Hilton, Starwood Hotels Debut Programs Catering to Chinese Travelers

Hilton, Starwood Hotels Debut Programs Catering to Chinese Travelers

Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Starwood Hotels & Resorts have been fierce competitors on the global hospitality front and sometimes even in the court room. But now they are going after what could be the largest prize – the Chinese outbound travel market. On July 11, both companies introduced programs designed to cater specifically to Chinese outbound travelers.

Starwood noted that as one of the world’s fastest growing travel markets, with 100 million outbound travelers expected by 2015, China will play a major role in global travel within the next decade. To prepare for this growing force of new travelers, Starwood has launched Starwood Personalized Travel, a program of initiatives designed to serve what it calls the unique preferences of Chinese travelers. Debuting at 19 Starwood hotels in gateway cities around the globe, Starwood Personalized Travel offers amenities that it believes matter most to the Chinese guest, including in-room tea kettles, slippers, translated welcome materials and on-site translation services. Restaurant menus also will be made available in Chinese and feature familiar favorites like congee – a popular Chinese breakfast delicacy.

Starwood’s new program also coincides with the end of a month-long relocation of the company’s entire senior leadership team to China, including Frits van Paasschen, president and CEO. The company said this underscores Starwood’s dedication to China, which recently became its second largest hotel market outside of the U.S. and its fastest growing. With 75 hotels in China and nearly 100 in the pipeline, Starwood claims to be the largest operator of high end hotels in the country. It said it will open one hotel in China every two weeks throughout 2011.

As part of the first phase of the program’s launch, 19 Starwood hotels in gateway cities around the world now feature Starwood Personalized Travel with plans to roll it out across all Starwood hotels and resorts by the end of 2012. The new program, developed in partnership with Starwood’s Chinese executive team includes an in-hotel Chinese specialist, special amenities for Chinese guest, local travel information translated into Chinese and familiar Chinese foods.

Starwood properties now offering these services include the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers; W New York - Times Square; Le Méridien Piccadilly, London; Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel & Towers, Mexico City; Westin Paris - Vendôme; Westin Tokyo, W Seoul Walkerhill; Sheraton Waikiki, Westin St. Francis, San Francisco and Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center.

Not to be outdone, Hilton Hotels & Resorts unveiled Hilton Huanying, which takes its name from the Chinese word for “welcome” and includes amenities, service standards and dedicated Hilton Team Member training for Chinese guests. Hilton said 30 hotels are already enrolled in the program, set to officially debut Aug. 16 in San Francisco. The properties encompass many destinations popular among Chinese visitors, including San Francisco, New York City, Hawaii and Vancouver in North America along with London, Tokyo and Sydney.

Hilton said the new program is backed by its extensive field research and more than two decades of hospitality experience in China. Chinese travelers will find familiar comforts in three key touch points of the hotel experience (arrival, guest room and breakfast). The program will offer a receptionist fluent in Chinese and guest room amenities that include tea kettles with a selection of Chinese tea available upon request, slippers, dedicated TV channel broadcasting Chinese programming, welcome letter written in Chinese, breakfast with two varieties of congee with condiments; fried rice or fried noodles; dim sum selection; fried dough fritters (crullers); hard boiled eggs; fresh fruit; Chinese tea and soy milk. Chinese culinary utensils include chopsticks and chopsticks holder, Chinese spoons and soy sauce dish.

Hilton Worldwide currently 17 properties in China and intends to expand its presence in China to more than 100 hotels in the next five years. Eight of the company’s hotels in China are in the Hilton Hotels & Resorts portfolio and the brand has another 49 properties in development. Hilton said it developed its program based on interviews with general managers at Hilton brand hotels in China and Chinese travel agencies. A three-month Hilton Huanying test program began in early 2011 at three hotels in the U.S., U.K. and South Korea. The philosophy behind the Hilton Huanying is to provide a program dedicated to the cultural needs and desires of Chinese travelers.