Some Wyndham hotel rooms feature a Simpsons-themed decor to appeal to younger Chinese travelers .
IF YOU BELIEVE IN SOMETHING , YOU HAVE TO REALLY INSIST AND MAKE IT HAPPEN .
the biggest American company in the world . It ’ s not meaningful to a simple Chinese consumer .” Liu set the tone shortly after joining Wyndham . “ When I first joined the company , Wyndham was known internationally , but in China it still had a very low profile ,” Liu recalls . “ One of my first challenges was to find an efficient way , in a very short time , to raise the visibility of the brand .” His solution : a gala at the site of the the Forbidden City in Beijing , with some 2,000 guests , including 1,000 Wyndham owners and GMs and several dozen Chinese celebrities .
“ All of my colleagues and friends told me
I was taking a huge risk ,” he says . “ But at the time I was so sure it was the only way to raise our profile and offer the right positioning for the company in this market .”
‘ MAKE IT HAPPEN ’ Between online exposure , social media traffic and the celebrity presence , the gala raised Wyndham ’ profile across China . People still talk about it five years later , Liu says . And it bore out his philosophy : “ If you believe in something , you have to really insist and make it happen .”
Two years ago , another game-changing strategy came when Wyndham partnered with China Brands Group to establish rooms designed with characters from “ The Simpsons ” and Paul Frank ’ s whimsical cartoon animals , in a nod to Instagram devotees and to millennials .
Liu , who early was a diplomat and spent about a decade at Accor Group , followed by executive roles at Costa Crociere and Envy Fine Art China , says those experiences helped shape his management style .
Characterizing his approach as “ mission first , people always ,” he believes that staying focused on a clear direction and driving people to achieve the mission are essential to leadership . He is a firm believer in empowerment and delegation to allow staff to reach their potential and the organization to maximize results .
As a leader Liu wants team members to stay upbeat . “ Whatever is happening in your life , stay positive . Keep working with passion ,” he says , adding , “ that ’ s easy to say , but not so easy to do .”
His goal is to retain Wyndham ’ s position as the largest international operator in China , where 400-plus brands ( by his account ) make for a fragmented market . “ Competition is fierce ,” he notes , “ so we have to move faster than the others . ”
When he ’ s not busy plotting Wyndham ’ s expansion in China , Liu says he has taken up boxing to keep his energy levels high , and in the process he ’ s learned some lessons that carry over to his day job .
“ Everyone outside of boxing thinks it ’ s all about using force to beat your counterpart ,” he observes . “ Actually , it ’ s all about the pace . How you control your pace and your breathing .” Combining that measured approach with a well-developed understanding of what Chinese consumers want has been a winning strategy for this contender .
April 2019 hotelsmag . com 49