Sofitel GM Jeremy Aniere Talks WeChat, Guest Satisfaction, and Joie de Vivre

With more than 30 years experience in the hospitality industry, both in freestanding restaurants and bars, and major hotel chains such as Hyatt and now Accor, it's fair to say Sofitel Wanda Beijing General Manager Jeremy Aniere is a good person to ask about any aspect of the hotel biz. We picked his brains about building the perfect team, keeping a competitive edge, and bringing a little bit of joie de vivre to Beijing's CBD.

For someone starting out in the industry do you think it’s better to work for a freestanding business or move into a chain where there is more structure?
I think that people need both. Sometimes, the fact that you have all these supporting departments in a hotel can breed a sense of apathy, that all you’re there to do is facilitate the service. However, if you’ve been exposed to a freestanding concept as a business, you understand the essentials; without customers you close the doors. That’s one thing that employees who have been in hotels for a long time can lack, that sense of urgency, creativity, and entrepreneurialism. If you’ve been outside that environment, you know you have to be on the cutting edge or you fail. I think people need to have that failure, to make mistakes, to be exposed to a situation where they’ve lost everything before they can realize what they need to do to start a business.

Speaking about the competitive edge, what do you think sets Sofitel apart from other hotels in Beijing?
What sets hotels apart is heart and soul. There are so many new buildings that have, for example, new carpets and great lighting but lack soul. This is something that Sofitel has and in particular this hotel. We leverage “point of difference”, which is, of course, our “Frenchness,” our joie de vivre if you will. We’re a French brand with French heritage so we make sure we never lose sight of that DNA, whether it’s the international team that we have greeting the guests in French or the French products and amenities that we include in the rooms.

This is something that we teach as part of our training, but it’s also something that’s important to identify at the point of hire. There are things you can teach and then there is a natural level of warmth and hospitality that people either have or they don’t.

Is that just something you can immediately tell a person has or doesn’t have?
Yes definitely, it’s the warmth of their smile, it’s their eye contact, it’s the way they present themselves. For example, when you ask people questions, is it about them or is it about the team? Is there focus on the customer? Why are they working in this industry? You have to love what you’re doing. 

When you do pick the right person, you see the impact immediately. You put someone on the floor and the guest notices because they will engage the guest. They thrive off of that interaction. If you can build a team of people like that then you’re going in the right direction.

Is it particularly challenging to build and hold on to a team like that in China?
I think that it’s not just China it’s everywhere. Yes, turnover rates are high in China. I first came to work in China in 2004 having just come from a hotel in Indonesia where the turnover rates were about 5 percent, because at that time people wanted to hold onto their jobs as there weren’t that many opportunities. So coming to China during that period, you immediately noticed that there were opportunities, that the standard of living was increasing. People didn’t have anything to lose. The new generation were free to move around and take advantage of those opportunities. Obviously this is constantly evolving. Since that time, movement and turnover has been increasing throughout Asia, but this will probably start decreasing soon.

So to answer the question, it is challenging in China but there are ways to combat that. People are looking for a career, they’re looking to learn and if you can provide that environment in the hotel through mentorship, succession, and training, then you are equally as likely to keep those people. 

Continuing on the topic of the Chinese business environment how has the rapid development, and huge importance, of social media in China affected hotels?
I think hotels have been part of the movement forward. We’ve been quick to respond to changes in the way we communicate with our target market. When I arrived in China for the first time, we were only just using the internet. We were sending out email blasts in the same way we were previously sending out hardcopy brochures and magazines, with varying levels of success. Of course now, even email databases are irrelevant really. People are looking at WeChat as their main decision-making platform. WeChat is actually a much better form of communication for us as it is two-way. It used to be that you’d send out an email and hope that people opened it or read it. Now people can book and pay through WeChat. It’s very convenient. Our challenge now is knowing how to best take advantage of the social media at our disposal. 

Those same customers who are using WeChat 24/7, what do you think that they want from a hotel nowadays?
People don’t want to have a cookie cutter experience. It’s no longer good enough just to be a five-star hotel. The products that you sell and the way you position yourself are just as much a statement about who you are as how you relate to your market. If you’re not up-to-date about what people are looking for, no matter how much you advertise you’ll never be able to capture their attention. 

Basically, you need to provide an atmosphere and a sense of style. People want to be seen when they go out. There needs to be perceived benefit and point of difference. That’s becoming harder and harder for hotels to do given that, in terms of operation, you have restaurants that are going to be there for years. You can’t just change the concept as the market changes, so how do you capture an audience with a concept that it is now 10-years-old? You have to reinvent yourself through the food offering, the service offering, and the pricing. 

Is it fair to say that restaurants are still one of the primary ways of attracting attention to the hotel, both for local residents and international visitors?
The F&B department is the hotel’s stage. What you do on that stage is what draws people’s attention. Rooms are rooms; people will choose to stay with you because of the location of the hotel or because of brand loyalty. But for the local market, we’re using the restaurants to create a point of difference that says, “we are Sofitel.” There is still very much an audience that wants quality, professional service, and a sophisticated ambience that they can only really find in a hotel. 

As a hotel general manager (GM), what is your daily routine? Has it changed at all since you first became a GM?
What is important is that the GM has a thorough knowledge of what's happening in the hotel. In order to get that knowledge, observation is primary, nearly 50 percent of the job. You have to be out there in the operations, talking to the team and observing the quality of the product and service. This is where you pick up the majority of your informaton. You’re greeting guests, you’re looking after the staff. After all, we are in a service industry, so hands-on control is the most important aspect. It’s very difficult to just be an administrator, because you’re losing the most important aspect of the job. 

People want to see the GM, they want to know that they’re being looked after. We communicate with guests in a number of ways, whether it be responding to bookings, meeting potential clients at the point of negotiation, or engaging with the community and social groups. We have a lot of different audiences to engage with, whether that be face-to-face or through platforms like Trip Advisor, Ctrip, or WeChat.

What do you think makes Beijing a unique place both to work and as a travel destination?
I think Beijing is a unique place to work. There’s nowhere like it in the world, it’s even different from Shanghai. As it’s the capital, you work under a framework that supports government policy and that has an impact on your business. In a positive sense, if you want to come and do government business in China, this is the place to be. This means we have a lot of government delegations coming through, which is great exposure for us. 

It’s also a cultural mecca. You know, how many other places have one of the Seven Wonders of the World [the Great Wall of China was named one of the New7Wonders of the World in 2007] along with so many other historical sites such as the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City? It’s so rich. 

Do you get out to explore the city much? Any favorite spots?
This is my first year with this company back in Beijing so I have spent the majority of my time in the hotel! Hopefully as I progress I’ll have more opportunities to get out there. I’ve lived here before but there’s so much to explore. 

Coming from Perth in western Australia I love the mountains, and I love to get outdoors and explore. I also love to run and I’ve got the Great Wall Marathon and the Beijing Marathon on my agenda this year if the weather permits. Anything under 150 AQI I’m out there running. 

What’s coming up in 2016 for Sofitel?
We’re building on the back of 2015, when we did some amazing events, including the “Revealed” event with Olivier Picasso. We’re going to be doing a Fete de la Musique program and an art program, as well as lots of exciting F&B promotions such as brunch, afternoon tea, and wine dinners. 

More stories by this author here.

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Photos courtesy of Sofitel Wanda Beijing