Living the dream

Free tai chi classes are offered to enrich the guests' experience, at which Daniel Chao (second from left) is a regular. Provided to China Daily

Hotel Profile | Beijing
General manager of Novotel Peace Beijing, Daniel Chao, first visited China 30 years ago and has realized his wish to return. Liu Weifeng reports

Daniel Chao dreamed of returning to China and pursuing his career here since he left in 1981, when he was a teenager.

'I told the human resources at Accor that I wanted to return to China and serve as general manager,' Chao says, recalling how he eventually got his China assignment after 11 years at Accor, the France-based hotel management giant that has a list of hotel brands, including Novotel and Sofitel, in its portfolio.

He worked in Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Guadeloupe, France, Malta and Tunisia before he came to China.

As general manager of Novotel Peace Beijing since April, 2008, Chao's mission is to upgrade all aspects in the hotel.

'When I look back at the past two years, I'm satisfied with what we've achieved, but I'm also frustrated by how much more we have to do.'

From booking rates to guest satisfaction, from service diversity to product quality, all aspects are noticeably better, according to Zhang Jun, the assistant general manger.
The greatest challenge for Chao is to make his hotel stand out among the other hotels in the capital city.

Located beside Jinyu Hutong and Jinbao Street, near the prosperous commercial Wangfujing area, the hotel competes with a wide variety of hotels.

'Make it different and give customers a reason to want to stay,' Chao says.

'I couldn't think of a better authentic way to add an extra dimension to enrich our guests' experience, than instituting a culture center,' he says.

The culture center gives free tai chi classes to customers, among other offerings, and Chao says he's a regular, attending every morning at 6 am from Tuesday to Friday.
Making a guest culture-affiliated and connected with the hotel is likely to result in repeat visits, he says.

In addition, since September, three cultural events have been held, attracting both guests and hotel staff members.

The first was a presentation about contemporary art given by two French authors. The second was a Traditional Chinese Medicine seminar, providing up-close learning and discussion of ancient oriental therapy.

The third event was a lecture and presentation by a photographer traveling around the world.

Chao, who grew up in Washington DC, in the United States, has a Chinese father and American mother. He went to Hefei University of Technology in the capital city of Anhui province from 1979 to 1981.

His father is an information technology expert and helped set up the microcomputer institute at the university, one of the earliest such institutes in China.

'My father was welcomed and met by the then vice-premier Fang Yi. We had a wonderful meeting and a photo taken,' Chao recalls.
After leaving China, Chao had little opportunity to speak Chinese and says he had to pick up his Chinese all over again. Now Chao speaks Mandarin in short sentences and gives concise speeches.
His criteria for an ideal employee are that they should be enthusiastic, interested in doing things and curious to learn.
He believes the ideal boss is somebody who gives people the freedom to express themselves, allows his team to enter new territory and make mistakes, and correct them.
He says the hospitality industry is 100 percent about people, both customers and employees. The general manager should know what the guest is looking for and what his team needs.
He says it is a paradox, but 'Everyone is different, and everyone is the same.'
'Everybody wants respect, wants to be listened to, to be appreciated. Everybody is looking for opportunity. But the way we communicate these desires and the way we express them are very different,' he adds.
He likes the 798 art zone and reading. He is currently reading two books, Small is the New Big by Seth Godin and Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow.