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Austrian hotelier enjoys city buzz

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-27 11:23

He comes from Austria, but like many foreigners who have fallen in love with the Chinese capital, Kurt O. Wehinger now considers himself a true-blue Beijinger.

Sitting at the top floor of the Grand Millennium Beijing hotel in the heart of the city's fast-developing Central Business District (CBD), Wehinger's enthusiasm for his adopted home can be contagious.

"The city is infused with so much passion and energy," said Wehinger, who is general manager of the hotel.

"It is so exciting to be even just a small part of Beijing's amazing growth and the hotel industry in particular."

Twenty years since his first appointment to the city and having lived in Beijing for a full seven years, Wehinger said he is proud to be a Beijinger.

The Austrian was first appointed general manager in 1990 to start the Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa.

Back then, there were few international hotels in Beijing and Wehinger was, in many ways, a pioneer in the industry.

"It certainly was much more of a challenge to start a new five-star hotel, with regards to experienced staff, availability of certain food and beverage items and so on," Wehinger said.

"For example, we had to import almost all of our operating equipment from overseas. The availability of experienced staff and middle management was also scarce."

He added that there were more than 100 expats like himself starting and running hotels in Beijing.

There were also no Western-type restaurants in Beijing. Even if a foreigner wanted to visit a local restaurant, he would have had to change foreign exchange certificates in yuan to pay for the food.

"But we all knew China and its capital would expect a series of fundamental changes in the near future, especially after the returning of Hong Kong in 1997 and the bid for the Olympic Games," Wehinger said.

He still remembered staff and himself hanging a big banner outside the hotel in 1993, to wish Beijing "all the best for the bid for the 2000 Olympic Games".

"It was a big disappointment when the bid failed, but it was ultimately better to later host the 2008 Games as this allowed Beijing more time to get ready," Wehinger said.

"I do not think we would have seen such spectacular venues like the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube nine years ago."

Wehinger also witnessed how the successful bid for the Beijing Games accelerated many infrastructure projects like subways, roads and public areas.

Similarly, it pushed many owners and hotel companies to build and open hotels earlier.

In the following years, Wehinger traveled to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Dubai, Sydney and South Africa to manage international hotels. But Wehinger and his family missed their way of life in Beijing.

Wehinger first met his Chinese wife in Cornell University in New York, where he received his hotel administration degree.

The couple had their two sons in Beijing in the early 1990s and all are lovers of Chinese culture. Their eldest son also studied Chinese medicine for more than a year.

So in October 2007, Wehinger was delighted to receive his second appointment in Beijing from the Singapore-based Millennium & Copthorne group to open the Grand Millennium Hotel.

"Now the luxury hotels in China are better than many those in Europe," Wehinger said.

"I am also glad to see and work with local talent who replace foreign expats in the business.

"And we don't have an oversea purchase plan any longer, since everything is now available in the city."

The recent global recession has not spared the hotel industry in China but Wehinger still feels lucky to be in the country.

"China has the largest domestic travel market in the world, which means that we are not completely dependent on overseas customers," he said.

"A fact that has many hotels looking at their market segments and strategies, to plan accordingly for the years ahead."

Wehinger also enjoys life in the capital outside of work.

"The art, nightlife, restaurants, international shows and most of all, its young people, are an inspiration," he said.

"To be living and contributing to this exciting place, to hear my sons speaking fluent Chinese and being an integrated part of this society ... make it one of the best things that I could have imagined."