Hanting

"Sometimes aesthetics is a luxury and even linked to death. The exquisite aesthetic created in the Song dynasty was too fragile, and in the end, it led to the dynasty’s destruction. This prompts me to think: maintaining a good balance is vital for individuals and businesses. The foundation of the Huazhu group is Hanting and JI Hotels, and our crown will only have one or two dazzling diamonds, which I consider a good balance. If we paved our road to the future with gold and precious stones, this enterprise of ours would be in danger of becoming as fragile as the Song dynasty."

"In the setup stage of Hanting, listing on the stock market was not the objective; rather, it was considered a means of achieving our objectives. Hanting’s vision was to become a leading international hotel chain. I characterized this ideal: a group of like-minded friends happily working together to achieve something great."

"From the outset of initiating the setup of Ctrip I had an absolutely professional team with James Liang establishing a solid foundation, Fan Min carrying it forwards, and Neil Shen dealing with the financial and legal aspects. I established the firm base for Home Inn, then Sun Jian took up the baton; I also initiated Hanting and established a solid base…"

"Now my goals in life are very clear: First: I want to work with my partners to make Hanting the biggest and best hotel group in the world, which is my ideal of a group of like-minded friends happily working together to achieve something great. Second, I want to live a life I want. I will not delight in material gains and will not be burdened by fame. I want to truly live my life well by treasuring the creation of me by God, and by living a full life so that I can calmly say, “I’ve lived a life I wanted to live,” if a young person asks me the same question when I am 70 years old. This is what I learned through founding the three enterprises, especially through working on Hanting."

"Our first hotel in Kunshan was a great success. With that confidence boost, we proceeded to open another one in Suzhou, and then one in Shanghai. By the end of 2017, Hanting had opened 2,244 hotels all over China."

"Kunshan at the time was a third or fourth tier city. My reasoning was that it would not be surprising if Hanting failed in Kunshan because, after all, there were not many tourist and business traveller flows. If we failed in Kunshan, we might make it work in Shanghai. But if we were successful in Kunshan, then we could make it work everywhere."

"Fourth, all three companies were the perfect marriage of entrepreneurial spirit and professional management. From the outset of initiating the setup of Ctrip I had an absolutely professional team with James Liang establishing a solid foundation, Fan Min carrying it forwards, and Neil Shen dealing with the financial and legal aspects. I established the firm base for Home Inn, then Sun Jian took up the baton; I also initiated Hanting and…"

"Fifth, all three businesses were a reformation of a traditional industry. Ctrip was transformed from a traditional travel agency to a modern travel service company. Both Home Inn and Hanting were upgraded from traditional hotels to modern hotel chains. These are…"

"The three businesses – Ctrip, Home Inn and Hanting – have much common ground. First, the actual business models were not entirely the same as those conceptualized at the time of the initial financing Ctrip moved from an online travel agency to hotel room bookings, while Home Inn moved from the hotel franchise model to privately owned and operated…"

"Second, each of the businesses required about three years to take shape. For Ctrip it was from 1999 to 2002; Home Inn 2003 to 2005; and Hanting from 2007 to 2010. In a similar manner to human development, the basic shape of these three businesses, their teams, structure, character and culture was formed in the first three years. Thereafter it was just a question of continued growth. Three years is a critical time for Chinese companies to reach a certain level to be able to enable significant future growth. This is because Chinese companies grow fast and there are many imitators and…"

"Most people in the industry in those days did not know how to utilize venture capital and computer technology in management. At the time, landline phone calls were free in guest rooms but Wi-Fi connections were not. Guests who used an in-room landline service tended to be the ones with a weaker payment ability because most more affluent guests would use mobile phones to make calls. I thought: I want to shuffle things around a little. In Hanting, all Wi-Fi internet connections are free of charge. The traditional hotel industry is filled with a sense of vanity and riddled with bureaucracy. In my view, the IT industry has none of that. Its no-nonsense style is like a young man wearing a T-shirt and sporting a crew cut; whoever is capable comes out on top. Let me do it if you can’t. The entire industry is constantly being pushed forwards by young people. The value of older generations depreciates fast."

"Second, China’s long-term rapid economic development has stimulated robust demand which, in turn, has stimulated the market and motivated businesses. Supply now exceeds demand in the manufacturing sector, but in the service sector supply cannot satisfy demand. A budget hotel like Hanting hits full occupancy as soon as it is open for business."