Roles Exchanged, Passion Inexhaustible

角色转换，激情依然

上海扬子江万丽大酒店总经理马立祺专访《大酒店》主编李嬿

 

Interview: Rauf Malik     Story: Clara / Yan / Cherry Li    Photo: Olive Zhu

Venue: Presidential Suite, Renaissance Yangtze Shanghai Hotel

 

  

As a publication targeting luxury hotel consumers, Grand Hotels magazine has interviewed a good many hotel general managers in the hope that readers can have a better understanding of their interested hotels. A substantial dialogue, as a rule, always features an eloquent interviewee, who invariably has a great sense of humor, and a capable interviewer, Ms. Cherry Li in this case, who plays a decisive behind-the-scene role. It is known to all that our Editor-in-Chief has devoted wholeheartedly to the interviews, every one of which is the fruit of her painstaking labor. This time, however, the interviewer and the interviewed switched roles in a dialogue inspired by Mr. Rauf Malik, the innovative commander of the Renaissance Yangtze Shanghai Hotel who always comes up with new ideas. Having been interviewed by Cherry for more than once, Mr. Malik took the stance of an average reader and brought to us an inspirational dialogue in the hope that we could learn more of the woman behind the successful Grand Hotels interviews.

 

Cherry Li (Cherry): Quality is my life. As an old hotel employee for many years, I have a deep love toward hotel people and hotel culture, and would like to work with the hospitality industry for the rest of my life. Grand Hotels offers a platform for luxury hotels to show themselves to consumers. It fills me with joy and passion, not as the service agent of certain hotel, but the representative of all luxury hotels.

 

Cherry: First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to hotel executives like you. Without your support and cooperation, we couldn’t have serviced our readers with the latest hotel news and information. It is the capable people we seek to work with; otherwise we cannot develop quickly and smoothly. We hope to cover in each issue hotels of various characteristics and located in different areas so that our magazine can satisfy consumers of all types. I select materials from the perspective of a reader rather than that of its chief editor.

 

Cherry: I would have a thorough understanding of the interviewee beforehand, making myself like him/her and taking him/her as a friend. In the mean time, I would also consult some loyal readers, to see what questions a consumer would like to ask. In short, I would make ample preparations and devote myself to the interview, in which I’d strive to shorten the distance with the interviewed, to build a mutual trust so that it can move forward in an easy and relaxed atmosphere. I enjoy the process enormously.

 

Cherry: Thank you very much. We’ll work harder in the future. I feel very lucky to have such a good team who has supported me not a little, and the readers have done the same, too. For example, our loyal reader Randy, a sourcing expert, has spent his leisure time in trying various hotel restaurants, at his own cost! He would then write down how he feels about the dining experience after each meal, and send it to us. What he has been doing prompted us to start a special column—Randy’s Mailbox—this April. It is now one of our most popular columns.

 

Cherry: I never stop learning. I love reading Cosmo, a well-known fashion magazine, and hope Grand Hotels could be the Cosmo in the hospitality industry some day—authoritative, representative and international. And I am working strenuously with my team to achieve the goal.

 

Cherry: You can see the growth of a city and a country in the development of the hotels. In the future, a growing number of deluxe hotels will launch not only major cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, but also second- and third-tier Chinese cities, and this is instrumental in balancing the quality and quantity of lodging properties. Only when a city is in constant progress can the demand for hotels increase, and the hospitality trade will accordingly grow bigger and stronger.

 

Cherry: This question touched my heart. I often wonder what I would be like if I haven’t met Mr. Richard Hodges who brought me to the center of the hotel arena in the first place and gave me enough room to play my ability to the full; Mr. Stephen C.T. Hsu who set an example for me that getting along with people well paved the way for one’s success; Mr. Philippe Caretti whose eagerness to “win” has impressed me all along; and you, Mr. Rauf Malik who is now sitting face to face with me. All of you have helped me greatly. You are the one who give us support and drive us forward. You bring me to the realization that a good commander is the soul of a hotel. By making the best of everything, you have achieved satisfactory results, and won the heart of your guests, partners and associates.