To the denizens of Hong Kong, time is money, and a minute lost is a potential step away from fortune. As locals will tell you, that’s the main reason the city never sleeps and its streets are constantly busy.
It’s also why the very upmarket five-star Hyatt Regency in Tsim Sha Tsui, set among the towering skyscrapers of the Kowloon Peninsula, has a strategy to keep its staff happy and motivated. It’s the most effective way to ensure guests get what they need, when they want it.
“Every minute counts in Hong Kong,” explains Mandy Law (left, main picture), the hotel’s Director of Sales. “We know that motivated staff supply the professional, friendly and prompt service that business guests expect and keeps them coming back.”
To help ensure they stay committed, the hotel’s employees enjoy flexibility in many of their working arrangements and managers make support and encourage them at every opportunity. “We have empathy interviews, for example, and really listen to what they want,” says Marketing Communications Manager Karen Ching (pictured right, with General Manager Richard Simmons). “And we make a special effort to treat casuals just as well. The benefits are real. The feedback we always get is ‘I feel like I’m treated as a person when working here’.”
Feedback from MICE guests, similarly, shows that the approach works well, Mandy says. One guest wrote: “The event service [people] did not only work on keeping the organisers happy, they cared for the participants’ wellbeing. They took ownership of our event to do the best for all present, regardless of whether they were VIPs, organisers or just participants . . . which for me personally was very touching.”
Classily furnished
Located in the Tsim Sha Tsui business and tourist district, this is a classic Hyatt establishment, many of whose 381 elegant and understated rooms have a panoramic view of the city’s harbour.
It has four restaurants and occupies levels three to 24 of the mixed-use complex K11, one of the tallest buildings in Kowloon. There’s direct access to two subway (MTR) stations in the complex.
From here it takes 20 minutes to travel to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and 50 minutes to Mainland China via the MTR.
The Regency executive club arrangement, whose guest rooms occupy three floors, gives access to daily complimentary buffet breakfasts, an all-day coffee and tea service, and substantial evening canapés and cocktails in the exclusive lounge.
Pillarless ballroom
The hotel has 590 square metres of meeting space on the lobby level, including a 335-square-metre pillarless ballroom, the Regency, which has a five-metre ceiling. It can accommodate up to 400 guests and be partitioned into two venues. Meanwhile five “salons” can be configured to provide flexibility for planners arranging smaller events. With floor-to-ceiling windows, the pre-function area and most of the salons are flooded with natural light, which Karen Ching says keep attendees fresh during meetings.
In line with what some other upmarket properties are now offering, the Hyatt supplies a free smartphone in each room, giving guests unlimited local and international calls to the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan, unlimited 3G Internet access, interactive maps, a city guide as well as a list of offers across Hong Kong.
Green initiatives
The hotel recently won a medal in the “GreenPlus Award 2015” for a variety of initiatives to embrace CSR. “More and more people are asking about our green initiatives,” says Mandy Law.
These include installing LED lights and water-saving devices in rooms, accessing an “aquaponics” food production system that grows fish and herbs together, recycling glass and plastic, and replacing gas steam cabinets with electric versions in kitchens, allowing steam to pre-heat water for dishwashing machines. This Hyatt participates in a sustainable seafood program and no longer serves shark’s fin.
Meeting package: US 112
The Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui offers a variety of packages aimed at the business tourism sector. The recent “Executive Meeting Plan” started from HK$868 (US$112) per person, including lunch, coffee breaks, AV support and equipment. The online rack rate for rooms is around USD 275, but planners are urged to contact the reservations people to discuss options.
Visit hongkong.tsimshatsui.hyatt.com, call +852 3721 1333 or email hongkong.tsimshatsui@hyatt.com.
