How to treat the internationalization and localization of hotel talents

All along, both local brand hotels and international brand hotels are facing the problems of "localization" and "internationalization". Local brand hotels hope to introduce international management and talents to build international brands ... while international brand hotels hope to better integrate into the China market, realize product localization and service localization, and attract more local guests. ...

How to give full play to their respective advantages, realize the organic combination of internationalization and localization, and achieve "globalization of thinking and localization of action" is a problem that both local brand hotels and international brand hotels need to face. Although the road ahead is bumpy, risky and the integration process is complicated, all hotels are moving towards this goal, which also brings great opportunities and challenges to the growing hotel people in China. As a China hotelier who grew up in an international brand hotel, Mr. Zhu Xiaogang, Marketing Management Director of Accor Hotels Group in Greater China, has a deeper understanding of "localization" and "internationalization". Recently, Mr. Zhu Xiaogang was a guest in the column of "West Lake Forum" in Maidian. And shared his experience on this topic with us.

Local hoteliers are playing an increasingly important role.

Maidian. You are a local hotelier and an executive in an international hotel group. Now more and more local hoteliers are working in international hotel brands, and their positions are getting higher and higher. Does this mean that the quality and level of local hoteliers in China have been greatly improved? Will local hotel talents occupy an increasingly important position in the future?

Zhu Xiaogang: You can say that, and you should say that. Compared with when I entered the business, this change is earth-shaking. Nowadays, many hoteliers say that they are local hoteliers, but they are actually a mixture, and many of them came back from studying abroad. They already have some practical experience in international hotel management.

Times are changing, so China people have certainly developed, and many local hoteliers have made remarkable achievements in international hotel groups. It's just that some groups have a faster localization speed, and some groups have a shorter time to enter China, which may be slower. Accor is also making active efforts in this regard. Let me take Sofitel as an example. The general manager of Sofitel Xiaoshan Hangzhou and Sofitel Zhongshan Nanjing Golf Hotel are both from China. As for the executives of brands like Pullman, Novotel and Mercure, there are even more people from China. Indeed, China people are playing an increasingly important role in international hotel groups.

Maidian. Com: So from the group's point of view, do they want local hoteliers in China to grow up?

Zhu Xiaogang: I think so. First, the hotel group and local guests can reach a * * * understanding, and local hotel people can better understand the needs of domestic guests, so as to better meet their needs. In addition, it is also an effective control and beneficial to the operation and expansion of the group, whether it is the cost of human resources or other aspects.

Maidian. Com: Can this also speed up the localization process of this hotel?

Zhu Xiaogang: Yes, but localization is not as fast as possible. Pulling out seedlings encourages growth. Because the premise of localization is that although people have changed from foreigners to China people, it cannot be said that changing people from China has transformed all previous practices. The operation and development of international brand hotels have their own core competitiveness and advantages. The change of personnel will not change the quality requirements and standard setting of management and service. [FS:PAGE] Both local hotels and international talents need to be adjusted and changed.

Maidian. Com: Although most senior professional managers working in international hotel groups will choose international hotel groups when they change jobs, many still choose domestic hotels. With the development and perfection of domestic hotel groups, will this trend become more and more obvious? Will more and more senior professional managers of international hotel groups join domestic hotel groups?

Zhu Xiaogang: I think that although international hotel groups have started to develop in China, it does not necessarily mean that hoteliers working for these international hotel groups will turn to domestic hotel groups more. Domestic hotel groups, I think these hoteliers with international background are in great need, but the need is on the one hand, but it is also a question whether the platform of domestic hotel groups has been built well. In other words, you have to plant a plane tree before the phoenix will come, so have you planted a plane tree? Is it planted orally, or is it really planted? Has anyone taken good care of it after planting it? Or do you think that the phoenix tree will take root and sprout smoothly after it comes, and everything will naturally develop smoothly?

I want to talk about the system. First, hotel groups of state-owned enterprises have many innate characteristics of state-owned enterprises, and whether these innate characteristics can be digested and absorbed by executives transferred from international hotels is a challenge. Some people can accept it and turn around smoothly, while others can't because they are used to a certain way of working. The second type, private hotel group, has a flexible system, but there may be a problem of cronyism or meritocracy, which leads to the problem of trust. In addition, can airborne troops with international brand hotel background effectively deal with the encirclement formed intentionally or unintentionally by veterans who fought with their bosses? If a general manager is hired, but the general manager has no power on many issues, this person will naturally lose after a period of time. This problem is not uncommon.

Some companies told me that I can't recruit talents at such a high salary, with an annual salary of one or two million. I said you can definitely hire someone, but the question is how long can you work after you hire someone? Please come for two months and then leave. If one person is like this and two people are like this, then the question comes, whether the buttonwood tree has been planted or just a flower shelf.

Therefore, if professional managers of international brand hotels want to choose domestic hotels, they must first adjust their mentality. If they are used to the high-flying atmosphere of some foreign companies and everything is too step-by-step, some domestic hotels may have adaptability problems. After adjusting our mentality, we should try to accept their culture. You may be able to get off work at six or seven o'clock in an international brand hotel, and it will be your private time after work. Foreigners respect your personal time very much. The owner of a domestic hotel doesn't talk to you about many things in the office, because he has some customers to coordinate with the government and may have to deal with it very late. His schedule is different from yours. Why don't you have an early meeting at 8: 30 in the morning on time? He may not go to work until 12: 30. When he is refreshed at six or seven in the evening, it is the time when you are tired at the end of the day. At this time, if the boss wants to talk to you about work (maybe in the form of drinking and playing mahjong), what will you do? Therefore, it is a very realistic question whether international hotel people can adjust their mentality. Second, on the other hand, the system of private enterprises and state-owned enterprises should also be adjusted, and international hotel operators should be respected. This is a blend of two cultures. For example, if I hit a board, I'm sure it's fifty boards on each side, and both sides should be adjusted. Just like getting married. Our living habits are different, so we can form a family.

Maidian. Com: But now many domestic hotel groups think that professional managers of international brand hotels may not be suitable for domestic groups, so they still prefer to train themselves.

Zhu Xiaogang: I don't think it can be concluded that it is difficult for international hotel people to adapt to you, because you never want to adapt to others, you just want others to change. This mentality is like hoping that your wife will become another person after marriage. I think there is something wrong with such a husband. So I think we should change the two aspects mentioned just now. It is true that you expect them to change, but you must change yourself.

If the talents of domestic hotel groups are trained entirely by themselves, they may be able to do so in the present small scale, but if they want to become bigger and stronger, or go abroad in the future, what should they do or train themselves? Therefore, I admire Mr. Liu Chuanzhi, chairman of Lenovo's board of directors, because both domestic senior professional managers and real international professional managers-CEO from IBM can manage well and live in peace. This is what we need to learn. We can't simply say that professional managers are in a bad mood and often jump ship and are unfamiliar. You are always unfamiliar. Is there something wrong with your breeding method? [FS:PAGE] The industry tends to develop rationally.

Maidian. Com: In your opinion, how has the hotel industry in China changed and developed over the years?

Zhu Xiaogang: This is a big problem. I can only talk from my personal feelings. I use three key words to represent the three stages.

The first keyword is: quality. In the early stage of the development of China hotel industry, with the entry of a number of international hotels, the former government and state-owned hotels realized the loss of tourists, so since the 1990s, everyone has been trying their best to grasp the quality. The first is the quality of hardware. The newly opened hotel is resplendent and magnificent, regardless of the background of state-owned enterprises or private enterprises. The second is the quality of service. Everyone is learning from the international community. They are quoting five laws and six horses, and they all want to arm themselves to the teeth. This change stage of improving quality is still in progress, and this change is very big.

The second key word is quantity. With the adjustment of China's industrial structure, the rapid development of real estate in the middle and late 1990s also promoted the development of commercial real estate including hotel industry. In the past, hotel investors did everything, including wineries and pharmaceutical factories. With the sudden emergence of the real estate industry, behind the scenes of a large number of hotel construction, real estate developers are pushing. Moreover, the number of hotels has soared, and in many cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou and other cities, there has been a serious problem of oversupply of hotels. Short-term market growth and demand growth cannot digest these increases in supply. Therefore, the change of quantity has brought the pressure of operation and the deterioration of direct operating environment to many hotels in China.

The third keyword: positioning. I think this change in orientation has just begun. The qualitative change began in the 1990s, and the quantitative change began at the beginning of this century. I think the next step is the change of hotel positioning, which is my prediction. In the past period of time, I have observed that newly opened hotels all over the country are pursuing luxury. No matter the county, the provincial capital and the capital, the invested hotels are pursuing high-grade and luxury. I think many hotels want Berry Bros. & Rudd and cigars, but how many consumers smoke cigars in China? How many people come to taste red wine every night? Faced with such a limited consumer group, when can the cost of investment be recovered? This trend reflects the unclear orientation of the owners for their hotel investment. Now we have gradually begun to see that hotel investment tends to be rational, and more and more owners realize that hotel investment and construction should be guided by clear market positioning.

Maidian. Com: Will the financial crisis bring about great changes in the hotel industry? Whether it is overheated investment, or positioning and mentality, will it have a great impact?

Zhu Xiaogang: Sure. It is learned that many projects originally scheduled to open on 20 10 and 20 1 1 were postponed due to the financial crisis, but they were not cancelled. Because the land has been requisitioned and the building is under construction, it is impossible to say no, but pushing back 20 12, 20 13 until the market is better will affect it. The second impact is the evacuation of hotels, such as the W Hotel in Shanghai, which has now changed from a hotel to a commercial real estate. These are the effects of the financial crisis. However, there is a very special phenomenon in China, that is, the background of some hotel investments does not rely solely on the rate of return of a single hotel project, but relies on it to drive the income or profits of other projects. In this case, it may be another matter.

Maidian. Com: But even in the financial crisis, there are not only Accor, but also some other international brand hotels, and there are many plans to open stores in China in the future.

Zhu Xiaogang: There is no doubt that the hotel will still open. In the market or region that is relatively less affected now, if the owner sees a project worth investing, he will still invest, but it may have to be pushed back. Moreover, the investment location should be chosen. There may be some overheated places, and everyone will try to avoid them. There may be more opportunities in second-and third-tier cities in the future.

At the same time, Accor's rapid growth in China is also closely related to some of our advantages and characteristics: Accor is one of the world-class hotel groups, but there are still differences among major international hotel groups. My feeling is that Accor has an obvious advantage, that is, it is more flexible: Accor has its own strong and comprehensive management system and standards, but it can also understand and meet the values, principles and needs of owners in different cities and hotels. Compared with other first-line hotel management companies, Accor is more considerate of the actual needs of the owners and the actual situation of the project, and tries its best to cooperate sincerely with them. Accor's reputation in this field is still very good, and this feature has also helped Accor increase the number of hotels in the past three years.

Maidian. Com: Will Accor focus on the second and third lines in the future?

Zhu Xiaogang: I wouldn't say that it is particularly biased towards the second and third lines, because Accor has many layouts in the second and third lines. The advantage of our entry into second-and third-tier cities is that the brand distribution is very comprehensive and we can choose to use different brands to enter. Like Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, you can use Ibis to enter. Like Wuxi, there are not many international brand hotels now, so we signed the Pullman hotel project, so Accor has been more flexible in second-and third-tier cities. Similarly, we are also carefully evaluating Shanghai and Beijing. If there are good projects, we will not hesitate. For example, our development department has just signed three high-star hotels in Shanghai, which are located in Zhangjiang High-tech Park, Shanghai Railway Station South Station and Zhabei District. This development speed is still quite amazing, which also shows that we are still optimistic about Shanghai.