Today, Hilton Worldwide unveiled “Hilton Huanying” to an exclusive audience at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing. Designed to enrich the joy of travel for Chinese guests – with Hilton as their preferred host – the program will greet guests at more than 110 Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts and DoubleTree by Hilton properties in 65 outbound destination cities within 32 countries globally. These include Hong Kong, Singapore, Phuket, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, London, Paris, New York, San Francisco and more.
“Chinese outbound travel is expected to grow at an unprecedented pace, with the number of outbound Chinese travelers expected to double from 100 million to 200 million by 20201. We firmly believe that we are well-positioned to enhance the travel experiences of these travelers and to make Hilton their preferred hotel choice across the globe,” said Martin Rinck, president, Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide. “Driven by our in-depth knowledge of China, where we have been operating hotels for over 25 years, and our position as a global hospitality company with over 4,300 hotels operating in 94 countries, we have a unique advantage in addressing the needs of Chinese travelers. With this in mind, we applied our comprehensive understanding of where Chinese travelers like to visit and what they look for when they stay at a hotel, in order to develop a tailor-made service that better meets the needs of our Chinese guests, in the form of Huanying.”
In 2014, many countries streamlined their visa application processes for Chinese travelers, helping to boost the number of outbound tourists to 107 million (up 19.5 percent as compared to the previous year)2. Recognizing this continued rise in travel, Hilton conducted research to identify the factors that Chinese travelers desire most when selecting a hotel – Chinese breakfast, service and amenities ranked amongst the top three. Research by Hilton also indicated that Chinese guests who stayed at Huanying properties expressed a substantial increase in customer satisfaction in regards to the factors of service, accommodations, property loyalty and overall experience.
“Huanying is an essential part of the Hilton hospitality promise – welcoming Chinese travelers with a level of service and personalization that we know they have come to expect and enjoy,” said Rob Palleschi, global head, full service brands, Hilton Worldwide. “We are very proud of this program and its offerings, and the benefits are clear: Chinese travelers who stay at Huanying properties express greater overall satisfaction in their hospitality experiences.
Recently recognized by CLSA as the number one preferred U.S. international hotel brand amongst Chinese travelers, Hilton provides both functional service and emotional comfort for Chinese guests through Huanying. Focused on the three signature hospitality touch points of the arrival experience, guest room amenities and the breakfast experience, the complete list of Huanying offerings include:
Arrival experience
- Huanying Greeting: a welcome note in Simplified Chinese
- Mandarin translation service (Many properties offer Mandarin speaking team member(s) as well.)
Guest room amenitites
- Tea kettles
- Jasmine tea
- Slippers
- Dedicated Mandarin-speaking television channel
Breakfast experience
- Two varieties of congee with condiments, fried rice or fried noodles, a dim sum selection, fried dough fritters (crullers), hard boiled eggs, fresh fruit, Chinese tea and soy milk
- Chinese culinary utensils including chopsticks, Chinese spoons and a soy sauce dish
Travelers may access a list of participating Hilton Huanying hotels at www.hilton.com.cn/huanying.
References
- CLSA: US Lodging Sector Outlook (Oh, J., 20 January 2015, p. 1)
- China Travel Guide. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/tourism/
