I ALSO LIKE TO SEEK INSPIRATION FROM OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY ,
PROFILE experience , and knowledge has become the new currency . They are no longer simply buying a brand , they are buying product , and the way this product is reaching its audience is through personal referral and recommendation and no longer necessarily through third-party intermediaries .”
Engel , who was born in Munich and spent most of his early life in Germany , planned to study journalism and political science until he took a job in a hotel to fund his schooling .
“ I come from a family of writers and journalists , so my path up to that point was pretty much predetermined . But I fell in love with hospitality and don ’ t regret the decision for a moment ,” he says .
Though his hospitality career has covered The Dorchester , Peninsula , Raffles and Oberoi , among others , Engel , who has referred to himself in the past as “ the brand anti-Christ ,” says he ultimately became disillusioned with the corporate infrastructures and environments of large hotel organizations .
“ That really spurred my desire to do my own thing and to only work with people that I trust , that I like , that are friends , that are like-minded and were therefore always going to keep the company very , very small and focused .”
‘ FLAWLESS INTUITION ’ The seeds of Shanghai-based Urban Resort Concepts were planted , to a certain degree , while Engel was working with John Laing at The Dorchester Hotel in London some 20 years ago ( Laing is now the company ’ s chief operating officer ). Urban Resort Concepts ’ first property , the 229-room PuLi Hotel and Spa in Shanghai , put the company on the map . Ten years later , that property ’ s reported 2018 forecast was an average occupancy of 77 % with 45 % repeat business .
“( Engel ’ s ) attention to detail , patience , and motivating influence over people
Infinity pool at the Ruma Hotel in Kuala Lumpur , which opened in November 2018
I ALSO LIKE TO SEEK INSPIRATION FROM OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY ,
WHICH I THINK IS THE WORLD THAT OUR CUSTOMERS LIVE IN .
that work for him , as well as having flawless intuition when it comes to both the design process and the hardware and software development , means that we are always at the cutting edge of the industry in a company that is currently small in size , but large in ambition ,” says Laing . “ He is truly a joy to work with , and has unparalleled levels of integrity .”
In terms of growth , Engel is targeting a goal of 10 to 15 hotels , but rapid development isn ’ t the goal for the company , which has four properties operating .
“ The key criteria is for all of us to be very proud to walk into any of our hotels and say we have one of the best hotels in the market , perhaps even the best hotel in any given city ,” he says .
Two of those properties opened in the past year — The 116-room PuXuan Hotel and Spa in Beijing and 253-room RuMa Hotel and Residences in Kuala Lumpur .
Key also to the company is unique design and location , and the right mix of both doesn ’ t always happen overnight . The PuXuan , for instance , which sits inside the headquarters of one of China ’ s leading auction houses , took eight years to open .
“ Opening a hotel is an intensive process , particularly one like ours where we don ’ t work off a formula and every aspect is entirely bespoke to context , customer and destination ,” says hotel GM Mark Wouters . “ Throughout this period , Markus has demonstrated tremendous persistence , patience and uncompromising standards to make that a reality .”
Ahead for Engel ? A second brand targeted at urban metropolitan environments and designed for business travelers .
He continues to hunt for inspiration in everyday life .
“ I ’ m inspired by a lot of people in and outside of the industry ,” he says . “ I like talking to architects , I like talking to interior designers , I like talking to artists . I also like to seek inspiration from outside the industry , which I think is the world that our customers live in . And that ’ s the world I ’ m much more interested in as opposed to the world that my peers live in .”
April 2019 hotelsmag . com 51