4 THE FOCUS Identity Interview 5

Interview “Everything falls into place once you have the right people on board.” in an industry that often defaults to conformity, Rosewood & Resorts ® is a distinctive collection of highly individual, luxurious, residential-style hotels and resorts, each embracing its location’s history, culture, and sensibilities. When Sonia Cheng was appointed chief executive of Rosewood Group she quickly emerged as one of the world’s leading figures in the hospitality industry. Talking to THE FOCUS, Cheng describes the group’s unique DNA, the changing nature of hospitality, and how she balances the heritage of a family-owned business with her own fresh approach.

THE FOCUS: How does Rosewood seek to on statues, beautiful landscaped gardens stand apart in the hospitality industry? and, in the lobby, a range of striking art – Sonia Cheng: Our essence is an all-embrac- from calligraphy to mixed media. We ing commitment to “a sense of place.” We wanted a hotel where our guests could ex- reject the cookie-cutter approach in favor perience at a subliminal level the ageless of honoring the unique spirit of each Chinese concept of journey and welcome. property. Our entire team devotes itself to All of our properties offer a distinctive immersing in the local culture of each sense of place. The Mansion on Turtle Creek, market, then shaping something precious for example, once belonged to a Texan and unique that celebrates each city. We cotton magnate. The Carlyle in New York convey a sense of place through the inte- has hosted every American president rior design, the artwork, the accessories, since Truman, not to mention European the books that guests find in their rooms, royalty. Rosewood London is a grand the culinary program … We look for every Edwardian heritage building steps from opportunity to make our guests’ experi- Covent Garden. I love the idea of weaving ence true to the particular locale. the modern world into heritage buildings. Rosewood Beijing, where you are host- In which ways is this “sense of place” ing us now, conveys this sense of place a response to changing expectations to great effect … among the travelers you want to attract? Rosewood Beijing is my baby. I worked Rosewood’s target customers are what on it for five years and I know Beijing very we call “affluential explorers.” They are well. I started coming here for business well-traveled and very sophisticated. before I joined the company, and after stay- They come to a city with a sense of adven- ing at many different hotels, I realized ture, hoping for a truly authentic journey. there was a gap in the market. Beijing is a So each destination offers an authenti­ city that mixes stunning modernity with cally local experience. Here in Beijing, for rich traditions and we wanted to create a example, we deliberately didn’t create luxury hotel that speaks to that arresting a Michelin-star kind of restaurant, nor in- mix. So when visitors arrive here they pass vite in celebrity chefs. We conducted Photos: David Hogsholt through imposing gates flanked by drag- market research into Beijing’s great food 6 THE FOCUS Identity Interview

“I believe one of the experiences and, in particular, what the erties around the world and more global locals love to eat. When affluent explorers awareness than either New World Hotels & distinguishing features visit a city they want to feel more like Resorts or pentahotels. of Rosewood is our locals themselves. They’ve probably been New World Hotels & Resorts operates busi- reliance on intuition.” to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City ness hotels in first- and second-tier cities and now they’re looking for more acces- throughout China and Southeast Asia, and sible authenticity. So instead of offering pentahotels is a boutique European chain fine dining, or French and Italian cuisine, that we acquired in 2001. Rosewood is the we offer a very modern version of “hot ultra-luxury brand within the division, pot” because we know that hot pot is close and so strategically it made great sense to to the heart of this city. And instead of name the group Rosewood. Bringing this serving formal cuisine in the premium brand into our portfolio accel- way that many traditional hotels do, erates our overall position and direction we provide “Country Kitchen,” inspired by to become a leading global luxury brand. China’s village-type home-cooked food. The hospitality industry faces enormous We thought the new generation of travel- challenges and ever-changing trends – ers would enjoy this. That’s the category from Millennials now being the fastest of traveler I’m in, so I trusted my sense growing customer segment to inno­ that this was the right culinary style for vative technology across multiple plat- the Rosewood Beijing. forms and devices. How did you go What was the reasoning behind your about re-positioning Rosewood in the decision to use Rosewood as the name of market after your acquisition? the whole group? New World Hospi­ Rosewood had this wonderfully rich her- tality already had built a reputation for itage, but its identity was slightly dated luxury in Asia and your boutique pen­ and its marketing strategy somewhat con- tahotels were well-known throughout servative and focused primarily on the Europe … Americas. So we decided to spend nearly It was a strategic decision, given that Rose- US $ 8 million to change the logo, col­ wood Hotels & Resorts already had prop- lateral, and website, and to launch a full- 7

The interview with Sonia Cheng in Beijing was conducted by Catherine Zhu, Egon Zehnder, , and Paul Liu, Egon Zehnder, Shanghai.

blown advertising campaign throughout And when we ask our Rosewood guests from observing our competitors and we Europe and Asia. for feedback, we don’t want it sugar-coated are inspired by companies that are doing Perhaps most importantly, we’ve infused because that doesn’t help us. We want things particularly well in retail and the Rosewood brand with fresh creativ­ to know their real experiences, whether consumer products. Being open-minded ity that speaks personally to our custom- positive or negative, because that’s how and absorbing each crucial nuance or ers and their passions. I’m particularly we improve. detail, this is crucial to our culture. If we proud of our Rosewood Curators program, To what extent does Rosewood rely on just stayed within hospitality we would which invited influential people and the science of market research? be closing our minds and our options. known tastemakers in each market to de- We rely more heavily on intuition and But at the core, we trust in our own very scribe what they love about their location. personal observation. Affluent explorers strong and unique identity. In New York we had fashion editor Nina have been everywhere and extravagant I also get a lot of inspiration from travel. Garcia. In Beijing, film director Johnnie To. presentations that used to impress them Wherever I am in the world I try the latest In London, journalist Piers Morgan. We don’t impress them anymore. What does restaurants, bars, and cultural events and asked a range of prominent people from impress them are simple pleasures, and that opens my eyes to what others have the arts, entertainment, and sports to tell simple pleasures call for intuition. So if created. These can be the smallest things – us what they love most about their respec- our service associates have seen you once the design of menus, the way tables are tive destinations, and their responses they will remember, for example, that laid, the manner in which guests are served. have informed and inspired our efforts to you like hot tea, and when you return they All of these things can be inspirational. offer sophisticated travelers an unmis- will ask you: “Would you like a hot tea And every time I see something great that takable sense of place. again?” All our hotels have a set of guide- we’re not doing I take notes and talk to Our brand can never stand still, because lines called “Grand Differentiators” my team. travelers themselves are always changing. where the associates are encouraged to ob- How do you ensure that every member They like certain things now, but five serve and respond to any hints the guests of your staff across all geographies years from now they might like different might offer. Because we are not just serv- is wedded to the culture you describe? things. So we need to remain open-mind- ing a guest, we are acting as host and treat- This is probably our biggest challenge, ed. We need to be creative. As a company ing the guest as a member of our family. but if we recruit the right people with the we are constantly trying to evolve and I This is integral to our culture. We want to right mindset then everything else am constantly pushing the team to bring be constantly evolving. We keep our eyes becomes easier. Skill sets can be learned, new, fresh, innovative ideas to the table. open. Everything informs us. We learn but passion and belief in the core phi­ 8 THE FOCUS Identity Interview

Rosewood Hotel Group Rosewood Hotels & Resorts ® was founded in 1979 by Texan heiress Caroline Rose Hunt, who converted an historic mansion in Dallas into a celebrated restaurant and hotel, The Mansion on Turtle Creek. This was the first in a line of luxury hotels operated by the Dallas-based group until its sale in 2011 to the Hong Kong-based New World Hospitality, part of New World Develop- ment Company Limited. As of June 2015, ’s was managing 55 hotels in 18 countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Caribbean. CEO Sonia Cheng hopes to more than double this number by 2020.

losophy of our brand are much more in- Our culture is firmly based on the concept tangible qualities. Responsibility for stay- of relationship hospitality. That means ing true to our culture flows from top we’re not just providing a service. We’re to bottom – from the Head Office down in the business of long-term relation- through the Managing Directors to Hu- ships. So this is what we seek foremost in man Resources, Sales and Marketing, Food our talent. We need people who will and Beverage, and so on. We all need to make our culture flourish and our guests walk the talk. want to return. These attributes are With your properties spread across cross-cultural and form the basis for all 18 countries that can’t be easy … our hirings around the world. Obviously Rosewood has offices in both Hong Kong local knowledge and an understanding of and the United States, so it’s really not dif- different markets is an important ingre- ficult for us to get together. And in a dient as well, as we adapt ourselves to these business like ours, maintaining personal specific market needs. But the funda- connections is essential. We have strategy mentals should not change. So that’s who meetings at least three times a year and we’re looking for – people who want to then annual managing director meetings be in the people business and managers where we discuss best practices, share who believe in the fundamental impor- our views, and learn from each other about tance of relationship hospitality and all the challenges in each market. that it stands for. Our culture is also strengthened by how You mentioned earlier that the travelers we invest in our people. Our global man- you serve are always changing. How agement trainee program is highly cross- does that factor into your talent strategy? cultural and designed to develop talent Millennial travelers love technology. internationally. I host a welcome confer- They are constantly using their iPhones ence call where I speak to all our trainees and iPads. So of course we want people about the objectives of this program. We who are attuned to that. We find these call them our “Hy Flyers” – people whose skills both within and outside our own in- talents we have identified within the dustry. At the same time, we think hard company – and each property has its own about how we use technology. For exam- Hy Fliers. So whenever I visit our proper- ple, should we ask our guests to use their ties I set up a meeting with them to learn smart phones as room keys? Technology from them and to hopefully answer any needs to be functional. It needs to be questions they might have. I have an open practical. And it needs to be simple. We door policy because I think it’s important will not implement technology in the to be as approachable as possible. I also rooms, or elsewhere, just because everyone believe in being hands-on and working else is doing it. Too much automation “The hospitality industry alongside my management team, so that could damage the soul of the company. is still essentially a people everyone feels part of the creative process. We need to know whether the guest is Competition for top talent is always comfortable with the technology and will business and that requires fierce. What skills and attributes matter prefer to use it. Because as I learnt from the personal touch.” most to you? my father and grandfather, the hospitality 9 10 THE FOCUS Identity Interview

industry will always be a people business. You must never lose the personal touch. Did you always want to be in this busi- ness? Well, I love traveling and have been ex- posed to the best that travel can offer for most of my life. I grew up surrounded by hotels because my family has been devel- oping hotels for the last 30 years. So it’s always been a passion of mine. But when I graduated from college it was important to me that I carve out my own independ- ence first. So I worked in investment bank- ing with Morgan Stanley and then in private equity at Warburg Pincus. After six years in finance, my father asked me to start a hotel management company, which of course was a once-in-a-lifetime oppor- tunity in learning to become an entrepre- neur. Earlier, the opportunities I was given by my family to be educated abroad and see how different businesses work helped me see what travelers and consumers are looking for, particularly in hotels, which is such a dynamic business. It’s not just about business. It’s about culture, market- ing, design, finance, operation, and service. Both your grandfather and your father are held in high esteem as successful business leaders of exemplary integrity. What have you learned from them about leadership? My father’s first major job was as general manager of a hotel, so he always under- stood the principle of the hotel business being a people business. I spoke to him a lot about this growing up and he always emphasized the point that you have to invest in people – because once you have

Sonia Cheng Sonia Cheng was born in 1980. After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in Applied Mathematics, she worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, then joined Warburg Pincus LLC in 2005, where she specialized in real estate investments. Cheng joined New World Development in 2008. At the age of 30 she was appointed chief executive of New World Development’s Rosewood Hotels Group. Cheng is also executive director of New World Development Com- pany Limited and , which comprise one of the largest conglomerates in Hong Kong. She chairs the advisory committee of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2012 Cheng married food and beverage entrepreneur Paolo Pong Kin-yee, and was famously reported to have cut short her honeymoon to return to work. She told Hong Kong Tatler magazine last year: “It was a simple choice. I know my hus- band loves me and I don’t need a week on the beach to prove that.” Cheng, her husband, and their two children live in Hong Kong. 11 the right people, everything else falls If I may say so, I think it looks like what “I believe that a good into place. He stressed that you can have we’ve created with the opening of Rose- the best design, advertising, and market- wood London in 2013 and Rosewood Beijing work-life balance makes ing strategy in the world, but without the last year. We are taking all our wonderful you a better mother right people you’ll never be successful. properties to the next level with our ap- and also a better CEO.” So for the first two years after joining the proach to relationship hospitality. We are company I did nothing but hire the best also very excited about the re-opening professionals in the industry to join my next year of Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, which management team. As you rightly point is nothing less than the rebirth of a my children to go home to, I’m more out, both my father and grandfather have legendary property. We are opening in productive and efficient. And if I’ve had been very successful, in part because they Phuket, Phnom Penh, Dubai, Puebla a productive working day I can return took bold risks and were prepared to in- (Mexico) and Paris next year, and in Sanya home with a sense of satisfaction that helps vest in long-term opportunities. This has and in China in 2018, and me then focus my attention properly on always inspired me to look outside the in Jakarta the year after that. And all the my children. box and to try and be a visionary myself. feedback tells us we’re changing the Do you see yourself as a role model for You have to be flexible and smart enough landscape for the better. other young women? to trust your own instincts, but also pay How important is it to you that Rose- Professionally, I don’t think of myself much heed to the deep insights that come from wood is a family business? in terms of gender or about being a female the kind of experience that my father and We don’t actually treat this company as role model. I don’t see myself as any dif­ grandfather are obviously able to offer. a family business. We treat it as a profes- ferent from a male CEO, except that, yes, Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve sional business, in the sense that we need if you’re a mother you may be somewhat learned from them is that no matter how to make money and ensure the business more challenged to maintain a healthy successful you may become, do not fall is successful. However, I do think being a work-life balance. But other than that, in victim to ego and pride. They always say family business is a competitive advan- a work environment we’re no different that it is only through humility that you tage in terms of delivering the relationship than men. really open your eyes to how the world is hospitality that defines Rosewood, par- As a member of the third generation changing. Even though my grandfather ticularly all the personal touches. We are of an entrepreneurial family, do you and father are extremely prominent busi- free to shape our properties and devote hope that your children will one day ness figures, they are also very humble all our efforts to fulfilling that vision. We follow in your footsteps? and down to earth. They never put them- can put all our energies into what we My hope is that, like me, they will have the selves on a pedestal and this has earned believe makes all the difference to our freedom to find out what they love. Be- them great respect, not just within the guests. cause for any business to be successful, or companies they’ve run, but within the in- How do you balance the hugely de- any entrepreneur to become successful, dustry as a whole. I find that tremendous- manding roles of being both a CEO and you need this quality of passion for what ly inspiring. the mother of two young children? you do. And you need to have the con­ You’ve been quoted as saying that you To be honest, it’s often a struggle, but I’m fidence and faith to commit to that. So I want to take the hospitality industry always seeking the balance that makes want my children to have as much free- to the next level. What does that next me a better mother and also a better CEO. dom as possible to discover what it is that level look like? When I’m at work, because I know I have drives and motivates them.