HOTELIER INDONESIA 1

Hospitality InvestmentWorld Indonesia 2012

Resort World Manila

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David Kurniawan

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INTERVIEWSDAVID KURNIAWAN - CEO CHINA HOSPITALITY SYNERGY 14

Mr. Nick Aristou - Four Season Limasol Executive Director 64

Eugene Win, Director of Rooms,- Anantara Xishuangbanna Resort and Spa 61

Ryan Brandeburg - Director of Golf at both Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers 25

GUY HEYWOOD - CEO ALILA 22

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Hotelier Indonesia is happy to introduce David Kur-niawan, an Indonesian hotelier currently living and working in Shanghai. With significant experience in both Indonesia and China, we appreciate the value he brings to our publication.

[HIC] What is your current position, and what is the chief focus of your work-day?

[DK] I built China Hospitality Synergy (CHS) mid of 2011, a company based in Shanghai. I am the Chair-man and CEO of the company. The first CHS project is in Qingdao where we took over the management of Tiantai Golf Club and Tiantai Hot Spring Resort. I am leading the golf club and resort as the General

Manager..Our focus is to re-design the service concept and improve the service standards of the golf club and resort to the 5 star level. We will bring a new experi-ence and brand value of Tiantai to the members and also the villa owners. TianTai Group is the top 5 real estate group company in Qingdao.

[HIC] Golf clubs and resorts have been a large part of your professional career. What venues have you worked at in Indonesia?

[DK] I studied in Bali Tourism School (previous called BPLP) in Nusa Dua. After graduation, I started my career with Hilton International opening the Bali Hilton as Front Office Manager. Hilton gave me lots of train-

DAVID KURNIAWAN“If someone decides to be a hotelier for his/her career, it is best to have interna-tional exposures as it will help the person to understand dif-ferent cultures and different ways of managing the hotels/resorts. “

CHAIRMAN AND CEO CHINA HOSPITALITY SYNERGY

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ing experiences and principles of running 5 star hotels. Five years later, I thought that I would try a differ-ent experience in running boutique resorts, which at that time was a new concept of hospitality introduced in Bali, pioneered by Amanresort. I joined its sister company called GHM (General Hotels Management) open-ing The Chedi Ubud as an Executive Assistant Manager. It is a totally different approach in running big hotels like Hilton hotels compared to boutique hotels.

[HIC] What prompted you to make a move to China?

[DK] Four years later, GHM assigned me to be a Resident Manager to sup-port the General Manager to open its first operations in mainland China at the Fuchun Resort. Fuchun Resort has an 18 holes member’s only golf club, villas and hotel. GHM had 2 proper-ties to operate in China, the Fuchun Resort in Hangzhou and a T8 Res-taurant in Xintiandi, Shanghai. Both properties became a trend setter of China’s boutique resorts and restau-rants.

Though China is a huge country with significant developments in the IT and real estate industries; back in year 2000, China did not have any high-end resorts which focused on the service quality. Although China rich in culture, they lacked the level of hospitality acceptable to the interna-tional communities/clienteles.

Fuchun Resort and T8 offered the first quality service resort in China with totally different approaches; for example, the resort offered simplic-ity and the experience of living in China’s environment. We tapped into a growing trend at that time, bring-ing luxury, glamour and modern European lifestyle experiences to the people in China.

[HIC] Were there any issues you had to work hard to overcome when

making the move to China? For instance, did you speak Mandarin before landing in China? And any other issues?

[DK] Maybe it is difficult to under-stand, but when I entered China in year 2000, I spoke none of Chinese words. I lived in a third tier place, which is a small town called Fuyang, a 45 minutes drive from Hangzhou. I had mixed feeling between frustra-tion and challenges.

I worked in a Chinese speaking envi-ronment and I thought none of the people in Fuyang spoke any English. The best place to live and have meals were in a local 3 star hotel. Dinner started from 4.30 pm and the town was quiet after 6 pm. I needed to drive 45 minutes to Hangzhou to get a decent dining experience. I love the Hangzhou cuisine, the city and the people; it balanced my feeling to overcome the pressure and difficul-ties as a first timer living and working in China.

[HIC] Which facilities have you worked at in China?

[DK] After spending almost 5 years in Fuchun Resort, I moved to south of China in Guangdong province opened a hot-spring resort called the Pattra. After Pattra I moved to Beijing, the capital city of China.

I spent 4 years in Beijing opened a luxury members-only golf club in Beijing called Bayhood No. 9 Interna-tional Golf Club.

4 years later I moved to Shanghai to open a luxury golf resort in Chong-ming Island in Shanghai called The LanHai International Golf Club. It has 36 holes Jack Nicklaus-designed golf club and resort. During this time, I came up with the idea of opening up my own company.

[HIC] Are there many differences in how Indonesian & Chinese resorts operate?

[DK] Although China is a very fast growing country, the development of the human resources is not keep-ing up with the rapid growth of the national economy. Indonesia by nature has many different cultures; the people are nice and courteous.

If you are working in an international chain resort, the management com-pany normally brings the standards of the company to be implemented at the new site. It is probably similar to the implementation of the com-pany’s standards in other countries. I personally believe that in order to implement good and consistent stan-dards of services effectively in China (in particular), we need to adopt to the local culture.

We could not implement the Indone-sian hospitality standards to the Chi-nese people, but we have to under-stand the Chinese culture to set up the new standards for the resorts. By doing so, it means that the employ-ees’ satisfaction level will be achiev-able and we could also maintain the services standards steadily.

Managing human resources in Indonesia is not as complicated as in China. I think, if we could adopt the human resources management system in China into Indonesia, it will help a lot of resorts’ efficiency and improve the performances.

[HIC] As your efforts in China relate closely to the golf industry, are there many differences in how golf clubs operate?

[DK] The goals and the golfers’ satis-faction levels in China and in Indone-sia are different. It will affect the golf club’s facilities and services concept built in the golf clubs too. Although China’s golf industry has just been de-veloped about 20 years ago, the golf history in China has been dated back to the Southern Tang Dynasty, 500 years before golf was first mentioned in Scotland.

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Golf club development in China has been very fast in the past 10 years. The developers are all trying to be the best among the best by offering unique design, concept and benefits. If we could develop a unique concept of a golf club, and we can create an exclusiv-ity of the golf club, with a bit of luck, we could sell the membership at a very expensive price.

[HIC] Is there a difference in how the governments control golf development in Indonesia & China?

[DK] I am not familiar with the Indonesian govern-ment policy in controlling the golf course develop-ment; but I guess the government does not have solid plans in developing golf courses as one of the potential attractions for the locals and international golfers. Galf can be developed to actually help im-prove the local community and economy.

With 11 years living in China and working in the golf and resort industries, it clearly shows that the Chi-nese government has aggressive plans in developing the second and the third tier cities. Hainan Island for example, has been selected as a destination for golf-ing. There are around 100 golf courses either built or being built in this island.

[HIC] Is there a large number of Indonesians in the China Hotel & Leisure market?

[DK] Not that many. I think the biggest challenge for Indonesian hoteliers to enter China is the inability to speak fluent Mandarin. Although the major cities in China have been the international tourists or busi-ness destinations, but I must say that 70% of their guests are Chinese. This could be Taiwanese, people from Hong Kong and people from the MainLand of China itself. They are unfortunately not speaking English well.

[HIC] Do you feel international experience is of benefit to a young Indonesian hotelier?

[DK] If someone decides to be a hotelier for his/her career, it is best to have international exposures as it will help the person to understand different cultures and different ways of managing the hotels/resorts.

Hotelier Indonesia wishes to thank David for his participation in this interview. We are encouraged by his successes in Indonesia and China. We wish him continued success with his ventures.

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