economic situation improves, it will be hard to undo this negative impression, and in the long-run the hotel will lose guests. In addition, it is unfair to loyal guests if a traditional European hotel brand chooses to reduce price, so Kempinski won't do this. Wittwer said that he believed that the worse the economic situation, the more work the group should do to improve its service quality and price structure, and provide value-added services. He said this suits the long-term trend.

Due to global economic crisis, the Chinese meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions market had shown a new pattern in 2009 and, in particular, the number of cross-region meetings is getting smaller. Bobby Ong, Kempinski's regional VP for sales and marketing in China, said he believed that a positive aspect of the global economic crisis is that the majority of meetings are being held within China. This has a positive impact for Kempinski hotels in China since the majority of their hotels are in secondary cities, and this suits the needs and requirements of meeting, incentive travel, conventions, and exhibition clients. The revenue might be lower but in crucial times such as this, the group will go after volume. The group is flexible with its rates to suit the budgets of its clients. Amongst its hotels in China, they cross sell each other and staff are trained to ask their clients for future business for their hotels.

At present, MICE buyers, both in China and globally attach great importance to the green meetings and protecting the environment. Ong said that Kempinski can accommodate the needs of their clients who place importance in ensuring that their meetings are ‘green'. This includes reusing paper within the same meeting by using both sides, by using drinking glasses and water jugs instead of using bottled water, and making use of natural light during meetings to avoid using electric lights.