Kleinmann：Service and Renowned Luxury

　　For the past 12 years, Martin Kleinmann has had a desire to come to China. At the end of July his dream came true.

　　As the new general manager of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Shenzhen, Kleinmann brought with him years of experience in hospitality management. He previously served as general manager at Ritz-Carlton hotels in New Delhi, Bahrain, Cairo and Istanbul.

　　But he said he is still continuing to learn.

　　"Wherever I go, I go in order to learn. I share some experiences that I have had, whether in business or life, but I learn in every destination from the culture," he said.

　　" With every new move, I become better."

　　"I expected China to be the place to be," he said. "There is enormous potential here for us as a company."

　　Now that he is in China, Kleinmann said it is much better than he expected. Shenzhen is a very young, dynamic and green city. And he has found the staff at the hotel - now open in Shenzhen for over two years - to be a professional, dedicated and capable team.

　　Building on legacy

　　As business strengthened, the hotel developed a great team and is now a market leader in Shenzhen, Kleinmann said, so he said he is not going to make a great number of changes. He said all he needs to do is to build on Ritz-Carlton"s legacy.

　　"I want whatever Ritz-Carlton does here in Shenzhen to be meaningful. We try to be part of the community. Everything we do, we want to make sure we blend in by supporting and being actively involved and giving back to the community."

　　In November, the hotel opened its second annual "Gingerbread House Built with Love". An initiative by the hotel chain"s Community Footprints program, it combines a Christmas celebration with charity fundraising. The proceeds from gingerbread brick sales go to the Shenzhen Min Ai Disabled Children"s Welfare Center.

　　Kleinmann said that even though the Ritz-Carlton is recognized internationally, the hotel also wants to be recognized by every local community in which it operates.

　　"We would like to help Shenzhen become a destination that is more attractive, more reputable and more important," he said. "We want to contribute to Shenzhen"s growth."

　　Challenges, opportunities

　　Kleinmann is keenly aware of the challenges ahead. Some other luxury hotels have been in China for 20 years while Ritz-Carlton is a young brand that is still building awareness. Some Chinese have a hard time even pronouncing the name.

　　"That is a challenge. But that is strong motivation for us. We will continue to build our brand here," he said.

　　While Ritz-Carlton is managing a large number of luxury hotels worldwide, Kleinmann said what really sets it apart is service.

　　"Nobody has service like ours," he said.

　　According to Kleinmann, the heart of Ritz-Carlton"s service philosophy is anticipating what guests want even before they say it.

　　"We give our team one simple direction - make guests happy. Then we give our people the freedom to do what it takes to achieve that," he said. "Empowerment is the key. We make sure everyone of us can make decisions."

　　Anticipating guest needs is part of Ritz-Carlton"s latest marketing initiative, "Let Us Stay With You," which has employees ranging from doormen and chefs to room attendants and managers going above the call of duty to pamper guests.

　　"We strive to create experiences for people that will be remembered for a lifetime and will pass on from generation to generation," he said. "If there is anything in your life that is important, whether it is a birthday, wedding or a family gathering, if you want to celebrate it, I want it to happen in our hotel. We want to be a part of your daily life.

　　"At the end of the day, we can say we made a difference in people"s lives. They had a great time here," he said.

　　"Then they will want to get that experience again and again."

　　Kleinmann said delivering unique and memorable service on a daily basis will create a kind of emotional attachment so powerful that the marketing mission is accomplished.

　　"That is how we measure our success. That is also when financial success comes automatically."

　　Kleinmann recognizes that Ritz-Carlton is still a young company in China. But he has no doubt that the company will succeed.

　　"Today is the right time in China. We will grow with the city and with the country," he said.

　　His wife is from South Korea and helped solidify his decision to work in Asia after they were married in New York in 2004. They have two sons, aged 6 and 3, who attend an international school in Shenzhen. The whole family is taking Chinese lessons.