It’s April, finally some spring time sun and warmth arrive in Qingdao. Just in time for the Hai Tian Hotel to welcome a fleet of multi-national naval guests from 29 countries and regions, who entered, resplendent in dress uniforms to a festive, red carpet reception in the East Wing lobby.  They came to help celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese PLA Navy. The naval Captains, Admirals and command officers, together with a family delegation of the late China hand, American General Joseph Warren “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell and various military attaches to China, a total of 187 people, all stayed with us in the Hai Tian. With so many VIPs and issues of protocol, the reception was extremely demanding and protracted.

The Hai Tian is the only hotel authorized to billet such a multi-national naval gathering. The Hai Tian’s personalized service showcased for these special guests the hospitality and first-class reception of the hotel and the city. Many guests took time to express their thanks for such a home-like reception and stay.

For example, the Russian Navy Commander,  Vysotskiy Vladimir Sergeevich wrote: “Thank you for your hospitality and high-quality service, and we hope that the Hai Tian will achieve even more successes.” The American Chief of Naval Operations, Gary Roughead was effusive and personal in his thanks. He thanked the Hai Tian for its hospitality, took pictures with Hai Tian employees and gave American Naval pens as gifts to Hai Tian staff.

The Hai Tian’s high reception standards and flexibility have yet again won recognition from guests and leaders of the city, province and country.

Hai Tian’s personalized service surpassing guests’ expectations

Successful receptions rely on the dedication of the Hai Tian’s staff. They provided caring, considerate, efficient and professional service to their guests during their stay. The Hai Tian’s uniform, personalized and spontaneous service skills greatly impressed this international group of navy guests.

I. 24-hour service guarantee

  The Hai Tian provided 24-hour butler service for these VIP navy guests. The Hotel’s Housekeeping Department organized a special service team, offering person-to-person service around the clock. The work schedule was arranged according to that of the guest.  If a guest was an early riser, the butler assigned also was up at dawn.  If a guest was in the habit of working late into the night, a butler was on call until they retired and turned out the light.

  Many of the butlers made sacrifices of interaction with family and friends in order to ensure our guests experienced no disruption or discomfort in their stay.  The hotel’s Security Department was literally on alert around the clock every day to ensure the safety of the hotel guests. Not surprisingly many of the navy guests enjoyed recreation or exercise by swimming. The Hai Tian’s Recreation Center rescheduled its hours of operation to making all facilities from pool to sauna and fitness available from 5:00 am through midnight. To ensure no lapse, even for a moment in the Hotel’s operation and service, the Hai Tian’s president and vice presidents arranged a schedule to ensure that there was a senior administrator on duty at all times.  Managers of the Front Office, Food & Beverage and Engineering Departments stepped up their usual level of cooperation, consulting and making plans for any eventuality.  To be sure nothing went unattended they met every evening to adjust work schedules and other details.

II. Service is an art. Personalized and spontaneous service wins guests’ loyalty and recognition of the Hai Tian.

  During the reception of these international navy guests, there were many unique and intriguing displays of special service.

A. Room decor

   When a guest entered the room, the first thing in view was traditional Chinese calligraphy, paintings and decoration;  Peking Opera masks, examples of intricate and traditional Chinese knots, plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum items to appeal to eye and mind. Guests from different countries had a special and unique floral display; for example, roses are a special bloom inthe United States.  Thus in each American guest’s room, there was beautiful  arrangement of roses, even the complementary fruit platter had a dusting of delicate rose petals.

  Anyone familiar with the worlds navies knows the pride they take in their dress uniform and having that uniform perfect in every aspect. Anticipating this concern with razor sharp creases and unwrinkled sleeves, an iron and  ironing board were added to every room, so those sharp outfits could be touched up at any time.  That most nautical of instruments, the telescope, was also provided to each naval guest to give them a special view of the sights of Qingdao from their rooms.  From experience, our room attendants know that guests from Europe and Americas prefer a softer mattress and warmer bed.  Mattresses and blankets were provided to cater to this need.

  VIP rooms were provided free red wine, coffee and black tea daily. For guests’ convenience, the name and phone number of their duty butler was placed on the straw tea “cozy” (to keep tea warm).  And    every guest was spoiled with a tasty cheese cake in his room every day.

  Hai Tian’s staff frequently surprised their guests and added appeal to their stay by creating something new each day; rearranging the room, fruit platter and flowers, adding a pleasant and enjoyable texture to our Hai Tian service.

  Mr. Xi Yanping, president of the Hai Tian, on behalf of the hotel staff, surprised Mr. Gary Roughead, chief of Naval Operations of the United States, with the gift of a special example of Chinese.

As each VIP guest left the hotel they received the gift of a special set of chopsticks and paintings from Three Kingdom, a classic Chinese novel.  Each of the wives was gifted with a delicate Chinese silk scarf.

B. Guests enjoy Hai Tian’s gourmet food

  The six unique restaurants of the Hai Tian -- Eastern Palace - Chinese restaurant; The Sea Breeze, western restaurant; The Shimbashi and Teppanyaki, Japanese restaurants; Korean Restaurant; and the Donglaishun (East is Best), Muslim hotpot restaurant offered fine foods each with unique cuisine. “Whenever you return to the hotel, you’ll find beautiful food,” said Mr. Ribeiro de Melo Gomes, Portugal’s Chief of Navy Staff.

  To enhance the festive atmosphere of this special anniversary, the Sea Breeze staff created a carving of the Logo of the 60^th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese PLA Navy. The restaurant also invited candy artists to make fine candy carvings of coral and rose. Putting the heads, and culinary skills together, the chefs and cooks of the Sea Breeze came up with new taste delights, including special appetizers, a New Zealand lamb chop dish: Roti prata, curried dishes and special sauces. The Hotel’s Five Star Diamond Business Club created a mélange of special fast foods: The Quick Bar Menu. A naval attache from Pakistan commented after visiting the Donglaishun: ”This is the most authentic Muslim food I’ve ever found away from home!” 

C. Predictable Service

  Before the multi-national naval group arrived, the Hai Tian conducted relevant staff training, including foreign languages, protocol, national and naval traditions and customs. The Hai Tian staff were familiar with every guest’s name and their room number before their arrival. They greeted guests by name on their first meeting, which was a pleasant surprise for these travelers from distant ports.

  As soon as the hotel received the name list of the guests, Ms. Zhang Xin logged on to the internet to search for background information that might help better serve these special guests better. Mr.  Roughead, the American Chief of Naval Operations, was obviously impressed when Ms. Zhang reminded him of his visit to China in 1996. She made sure he always received copies of both English and Chinese newspapers when news of his visit was published. Each time Mr. Roughead’s aide saw these personal touches from Ms. Zhang, he would raise a thumb in the international gesture of approval.  Mr. Roughead in return added a personal touch to his thanks for such care, presenting souvenir US Navy pens to staff and posing for pictures with proud Hai Tian employees.

  Mr. John M. Bird, American 7^th fleet Commandant and Mrs. Bird have a daughter named Elizabeth. By coincidence, a Hai Tian butler serving them has the English name Elizabeth. When butler Elizabeth introduced herself, Mr. and Mrs. Bird were pleasantly surprised and felt even more at home. Butler Elizabeth paid great attention to her work; aware that Mrs. Bird liked roses and bananas, she prepared a special rose bouquet each day and made sure there were plenty of bananas on the fruit plate. Before Mr. and Mrs. Bird left the Hai Tian, Mrs. Bird gave Elizabeth a big hug and said: “Thank you, beautiful girl. You’ve given me a gift of love in the Hai Tian and China. I’m going to take this tea basket with your name on it home to America to remind me of you and these wonderful moments in Qingdao, China.“.

  When one of the room attendants noticed that guest Charles Hooper was under the weather from the change of climate in Qingdao, she prepared ginger soup for him and made sure there were plenty of soft tissues on his night stand to cope with the sniffles. Mr. Hooper’s butler accompanied him to the restaurant at every meal, an act that deeply impressed the guest. Before leaving, Mr. Hooper wrote a personal note to express his gratitude. He made of point of saying the special care he’d experienced made him wish to be able to return soon.  He gave his name card to and made friends with many of the Hai Tian staff.

D. Inter-Departmental Cooperation successfully completes the “mission”

  The Marketing and Sales Department, acting as coordinator, organized a special reception team. Due to flight changes of arriving guests, reception plans also had to be constantly changed. Sales and Markets was in regular contact with PLA North Sea Fleet personnel in charge of this reception to confirm all changes of flight schedules and immediately notified relevant departments of any alterations. They often worked deep into the night. Because of the smooth communication, an infinity of potential disruptions was avoided and the reception process was completed smoothly.

  The multi-national naval guests are all VIPs. The Front Office paid great attention to their work details, including room assignment, baggage distribution and providing individualized, accurate information about the Hotel and the city. The concierge staff had to be on deck at 4:30 each morning to distribute baggage. 400 pieces of baggage were delivered to guests without a single mistake. Some staff members created “tabbed” lists to highlight shopping centers and other places of interest for guests. In one unusual, yet illustrative bit of serendipity, Lobby Manager Alanna bumped into Ms. Sara Sambo in the Jimo Road shopping area after work.  She spontaneously volunteered to be Ms. Sambo’s tour guide. She helped Ms. Sambo find a lot of delightful, and reasonably priced Chinese souvenirs.  This unselfish act deeply impressed Ms. Sambo, and made another good friend for Alanna and the Hai Tian.

  The hotel’s security department successfully completed their mission for the multi-national naval contingent without a hitch. They were on 24 hour patrol, checking every single soul who entered the hotel and monitoring telephone traffic to filter out offensive calls.

  The weather was not ideal during parts of the naval guests stay in our port.  But, the uncooperative weather didn’t affect the hotel operations in the slightest.  The Engineering Department had pre-checked and continuously monitored every system; water supply, electricity, lighting, air-conditioning, elevators and electrically controlled entry doors. To ensure adequate power for the naval group, they added another on line distribution transformer.  This “All-hands-on-deck” attitude and performance kept the Hai Tian squared away and guaranteed smooth sailing for the PLA Navy’s 60^th Anniversary celebration and the host of international guests. We were delighted with the opportunity to pipe so many knowledgeable and appreciative guests aboard, saddened to see them weigh anchor, and, one more nautical note; hopeful they’ll choose to sail our way again in the future.