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COVER STORY: Intuitive care to ensure a more Inspired Stay. An interview with Fredrik Genberg, General Manager of Conrad Tianjin
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Intuitive care to ensure a more Inspired Stay

A Luxury Retreat For The Global Traveller

An interview with Fredrik Genberg,
General Manager of Conrad Tianjin

BT 201911 340X458The world's smart luxury travelers have a new destination and reason to stay in Tianjin. In the Heart of the city, a new state-of-the-art hotel has opened in the vibrant Nankai District. The building design is inspired by the city's historical and cultural landmarks, with stately hotel rooms, European courtyards and stunning interiors that showcase a blend of modern chic and Art Deco.
 

Conrad Tianjin offers exceptional dining experiences in its four outlets, but also has the third-largest meeting space amongst the city’s hotels.
 

You can feel relaxed and inspired throughout your stay in Conrad Tianjin, and we have the honour to interact in this issue of Business Tianjin with its General Manager, Mr. Fredrik Genberg and learn more about this luxury retreat for all global travelers.
 

Congratulations for the recent opening of Conrad Tianjin. The work done, great service and facilities are amazing. Your 30-year long career in the operations and management of luxury hotels and resorts is quite remarkable. How did you start your career in the hotel industry?

I started as management trainee in Macao after getting my degree in hotel management from Michigan State University in USA. Since then I have worked in 6 Asian countries with a total 15 years in China.

CTC hotel exterior hero1042
After achieving top leadership roles in Luxury international hotels in various prime geographic locations, what continues to fuel your passion?

I enjoy teaching and sharing my experiences with my team. I enjoy growing my teams and building and creating new things. The hospitality industry has given me the chance to do all of these, and I really appreciate that.


Among the many countries you have worked in, what endears you the most to China? How are you enjoying the sights and sounds of Tianjin so far?

I have worked in eight countries so far during my career, including Europe, USA and many countries in Asia. During high school I studied Asian culture and history, and I have always been fascinated with the Chinese culture, particularly the architecture and designs, and the great variety of traditions in Asia, especially China. I was very excited when I had the opportunity to go to Macao and later to other places of China.
 

I have worked in quite a few cities in China, including Guangzhou, Harbin, Beijing, Chengdu and Xi’An. What I like about Tianjin is that the temperature is a little cooler at least in Fall, Spring and obviously in Winter. The air quality seems to be better, and you actually get blue sky, which is really refreshing and is psychologically positive.

AVA 8650уа 1500How do you get to successfully launch Conrad Tianjin? What are your ingredients for achieving success?

The building of Conrad Tianjin has been here for 2 or 3 years, but the project finally kicked into high gear in January, 2019. I joined Conrad Tianjin on January 7th, and we basically had only 7 months to open the hotel, which needed us to work very fast.
 

The key ingredients for opening the hotel successfully has been great team of leaders and a fantastic group of team members with lots of experience. They have all worked very hard to make it happen. Usually opening a luxury hotel takes a year and half, so you can see how that whole experience was very fast tracked. Also we have had really good support from our owners (Luneng) to make the whole process move along and finish a great hotel.

CTC lobby lounge two9480Can you share what has been the most challenging part of Conrad Tianjin Opening?

The most challenging part was the time line. Since we start with nothing, we have to create and order everything. All the purchasing decisions and lot of conceptual decisions had to be made quickly and in the first two months, to ensure that everything actually arrived before the opening. That was the toughest and the most challenging part. After that came the fine-tuning and training of the soft skills for the team to deliver a luxury experience.
 

Conrad Tianjin is located in an exclusive, high-end area between the largest park of Tianjin and Tianta, one of the world's tallest towers; two of the most important local tourist spots.

AVA 8608 каcopy 900Please, let us know more about this fantastic location of your hotel, and the proximity to a fantastic commercial complex and easy access by several types of transportation.

Yes, we are in a good area and very convenient for families and guests to walk around. It is a friendly and very safe environment with the largest park in downtown Tianjin next door, offering wonderful scenic walks that make everyone much more relaxed to stay here.
 

Nestled in the premier Luneng development with offices, residences and a high-end shopping plaza, Conrad Tianjin also enjoys a prime location next to the acclaimed historic Nankai and Tianjin Universities, Tianjin government offices and Tianjin Zoo.
 

The high-end shopping plaza next door obviously features all shopping facilities that anybody could need, and there is also a large food court in the basement and on the 6th floor a cineplex.
 

In terms of access, we are only about hundred metres away from Tianta subway station, Line 3, which is very convenient to reach Tianjin Railway and South Railway Station in less than 20 minutes. We are on Tianta road, which has a lot of buses passing by and it is very convenient for Taxis.
 

Our knowledgeable Conrad Curators are pleased to suggest must-see attractions or curate individual excursions during guest stays.

CTC 986 executive king room6207Tell us what makes Conrad Tianjin unique from the rest of the hotels in town? What best describes the personality of the hotel?

Conrad Hotels are created for smart luxury travellers. Today's luxury travellers are growing in number, and the cost is not their main issue. It is about the experience, and the way how we interact with our guests is the main focus point for the hotel.
 

Our entire front office team is trained and skilled for all different tasks, and everyone can actually handle the guest from the time of arrival till the time of departure. It is a service team, which combines with concierge team, providing a unique experience to our guests. Included are welcoming the guests, managing luggage, assisting them with the check in, bringing them to the room and interacting during their whole stay. This is why all of them have the same uniform at front office.
 

Another key factor is that our curators have 100% empowerment to take decisions. We allow them to make any decision that they feel is necessary to make the guests’ experience much more inspirational. Customer feedback is very positive thus far which is unusual, especially for newly opened hotel. I am personally surprised, so we are doing exceptionally well.
 

Our seamless service and intuitive care at Conrad Tianjin ensures you feel relaxed and inspired throughout your stay.
 

What is the inspiration behind the interiors and look of Conrad Tianjin?

Conrad Tianjin has an inspiration of Art Deco as you can see in many artworks, design and details. It is a blend of modern and Art Deco details. Our hotel decoration is based in 1930s period in the interior and exterior area. It's a low building with brick finishing that fits very well with the historical Tianjin architecture.
 

Our uniforms are tailored a bit old fashion with longer skirts and different cut in the uniforms to further echo some of Art Deco details and feelings of that era.

AVA 8702 сcopy 900How does your leadership further build on Conrad Tianjin's allure and bespoke service?

The phrase I like to use is "luxury is in the details". I am a very detail orientated person, which sometimes makes getting things done a little slower, but if you care about the details, it carries a better feeling for the guest experience. That is what we are about in terms of creating A More Inspired Stays for our guests.
 

What delightful cuisines await your stay-in-guests? What are their current and end-of-the-year holiday season promotions?

The hotel features three restaurants. Our all-day dining restaurant Brasserie on G (美庭). It features mainly buffet presentations, which change seasonally, and it also has a nice outdoor sitting area.
 

Our Chinese restaurant, called Ying (赢轩), which means “welcome”, features regional cuisines from China. Instead of doing one specific Chinese cuisine, we decided to adopt the favourite cuisines throughout China. You can find many dishes from various regions in China suitable for visitors to Tianjin, local and foreign guests.
 

Our signature restaurant is Bam Bou (竹影). It is a Southeast Asian restaurant which features cuisines from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and it also has a lovely outdoor area in the garden and a very nice indoor area. Our chef and restaurant manager interact with our guests to present the food personally. We have had very good comments so far.
 

The last one is Cha lounge (洽堂). It is a stylish lounge, and perfect setting to enjoy a cocktail, a cup of coffee or our signature afternoon tea that will be change every 2 months.

TSNTNCI lobby one3117What features of Conrad Tianjin are most complimented by business and leisure travellers?

Our guests find the hotel to be quite grand when entering the large lobby but also very welcoming with our colourful flowers and red velvet jacketed curators.
 

Many of them compliment our comfortable beds, which is very important, because they come mostly to sleep, so making sure they have a nice rest is very important. The special attention our team provides in making their stay that much more memorable is also a praised.
 

How does Conrad Tianjin support robust business capital and lifestyle destination outlook of Tianjin?

Tianjin is one of the few cities where business has grown in China during 2019. The economic climate in China has been a little slow, but Tianjin is still attracting more business.
 

Our hotel is a large property of 375 rooms, with very comprehensive facilities on our 3rd floor for meetings, incentives and conferences. We are able to take large groups or meetings and conferences, so that will definitely bring more business to Tianjin. We are the first Luxury Hotel in Tianta Area, and I think it will aid to boost the economy for Tianjin, but especially in this part of the city.

mmexport1571064185489What would be the next major events that your hotel is preparing for?

We have recently hosted a major event: The 101st China Food and Drinks Fair in Tianjin (CFDF) that occupies a few hotels and the main Convention Centre of the city. We have been extremely busy for about 5-6 days, and the whole hotel has been completely booked out during this period.
 

Another major event is the World Economic Forum that is coming in June of 2020, and we hope to be the part of it to further boost the prestige for our Nankai District.

TSNTNCI executive room livingroom 9920999As you observe the trends in the hospitality industry, how do you manage Conrad Tianjin to meet the changing expectations of guests?

In terms of creating experiences for the guests, we are all getting busier due the speed of communication, internet, WeChat, etc… We are making sure that our guests have a high quality value experience during their time they spend with us. Connecting our guests with Tianjin, and helping them to create inspirational moments is our key focus.
 

What do you think about the current local and global hospitality market?

I just read a survey the other day on the Luxury Global Travellers, have been largely unaffected by the world economic changes. Chinese Luxury Travellers are increasing day by day as the country is developing fast. I have seen China grow tremendously in the last 30 years, and I am very pleased of being part of this evolution.
 

When at work, what is it that puts a smile on your face?

Obviously, I am very happy when I receive compliments from guests. I also enjoy seeing my team empowered, driving the business and taking ownership of the hotel and in particular creating great guest experiences.

TSNTNCI brasserie on g seating area two4256我们悉心地照料,您会在这里找到灵感
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一家全新的奢华酒店 – 天津康莱德酒店 - 在充满活力的天津市南开区开业。该酒店建筑设计灵感来自天津市的历史和文化地标,拥有豪华酒店客房、欧式庭院和精美的室内设计,融合了现代时尚和装饰艺术。我们很荣幸采访到了天津康莱德酒店总经理福金佰先生,更多地了解这个面向全球旅行者的豪华商务及旅行胜地。
 

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