Shanghai service with a style

• Source: Global Times
• [14:58 June 28 2010]
• Comments

Christophe Lajus. Photo: Courtesy of Christophe Lajus

By Yao Fangqin

As the manager of the Crown Plaza Shanghai Fudan, located opposite the prestigious Fudan University on Handan Road, Yangpu district, Christophe Lajus oversees the district's only five-star hotel, where one can find the academically styled Chancellor Suites and dining rooms named after famous Chinese scholars like Lao Tzu and Mencius.

Lajus, 51, who's also the chairman of the International Branded Hotels of Shanghai (IBHS), took time out last week to talk with the Global Times about the city's' hotel industry.

A lesson in hospitality

For Lajus, a hotel is a place where you can meet a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds, and that's what attracted him to the business in the first place. As a frequent traveler himself, Lajus understands the importance of hospitality. "A hotel is home; it's the place where we need to feel comfortable and relaxed."

After graduating from a Swiss university with a degree in hotel business administration, Lajus's first job in the hospitality sector was running a small coffee shop in Geneva, where he worked long hours learning the importance of both teamwork and reading people. "After such an experience, you know if you can manage these people; you know what to expect."

Lajus worked in Chengdu, Sanya and Wuhan before coming to Shanghai. His stay in these cities has helped him better understand the country and its people. He noted that people from different regions have different personalities.

Shanghai, for example, is a fast-paced city, much faster than Sanya. Its residents have a relatively high level of education and make a good living, but have to deal with a lot of pressure. Lajus believes his job is to bring out the best in his employees so they can work more efficiently.

"In the hotel, you have people from different parts of the country. It's a good combination together, and I'm a foreigner. What amazes me is that two people from different regions sometimes cannot understand each other. If you have this basic principle that people in their own country cannot reach a very precise understanding, it really makes you look at the situation differently. It requires double the effort to explain, and then repeat, what you said to make sure they get the same message," he said.

The Expo effect

The IBHS represents 73 of Shanghai's international hotels with more than 28,000 rooms, making up some of the best four- and five-star hotels in the city. The IBHS is a division of the Shanghai Hotel Industry Association, which has been meeting on a regular basis since 1993. Initially made up of nine hotels, the IBHS has helped its members exchange ideas and network with key agencies such as the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission, the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai and international bodies like the International Congress and Convention Association and Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International. The main focus for the IBHS in 2010 will be to actively participate and support activities related to the World Expo.

As the chairman of IBHS, Lajus is a respected organizer of other international hotel managers and municipal government officials. The first priority for the World Expo is security and the quality of hotel service. "We have to ensure the good reputation of the city. That's also the focus of all the hotel associations - to keep and maintain the high quality of service. Every member knows they have to put effort into training the staff, putting in additional resources where necessary because we don't want to have unhappy guests."

While every hotel expects to have good financial results during this particular time, Lajus pointed out that hotels cannot overprice rooms. "We need to be reasonable because people will become negative if the price is too high. One complaint will have a detrimental effect on the future."

In Lajus's eyes, the Expo is mainly a way to expose the Chinese people to the world. The Expo pavilions are a good opportunity to show what a country is like in a short period of time to the maximum amount of people. It should lead to an increase in Chinese travelers. It is a six-month event, unlike the Olympics or the World Cup, which means that people will carry on with the everyday business while the Shanghai Expo goes on. "It's good for the hotels because we not only have people visiting but also meetings and conferences and mutual gatherings among companies."