In the Lounge with Alfonso Orona at The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing
From the bustling kitchens of his family’s restaurant to leading some of the world’s most iconic hotels, Alfonso Orona has built a remarkable journey defined by passion, warmth, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
Now serving as Multi-Property General Manager at The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing, Alfonso oversees not only one of the capital’s most distinguished addresses, but also the newly opened Ritz-Carlton, Suzhou and the exciting new brand – Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy – soon to launch in China.
In this candid Q&A, Alfonso shares his inspiring career story – a path that began at just 16 years old and has since spanned continents, from Saudi Arabia and Spain to China. He reflects on lessons learned through years of leadership, his believe in empowering teams, and how genuine human connection remains at the heart of true hospitality.
Watch the full interview to hear Alfonso’s insights:
Transcript:
So, my career started practically since I was a child, as my parents used to run a restaurant. So, hospitality was there since my childhood. However, my first hotel was a part time role when I was 16 years old.
Since then, I realised I have a passion for hospitality and I wanted to continue in hotels. So, I've been working in around 7 different brands. 15 years ago, I joined The Ritz-Carlton in the pre-opening team in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia.
After that, I did a couple of properties in the Middle East, then I moved to Spain in the Canary Islands, in Tenerife, and 7 years ago I came to China to be part of the opening team of The Ritz-Carlton, Xi'an before the pandemic.
Then during the pandemic, I did a couple of properties: The Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai and The Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu. 4 years ago, I took over the General Manager position in The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing and recently I've been promoted to take over The Ritz-Carlton, Suzhou and the new brand to be launched in China: Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy.
What’s something you’ve unlearned as a leader?
As a leader, you need to understand that you don't have all the answers or all the solutions for any challenge.
We need to accept that sometimes our team has the best solutions or the best strategy. I think the more and more you grow, you learn that you have to be surrounded by people better than you.
What advice would you give to aspiring hotel leaders?
Definitely to enjoy the journey. Be patient and no matter how impressive the qualifications are, the core of hospitality is still the personal connections, the warmth, and understanding of feelings – no matter if its guests, no matter if its colleagues, no matter if its the team – that will make you a very successful hotelier.
What key trends do you believe will shape the future of hospitality?
We focus on key talents in our property. We set them in a program where they have mentorship from key leaders in the hotel and we identify the talent – no matter if it’s an internship or an employee they have a specific talent for one division – we put them in immersive tasks so that they can understand the division better and they can focus in being specialised in that task.
What do you believe today’s guests value most?
I think hospitality will remain all about warmth and personal touches. Although robots can help us do basic things and AI can help us to do analysis, I think the guests will still continue to like to have someone in the lobby, with a warm smile, and shaking hands.
I think with the principle that robots can help us to handle transactions and analysis but humans will remain being the ones to handle the relationships.
If your hotel had a theme song, what would it be?
It would be "La Vie en Rose" from Edith Piaf because it's classic, it's timeless, same as our hotel, and talks about how to transform life from very ordinary to a very rosy life.
If you could have dinner with anyone – dead or alive – who would it be and why?
It would definitely be my parents as they together ran a restaurant for many years – 43 years. So, I would like to learn from them, the strategy behind it and how they were able to make it so successful. How they prepared the marketing plan, how they chose the menus, and how they adapted to the trends of those days because nowadays hospitality, especially food & beverage, is very rotative and not easy to adapt. So, I would like to have this insight from them.
What book have you recently read that inspired you?
The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz. It's a philosophy on life that focuses on four simple agreements which are: be impeccable with your word, never make assumptions, never take anything personally, and always do your best.
As simple as it sounds, it's a philosophy of life that will help you to be successful.
What’s a motto you live by?
Dream bigger than your imagination can handle. I believe that everything starts with a dream and sometimes we don't over promise because you feel that you will under deliver but I think the more ambitious the goal you will be surprised of the result you can achieve.