Managing The Horizon Resort On China's International Tourist Island

Thomas Sun, the general manager of the five-star Horizon Resort and Spa in Yalong Bay Sanya has 20 years experience in the hospitality industry. He shares his experience of working on Hainan — China's international tourist island.

What are your thoughts on the development of Sanya's hospitality market over the last ten years? And what do you foresee for the next ten years?
The rapid economic development of China has attracted world-renowned hotel brands to Sanya. In recent years, these brands have been competing to enter China, and set off a new round of "staking" campaigns. The development of tourism is rapid in Sanya, many hotel brands compete here. In becoming an international tourist city, the travel services of Sanya should arrive at a higher standard, and hotel services must be high quality. At the same time with the tourism market hotting up a large number of small-scale hotels are springing up. These non-star hotels have low operating costs. They do not hire permanent staff, they can close in the off-season and open in the busy season, they do not even put a small amount of investment into security systems, and so on. They attract many visitors with their low prices. Thus a non-star hotels are booming and the star hotels are in an embarrassing situation.

As a local hotel brand, what are the features of Horizon Resort & Spa?
Compared to international brand hotels, there are no uniform service standards for local hotels but each has its own characteristics. Located in Hainan Island, China's largest tropical island, Horizon Resort & Spa sits in the center of Sanya's Yalong Bay, which is known as the "Number One Bay in the World". Covering an area of 130,000 square meters, the hotel is adjacent to Yalong Bay Central Square and Yalong Bay Golf Club. With some 1,000 rooms, Horizon Resort & Spa is the most diversified resort hotel at Yalong Bay thanks to the special combination of the Hawaii-style Building I and the apartment-style Building II. The hotel provides a full set of necessities including teak floor, independent cloakroom, double basins, independent shower room, large bathtub with sea view, human-oriented adjustable lights, LED bedlight, high-density cotton bedding, and down quilt. Apartment suites are equipped with an open kitchen, microwave, washing machine and trendy furniture. All hotel rooms are equipped with computers with free broadband Internet access. There are more than ten restaurants in Horizon Resort & Spa, offering different flavors of food – Hainan, Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and northeast China cuisines…. In addition to authentic cuisines, the environment of each restaurant is different from the others: being luxurious, natural, romantic or exotic and so on. With delicacy, architectural beauty and natural beauty, Horizon Resort & Spa can meet all your expectations on delicacies and landscape with unique experience.

What experiences does your hotel offer your customers? What is the competitive edge of your hotel?
The Horizon Resort & Spa has the largest area, the largest number, and the most clean swimming pool of the hotels in Sanya. There are six swimming pools in the hotel's garden. The multi level fresh water swimming pool facilities use a state of the art ozone disinfectant system which can be found nowhere else in Hainan. The challenging rivulet is the longest in Yalong Bay, you can try swimming against the currents. There is the double swimming pool with three five-meter drop slides. Feel the complete excitement of the water slides specially designed to your utmost splashing!

At present, Hainan province is vigorously developing the construction of an international tourist island, what are your plans in this respect?
At first, the hotel's hardware is being updated. The hotel has renovated the rooms of the building Ⅰ to add more advanced, more intelligent devices. The second, the hotel has enhanced the service level, and offers a number of special arrangements for staff training in hotel management services, such as studying in Hong Kong and Switzerland. The third, the hotel has a unified specification language. The hotel gradually adjusted its identity, in Chinese and English, in the major public areas consistent with the wording and translation of Sanya. This will give the greatest convenience to the guests. The last, the hotel has taken steps to develop international markets. We pioneered the Russian market for packaged services, offering the total hotel portfolio at a fixed price.

What is your management philosophy?
Both the business and the individual must enhance sustainable development competitively through continuous learning! will always be our god, the Horizon Resort & Spa is always their home. better services to our guests and letting them feel at home, is our eternal pursuit. nowing how to judge and use people, and lplace each employee into the most suitable position.

China hospitality news's readers are mainly the key decision makers and buyers of domestic and international bookings for corporations, mice organizers, MICE travel agents, PCO etc. Many corporations like to hold events in Yalong Bay Sanya, an ideal MICE destination. What resources and benefits can your hotel to support your customers in terms of team-building? Please share a typical case with our readers.
The hotel has a capacity of more than thousand people and fifteen luxurious multifunctional halls, ranging from VIP meeting rooms, to lounges that can host a variety of meetings. State-of-the-art audio and visual equipment, lighting and sound systems, cater to the needs of professional conferences and business activities. The hotel has the unique self-powered devices. They ensure that we can restart all the power supply facilities within 10 seconds of a power failure, and any emergency will not affect your vacation or meeting. The hotel also has a large outdoor lawn space for large stage set ups. The hotel can provide multilingual translation services.

What is your special strategy to attract more bookers in terms of MICE?
The hotel will provide more value-added services to the guests who come to meetings or activities, such as free Internet, tea break and so on. the same time，according to their occupational characteristics, or specific requirements, the hotel will arrange for more entertainment for them apart from the meeting. They will enjoy the sunshine and the beach, and have a good holiday!

What education training and input do you offer to your staff and guests about environmental protection?
The hotel will be carrying out a series of activities jointly with the WWF, such as environmental protection, energy saving, and a low-carbon lifestyle. At the same time, employees will also increase environmental awareness, and take greater responsibility and obligations. We will also create more environmental activities such as posters in the hotel's public areas and rooms, calling on guests to join us in starting green living.