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Sheryl Sze

NEW OPPORTUNITIES in the mainland hospitality industry are opening up for Hong Kong workers as United States-based travel and real estate giant Cendant  rolls out plans to franchise its two- to three-star Super 8 motels in China.

'We are most definitely hiring,' said Mitchell  Presnick, president and chief executive of Super 8 (China).

'We are looking for people to work in our head office and outside in the market with our franchise hotels and developing our brand.'

There will be openings at all levels in sales and marketing, operations, and finance and accounting.

While Super 8's recruitment drive was not 'nationality specific', candidates from Hong Kong would be seriously considered, Mr Presnick said.

'We are always interested in people from places like Hong Kong, which has a strong education system [and where] people are familiar with Chinese culture, and possess strong Mandarin skills,' he said.

Five Super 8 motels are expected to open in China this year.

The first, in the popular shopping and tourist district of Wangfujing,  Beijing, opened on Tuesday.

Others will follow soon after in Dalian, Chengdu and Qingdao.

Tian Rui Hotel,  a privately held company based in Hong Kong, has committed to opening more than 55 Super 8 motels over the next five years under a master licence agreement.

Tian Rui expects to generate nearly US$150 million in gross revenue with its network of Super 8 motels in China during the first five years.

Mr Presnick is optimistic about the prospects for Hong Kong people in the economy hotel industry.

'Hong Kong has a world-standard service industry. People grew up in an educated environment with great understanding of how to provide consistent, clean service,' he said.

'Up until now, the economy hotel sector has not enjoyed much attention from international brands, so I see a lot of growth opportunities in this sector.'

According to World Tourism Organisation projections, 130 million people will visit China every year by 2020, accounting for 8 per cent of the world's market share.

Mr Presnick said a domestic boom in tourism also directly benefited the hotel industry.

'In the economy hotel sector, we see very strong trends. The growth is over 15 per cent a year both in the number of travellers and revenue,' he said.

Applicants for jobs at Super 8, including ones at management level, must speak fluent Mandarin.

'Proficiency is a requirement because we conduct all our business in Chinese,' Mr Presnick said.

Super 8 employees would have to work extensively with Chinese franchise hotels and local guests, so Mandarin proficiency was key.

'We are an economy hotel brand. In this market we have to be really localised to be the best.'

An American who has lived in Hong Kong for more than seven years, Mr Presnick learned to speak Mandarin fluently through a full-time language course at Peking University.

Cultural savvy was another important quality, Mr Presnick added.

'You need to adapt to the way things are done here, to work within that way while still bringing the special qualities you have.

'The culture in mainland China is in some ways unique and requires people to adapt.'

The company has already received a large number of resumes from overseas and Hong Kong Chinese. It is interviewing a candidate from Hong Kong for a mid-level management position in marketing.

'We are generally looking for professionalism, integrity and a high level of proactivity,' Mr Presnick said.

For sales and marketing staff, 'we prefer [candidates with] previous experience with famous brands, so they already come to us with an understanding of what gives the brand its marketability'.

Super 8 is not the only brand being developed in China by Cendant.

The group signed a master licence agreement last year to franchise its Days Inn hotels, the three- to four-star hotel brand, with Singapore-based Frontier Group.

More than 40 Days Inn hotels are expected to open from last year to 2008, including five this year.

Howard Johnson, Cendant's four- to five-star hotel brand, has been franchised in China by Shanghai-based Berrate Development Group.

Berrate has announced plans to open four hotels by the end of this year.

in short

US motel brand Super 8 has been franchised in the mainland, with five Super 8s to open this year.

Positions in sales, marketing, operations, brand developing, finance and accounting have been opening up.

The economy hotel industry is growing at more than 15 per cent per year, while 55 Super 8 hotels are expected to open in the next five years.

Mandarin proficiency is particularly important for this sector of the hotel industry because most customers and business associates are Mandarin speakers.



Hotel group on hiring spree