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走近酒店培训大师
——裕景大饭店驻店经理曾金成先生一席谈
Approaching Richard Chan,
Hotel Training Expert
-Resident Manager
Talks About The Eton Hotel, Shanghai
文/Story:小蕾
摄影/Photo:Linda
Strategically situated in the
heart of Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone in Pudong, The Eton
Hotel, Shanghai has established itself quite a reputation since its
grand opening on 1 March, 2007, and market responses are warm and
enthusiastic. The platinum location allows you to reach the Bund,
Yu Garden, Xintiandi and other local tourist or entertainment
hotspots in 10 to 20 minutes by car.
The hotel is invested and
managed by The Eton Group, offering 462 luxuriously appointed
guestrooms and suites that face the stunning views of the city or
along the River. Bathroom shows the ingenuity of the designer, with
separate bath and shower to meet different needs. The unique and
spacious atrium adds an extra dimension to this exquisite hotel,
providing an ideal retreat for guests to meet and talk, thus
avoiding the discomfort of receiving visitors in one’s own room or
additional expenses arising from treating them in the Lobby Café.
A full range of facilities, including the conference centre,
Executive Floor and Grand Ballroom which can accommodate up to 500
guests, are equipped to cater for business travelers and tourists.
A member of WORLDHOTELS deluxe collection, The Eton Hotel, Shanghai
is your ultimate choice.
The hotel’s success lies in
the joint effort of all Eton people. While the impression of Paul
Gill the General Manager who has received our interview not long
before is still fresh and vivid in your memory, you are going to
meet this time Eton’s Resident Manager, Richard Chan, a seasoned
training expert well known in the hospitality trade. Holder of an
MBA from the University of Leicester and of several certificates in
hotel management, Richard has acquired rich managerial knowledge
and extensive experience from actual practices over the past 18
years, including serving as the Program Director, Rooms (Front
Office Operation, Housekeeping Operation) of the Shangri-La
Academy, as well as partaking in pre-opening work in different
Asian locations and a couple of other new projects initiated by
Shangri-La and other companies. In 1999, as a project member, he
assisted Shangri-La Hotel Beijing to become the first hotel in
China to pass the authentication of ISO14001. Aside from the
Shangri-La Group, Richard had also worked for other leading
international hotels such as The Westin Stamford, Holiday Inn and
Mandarin Singapore. Prior to his appointment at the Shangri-La
Academy, he served as the Director of Rooms Division of the Howard
Johnson Ginwa Plaza Xi’an, responsible for the implementation of
internal procedures and formulating job descriptions for more than
100 staff who attended 354 rooms. He had also worked with hotels in
Vietnam and Malaysia.
What changes will this seasoned
hotelier bring to The Eton Hotel, Shanghai? Sitting before us was a
warm, jolly gentleman who had been radiant with smiles during the
one-hour-plus conversation, which made him quite accessible. Facing
Eton’s achievements over the past four months and praise from
fellow hoteliers of The Eton Hotel, Shanghai as “great”, Richard
gladly told us: “They are speaking in praise of us. We don’t have
a central location and have opened only four months. It delighted
us in having accomplished so much. However, there’re still a lot
to improve. What is even more important than excellent hotel
features which lay a good foundation for an international hotel is
that we should follow the trend in continuously improving service
quality, lifting level of service, which will enable Eton to stand
out from a multitude of hotels. I guess that is why the hotel needs
someone like me.”
Each hotel has its own distinct
style; Richard has his own way of managing hotel
staff.
First, clear division of labour
with individual responsibility. People treat you like a
distinguished guest the moment you step into the hotel. You’re
greeted by the Bellboy with a broad smile who kindly opens the
door, rescued instantly by an attendant standing by to take over
your heavy luggage, and guided by a warm-hearted guest relation
officer to where you ought to go. Whenever you need help, a staff
turns up and delivers quality service. Everyone is in motion to
fulfill his/her responsibility, and in an orderly
manner.
Secondly, emphasis on staff
training. The Eton Hotel, Shanghai is new, so is its staff, many of
whom are without prior experience and generally considered an
inconvenience to the management. Richard did not share this view,
thinking that new staff is prone to study even harder, due to their
lack of relevant experience, and thus has more space for shaping
and reshaping. This is the good point, while the bad point is that
new staff makes mistakes too easily. Richard suggested handling it
with tolerance and encouragement.
“There is no such thing as
absolute perfection in this world. Similarly, a staff, especially a
new one, can’t avoid mistakes. When they do make a mistake, I
always assure them with encouragement, pointing out what is wrong
so that they’d never repeat it. From staff’s viewpoint, fear of
being scolded is just natural, and blame will keep their spirit low
for a whole day, which accordingly affects their attitude towards
guests. Hotel staff faces guests directly and frequently. I hope
that each of Eton’s guests feels ‘Oh, I’m in the right place!
People here are enthusiastic, healthy and happy, and service
attentive. Next time I’m going to stay at Eton again.’
”
Richard treats staff with
tolerance without being indulgent, helping them grow with
encouragement but not reproach. His insight and outstanding vision
are the outcomes of extensive experience acquired in managing
people.
Thirdly, establishing a sound
working mechanism. As the Resident Manager, Richard takes care of
Rooms, Front Office, Food & Beverage, Engineering, Security and
other departments, and we can see him virtually everywhere, walking
around to check out if everything is in order, and solve the
problems in time if problems occur. This is also an attempt to
build an amicable relationship with the staff. As a “parent”,
Richard tends to serve as a role model for the staff who would take
his effort to heart, and learn from each other as well as from him
for self improvement. Only in this way can the hotel make unceasing
progress in servicing guests.
That The Eton Hotel, Shanghai
is in healthy development is obvious to all. In order to sustain
the development, the hotel has left big space for the staff to
grow, giving each of them a 3-month intensive training in a diverse
range of subjects, from the proficiency of the English language and
the skills to serve to the basic rules and regulations in the
hospitality industry, before they formally face the customers to
ensure that the best service can be delivered. Eton has built a
broad platform for outstanding staff members to play their ability
to the full, promoting them to higher positions so that they would
stay and grow with the hotel.
Intensifying market
competitions brought in both challenges and opportunities,
according to Richard. The metropolitan Shanghai has lured a growing
number of investors to come in and set up business. Facing the
World Expo 2010 and a booming hotel market, Eton should place heavy
emphasis on self-improvement, raising the level of service and
improving in hardware and software to attract customers. The Eton
brand is strengthening its presence, and the brand’s flagship
hotel in China, The Eton Hotel, Shanghai, has laid a solid
foundation for the future openings in other Chinese cities such as
Beijing, Dalian, Shenzhen and Xiamen.
In his private life, Richard
likes hanging out with friends or watching films. He thinks it is
vital to balance work and life, and a good and thorough rest could
help restore the energy for a hectic work day. Nature and sports
are effective in relieving the tension accumulated in work and
revitalizing you.
For the future, Richard
envisioned a hotel of his own, not necessarily a big one, but
somewhere clean and tidy, cozy and inviting, making guests feel
right at home. His love of the hotel industry is self-evident; no
wonder people say “Do what you love.”
Every visit to The Eton Hotel,
Shanghai revealed something new to us. With a devoted manager as
Richard Chan who willingly shares his extensive managerial
experience, the hotel’s potential is beyond limit. You’re sure to
agree with us, as long as you pay more visits to The Eton Hotel,
Shanghai, and blurt out with “535, Pudong Avenue” next time when
you’re enquired by a taxi driver.