Meet Hui Li | 2022 General Manager Finalist
Since starting her journey in hospitality back in 2004, Hui Li has gone from strength to strength working for brands such as the InterContinental Group, the Wyndham Group, and other domestic brands in China. Now at Hampton by Hilton, take a look at how Hui Li has put her years of experience to the test while managing the ongoing pandemic crisis.
Please share a short introduction about you and your career.
I first started working in the hospitality industry back in 2004, and since then have had the pleasure of working for a number of brands, including: Hampton by Hilton, the InterContinental Group, the Wyndham Group, and other domestic brands in China.
After years of experience within the industry, I would say that my strengths lie in successfully executing team management and performance improvements – through effective performance appraisals – that have resulted in improving overall business performance and service quality.
Since joining Hampton by Hilton in March 2018, I am proud to say that over the years both myself and the team have earned multiple accolades and achievements for the work we love:
Excellent General Manager of Hampton by Hilton (China) and Gold General Manager of Jin Jiang Hotels (China) for three consecutive years.
In 2018, the OTA public opinion maintained a score above 4.9.
Hampton by Hilton was exempt from inspection from 2020 - 2022 and won the Hampton by Hilton Excellence in Quality Management Award in both 2019 and 2021.
In 2021, rewarded the Asia Pacific Hilton Group Award / Conrad Achievement Award.
What best practices have you implemented to manage the stop-and-go pandemic situation in China?
Throughout the pandemic period, we have successfully strengthened our brand image, continued to train employees, and continue to focus on improving five key areas of service: the smile service, the surprise treasure box, the interactive massage, small gifts, and capable little Hampton. All of this has helped us ensure we continue to provide high-quality service to our customers.
To overcome the challenges we faced during this difficult period of time, we tried implementing operating targets that were subdivided into days; responsibilities subdivided into departments and specific revenue items; supporting incentive targets; quantifying daily work tasks, alongside regularly discussing strategies for tapping into customer market resources.
I also held monthly meetings to review and analyse operation improvements, seek business opportunities for each department that would benefit operations, alongside trying to identify how we could further increase income aside from rooms.
What is it you are most proud of in your career to date?
In 2021, the hotel closed for 40 days in support of the fight against the pandemic. After resuming business, I led the team on a mission to remain on target. In actual fact, despite the difficulties we faced, we were still able to achieve 105.43% of the target – which was an increase of 15% compared to 2020 – and even won three year-end bonuses for employees.
In the second quarter of 2022, the hotel was requisitioned for 60 days – once again due to the pandemic – and this time we encouraged our employees to join the volunteers on the front line of the fight, which they were all honoured to do. After providing our resources to assist in the needs of those in quarantine, the team’s service was recognised by the local government and overall brand awareness increased.
Once we resumed business once again in May 2022, we faced an unstable source of customers and it was easy to see that our employees were anxious. So, I worked hard to try and develop new ideas in order to find a solution for our troubles. In the end, we were able to go above and beyond our target for the third quarter of the year, seeing a year-on-year increase of 15.99% compared to 2021.
Having been open for three years, we always try to maintain our goals and complete our various assessment indicators and operating budgets.
Can you share what you believe is key in leading a successful hotel today?
Leading a successful hotel as a General Manager means knowing how to lead by example. You become a role model of strength and expertise, showcasing how hoteliers portray their people-oriented nature through friendly, reliable, and thoughtful service – a spirit we always try to maintain at Hampton by Hilton. With this in mind, we are able to craft beautiful experiences for our guests, bring hope and happiness to our partners, win the support and trust of the team, cultivate inspiration and a sense of honour and create an atmosphere of active service in order to maintain high-quality customer service.
At work, we also believe that having a system in place to manage people and processes is a must. By setting up a reasonable and effective performance appraisal mechanism, we are able to continue motivating employees' abilities and sense of responsibility throughout challenging times. Overall, this helps us ensure we are always on top of operation details, are able to identify any potential issues that may arise, as well as track and analyse results to better inform future decisions.
With the pandemic having been a part of our lives for a number of years, hotel operations continue to be affected. During these times, we must focus on leading a team with courage and strength to overcome challenges that come our way. Whether relating to operations or service, we must boldly innovate and seek constant development.
As a leader, how do you manage to continue energizing and motivating your team throughout a crisis [pandemic] that has lasted years?
When it comes to hotel management, I always try to remind the team to put people first by remaining friendly, reliable, caring, and thorough with our service. It is always important to remember that we need to remain considerate to both our guests and colleagues in order to win and maintain their support.
I also host monthly service case-sharing sessions in order to share positive optimism and cultivate a sense of collective pride amongst all staff. This helps to generate a proactive service atmosphere that allows hotel partners to feel as if they are the masters of the hotel and guests to feel as though they are our friends. Through this, we ensure a happy and joyful place of work, feel pride in our performance, and maintain positive energy all around.
The ability of just one person has a limit, that’s where the power of a team becomes beneficial. Any successful hotel requires the strength of an entire team to achieve greatness, so in order to continue energising my team I formulate target plans and performance policies for each KPI indicator. This way, the team feels motivated to work towards their goals every day.
Once we have a goal in place, we make sure to build team cohesion, conduct regular team training, work together to improve our comprehensive skills, enhance employee self-confidence and continuously work on improving our quality of service by using actionable practices to gain recognition of both guests and investors.
In addition to this, the management team and I love to craft meaningful moments for our friends. For example, on the 16th of every month, we host the Hampton Day, where we will personally make soup and special desserts for employees, as well as visit any staff that may have been hospitalised to ensure they have everything they need to recover in comfort.
With all of these initiatives and incentives, every member of the team feels that they are a part of the family. As a result, since opening in 2018, over 80% of employees have worked with us for more than 3 years.
What is a book, podcast, or media resource that you have recently read / listened to regularly that inspired / inspires you?
I just finished reading “The Underlying Logic” by Liu Run.
It was a fascinating read that provided a lot of insight into the base-level cognitive skills the younger generation should learn. It also showcases an interesting outlook on today’s world that has helped me further understand how society operates and how I can avoid any potential pitfalls in the future, as a person who is able to look at the world from different angles and cognitive levels will draw different conclusions to form the right decision for them. What’s more, it’s imperative to be able to not only learn best practices from people of excellence but, more importantly, their way of thinking in order to improve how you see the world.
What is the motto that you live by?
Never forget your original purpose, and always appreciate progress!
I will always maintain my passion for hotels and try to be the best version of myself.