My Interview with General Manager Ritz-Carlton, Beijing

1. What do you do at the Ritz-Carlton, Beijing?

I am the hotel general manager since 2021.

2. Tell us about your journey, how did it all start?

I came from a restaurant family in Mexico. My mother was the chef and father was the maître d’ or restaurant manager. I am interested in hospitality since I was young.

3. Can you tell me about your first job in the industry?

So I joined Hyatt Regency in Mexico as a part timer at 16. Down the years I had accumulated more and more experience in F&B and opening new hotels. 

4. What experience do you have in hospitality？  

At Ritz-Carlton Riyadh I achieved my official title of Director of Food & Beverage.   Later, I worked in Muscat, Oman. I was the trainer for Ritz-Carlton new hotel openings.  I helped open Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Cairo in the Middle East, and Astana in Kazakhstan.

Soon I found myself working at the Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama near Canary Islands, Spain.  The hotel is considered one of top 3 in F&B.

Ritz-Carlton, Xi’an was going to open. So, I packed up, left for China and joined The Ritz Carlton, Xi’an in 2018, one year before the official opening in 2019.

Before becoming the general manager of Ritz-Carlton, Beijing in October 2021, I was task force general manager at the Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai Pudong and Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu respectively.

5. What made you decide to pursue a career in the hospitality industry?

I like it. Every day is different.  You can interact with many people, you can share with them their special moments.

6. How would you define the purpose of a hotel?

To provide guests the feeling of “A Home Away From Home”. That they feel they are well taken care of.

7. What will you try to accomplish in this hotel?

I tend to see things from the perspective of a customer. I want Ritz-Carlton Beijing to be the first hotel they think of when they look for a hotel.

8. What category of guests do you receive? Leisure, business, domestic?

I would say a mix.

Monday to Thursday business; Friday to Sunday leisure, this includes both local and international customers. 

They come not just for the rooms, but also the culinary experience.

9. What attractions would you recommend to hotel guests?

If about the hotel itself, first it is our dining destination.

We have a 2-Michelin-Star Chinese Restaurant with which we cooperate.

Then we have The Lounge which serves traditional afternoon tea and co-branding afternoon, like the one we are doing with Darphin, under Estee Lauder brand. By the way the afternoon tea is doing very well.

Then there is the all-day-dining restaurant Aroma which serves fine-dining Brunch and traditional family buffet.  Aroma is an excellent place and can be personalized for private events.

Then there are Music SPA, Cigar Bar, the Sushi Japanese restaurant and ATTA Italian restaurant around the hotel.

If about the location, The Ritz-Carlton Beijing is centrally situated at China Central Place, one of Beijing’s most thriving business areas.

10. What is your leadership style?

I am a hands-on manager, always there to provide assistance to our ladies and gentlemen. I empower our ladies and gentlemen to be accountable for their work.

11. What are your greatest strengths?

I would say it is my ability to negotiate. I can always find a solution in a situation.

12. What factors contribute to excellent customer service?

It is our ladies and gentlemen, of course. Our ladies and gentlemen believe they can achieve things.

By truly putting your heart in what you do, what you do will do great.

13. What experience do you have with marketing and promotions?

Let’s put it this way, famous brands are coming to us for collaborations.

We are in win-win situation with our business partners.

Our Marcom team is doing a good job in supporting marketing promotions.

14. How will you react to a negative review or complaint from a guest while staying at the hotel?

We deal with complaints constructively. 

Like, if we can reach our guest immediately. We tackle it immediately. If it is through social media, that the guest is not reachable, we analyze if the complaint is true or not, if true we will have an action plan, to make sure it does not happen again.

15. How do you stay current with industry trends?

I read a lot.

And I go to others’ hotels and restaurants to see what they are doing.

Last year, for example, as I returned to my home country for vacation but I stayed at hotels not within our Group.  

Earlier this year while on business trip in Shanghai, I tried a new restaurant. And I stayed at a different hotel.  Getting to know different hotels and industries always inspires me to leading marketing trends.

16. Have you or your hotel received any industry accolades and awards?

Yes, we do receive more than our fair share of awards. To name some of them:

For the hotel in 2024:

• Luxury Times – Best Luxury Hotel
• Destin Asian – Annual Readers’ Choice Awards
• China Hotel Menduner Awards – Best Luxury Hotel + Best Hotel Restaurant
• Forbes Travel Guide – 4-Stars Winning Hotel
• Hotel Wedding – Best Luxury Hotel Wedding Venue
• Voyage – Best Luxury Hotel
• CHA (China Hotel Awards) – Best Luxury Hotel Award
• Travel & Leisure – Luxury Hotel of the Year
• Target – Luxury Hotel of the Year
• Dianping – Listed Hotel in Beijing
• Conde Nast Traveler – Readers’ Choice Award
• Golf Vacation – Golfers’ Choice Awards Best Luxury Hotel

For myself in 2024:

• China Hotel Menduner Awards – Best Hotel General Manager
• CHA (China Hotel Awards) – Best General Manager of the Year
• Travel & Leisure – Best General Manager of the Year

17. What are your interests outside of work?

I run marathons in different cities.  The most recent one was in Chengdu in May this year. And in August I did Spartan here in Beijing.  I like food & wine, too.

 18. What advice would you give to youngsters joining the field?

You need to love what you do in this industry to succeed.  Learn and improve.  You are the busiest during holidays. The good thing is that this industry always pays back.