Informational Interview

Last week, I interviewed Peter Wang, the general manage of Jingmin North Bay Hotel of Xiamen. I am very interested in finding a hotel management position so I asked most about the current challenges and future growth about the hotel industry. First, Mr. Wang told me a little bit about himself and how he got involved in hotel business. He graduated from Xiamen University, and majored in business. He worked as an entry-level human resource assistant and gradually climbed up the ladder became the branch manager of the Xiamen location. Right now, he is working as an operational controller and supervising the daily hotel operation. He has five assistant managers reporting to him from different departments such as restaurant, and resort services.

Then I asked about what challenges he was facing every day. Mr. Wang consistently looked for new talents to join the company and he believed the entry-level people are the future of the company. However, he said, “I faces challenges of developing subordinates. It is extremely difficult to formulate plans and to bring the hotel’s operation to next level. We want to fine-tune the hotel’s service, organize efficiently and provide the best for the customer.” Since he started as an HR assistant, I asked him about the criteria of the HR manager. He said, “Well, HR manager is one of most important position. The candidate must be excellent at selecting the best employees for our hotel and be able to read people. They also need train those employees about company value and provide benefits for the employees for retention purpose.” The HR manager needs to find the right talents who have the required skills and fit the company culture very well. I asked what set him apart from other HR assistant and promoted him to his current position. He smiled and answered with ease, “I was a friend to all the employees instead of a boss. I lead forward. I am always on time for all the meetings and act out the company value. I look at the positive things the employee did for the company and praises them instead of searching for the negatives. Thus, our team is more synthesized instead just clock-in and clock-out.”

Furthermore, Mr. Wang consistently wants to improve the hotel service. He said, “Service is core to the success of a hotel. So generally companies in the hotel industry differentiate themselves or develop their competitive advantages by offering better service experience to customers than their competitors. For example, many of our loyal customers choose to stay in our hotel because we offer services that other hotels don’t have such as Zip-in and Express Check-out Service, 24-hour free airport pickup service, free choice of eleven different pillows and etc.”

Last, I asked about how Mr. Wang viewed the future of Chinese hotel industry. He saw a huge opportunity in the industry because now Chinese people concentrate more about leisure due to the economic prosperity. For example, the spa service in hotel becomes the fourth income of their hotel. Chinese people now focus on the wellness of body and mind. There will be always growth opportunity for hotel business.