DAY 4 (19TH JULY 2016)

On the fourth day, we have got used to the morning rush of the subway. We made our way from Dabaishu Railway Station and got down on South Shaanxi Road. It took us about one and a half hour to reach our destination.

Figure 17 The crowded subway station before working hours.

Figure 17 The crowded subway station before working hours.

ADEN SERVICES’ OFFICE

Figure 18 Mr. Michael Lau and Ms. Olivia

Figure 19 Mr. Pierrick Renou was explaining the office concept.

Despite the long ride, we were very excited because the planned schedule was slightly different than our weekends here in Shanghai, and had allowed us to take some time off to conduct our corporate visit with ADEN Services. At around 9.30am, we were at the foot of ADEN Services’ office. The moment when the door opened at ADEN Services’ floor, the smell of freshly baked cookies filled the air. The atmosphere was pleasant and there we saw Mr. Michael Lau and Ms. Olivia Blanc receiving us with open arms. Point to note, Mr. Michael is Aden Services’ Executive Director China of Sales, whereas Ms. Olivia is currently the Marketing and Communications Department Manager of Aden Services China.

Our visit started off with a physical tour of the office. We had the privilege to have Mr. Pierrick Renou, the technical manager of ALTEREA Ltd., a subsidiary of ADEN Services, to explain in detail the concept of ‘Green Fit-out’ being integrated in the workplace. As shown in the brochure (figure 22), the office is fully furnished by non-toxic fittings and transparent glass to have a bigger office view. It has a unique air purifier in building which recycles a large percentage of the air interiorly and only takes in small percentage of air from the outside environment. The air purifier fixed in the office triggers the air pollution rate and purifies it as needed. The employee can enjoy greenery view by having small green plants at their desks.

                       

Figure 20 A few exercise bicycles are provided  for the employees to work out during working.

                             

Figure 21 Office view.

Figure 22 The brochure which lists out all the green fit-outs in the office.

ADEN Services is an international leading provider of integrated Facility Management solutions. Its scope of services covers firstly, environment which includes energy monitoring and management, water and waste management, green fit-out in design and construction, hygiene and cleaning solutions. Secondly, it helps in managing assets, from security management and systems, building services and maintenance, leasing solutions, engineering and procurement to business process outsourcing. Thirdly, it covers the industry of digital as well, which are IFM operations software suits, innovative ‘end user’ services, mobile and e-commerce and customer service portal. Lastly, it focuses on people as well, from food services, HR outsourcing, well-being solutions, help desk to travel desk. Up to date, ADEN’s operation covers the Africa region, Central Asia, China, and South-East Asia.

Mr. Michael spent an hour sharing with us on the company’s business portfolio and his personal experience. Carrying out a business in China is not easy, as he needs to maintain good relationship with the customers, customers’ employees and government. He told us that some of the China’s police station are their clients as well. In addition, Mr Michael shared his point of view on leadership before the session ended. Most of the time during winter or hot sun, they will visit the employees in front line to show support and encouragement.

Figure 23 Goup photo in front of Aden's office.

WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP HEADQUARTER

Lunch was brief because we had to prepare for our next corporate visit to Wyndham Hotel Group. Thankfully, the Group’s office suite was not far distanced from our meet point. Hence, it took a swift 5 minutes’ walk from South Shaanxi Road to Middle Hua Huai, where our second corporate visit destination lies.  Wyndham Hotel Group has its office suite strategically located, within the reach of public transportations. It has over 16 brands in the hotel industry and has successfully acquired international recognition for being able to cater to different segmented markets. It claims to be the largest by hotel count.

The Wyndham family comprises of three main categories. They are Wyndham Hotel Group, Wyndham Worldwide and others. We learnt that Wyndham Hotel Group has won numerous awards such as ‘Best International Management Groups of China’ by Hotel Forum Asia and as ‘Best City Hotel’ by TTG, to name a few.

We understand the Group works as a management team and so happened the office suite we visited was their Asia’s headquarters. Currently, Wyndham Hotel Group has eight different brands operating in China – Ramada, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Super 8 and the list goes on. It was featured in 2014 Fortune 500 Company.

Figure 24 List of awards that they won recently.

MARKETING STRATEGY. 

In our recent Q&A session with Mr. Ooi Joon Aun, he shared with us his boss’s, Mr. Leo Liu, marketing strategy – “Mission first, People always” by citing an example of a real life case scenario. Our main takeaways were when we were reminded that not one single model can work in all situations perfectly. For instances, Mr. Ooi gave an example of Howard Johnson not adapting the same business model in America that caters to the majority of spenders being mid-ranged customers and China, that has more high-ranged consumers. “Take what we have and change the business model to fit market needs.”

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.

When asked about the Group’s strategy in differentiating its brand from other star-rated competitors, Mr. Ooi answered the way to go with the hotel business is to horizontally shift the Group’s focus and transition the brand into a lifestyle brand. The case is true when we were told of Microtel being able to provide its customers the ultimate integrated digital hotel experience!

TECHNICAL TERMS.

Apart from market propositions and strategies, we were exposed to terms widely used in the hotel industry. Notably, their KPI (Key Performance Index) is known as Rev PAR, which stands for Revenue per available room. Another interesting term we learnt was ADR – Average Daily Rate that is measured in currency. Hence, to calculate Rev PAR, we take ADR times the occupancy rate, which the answer is an indication of the efficiency level.

BUSINESS CULTURE IN CHINA.

A Malaysian himself, Mr. Ooi also had his period of adjustment getting used to the way the Chinese society roll. We have been told drinking is a normal practice in the business world. It acts as a form of respect. Rejecting a drink offer portrays disrespect and rebellious attitude. As a matter of business ethics, bribery might sound like a normal practice in China. However, Wyndham Hotel Group has expressed their disagreement to succumb to that tradition because the Group understands the importance and impact of integrity upon its business.

Xin Tian Di Street

As soon as our corporate visit at Wyndham Hotel Group ended, we took the subway to our next destination, the Xin Tian Di Street. It was a mind blowing experience as we all could feel the historical value of the site. The buildings and the street have own nostalgic values. For instance, the stone gated houses on narrow alleys, some adjoining houses which now serves as bookstores, cafes and restaurants gave a treat to our eyes. It’s a car-free shopping and hi-tea spot for the high end users. we had an opportunity to converse with the foreigners who were spending their time there.

We managed to ask their intention of visit to China and what makes them to choose Xin Tian Di Street as one of their tourist spot. Xin Tian Di has a lively nightlife on the weekdays as well as weekends, though romantic settings are more widespread than loud music and dance places. It is considered as one of the first lifestyle centres in China and also the most expensive place to live in China, with some apartments costing more than Tokyo, New York and London. It is home to the Chinese elite and top executive expats.