Until recently, mention of Mong Kok conjured up images of street markets, overcrowding and illicit activities. So eyebrows were raised when the five-star Langham Place Hotel opened its doors in the heart of Shanghai Street in August 2004.
Since then, former sceptics have seen the luxury business hotel living up to its vision of 'changing the face of Mong Kok'. And this week, it was announced that Langham Place Hotel had won the gold award in the Hong Kong Management Association's 2007 HKMA Quality Award competition.
'There's nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come,' said Brett Butcher, Langham Place Hotel managing director. He joined the company in May 2002 when 'the hotel was still a hole in the ground' and said the perception at the time was that the area was only suitable for three-star establishments.
'Everyone, from industry colleagues to the media to my mother asked: 'Why Mong Kok?' The biggest problem was changing people's mindsets, but the problem created an opportunity. If we had an 'A' location, we might not have been so intent on creating something different.'
Pointing out that the project had rejuvenated the area, creating jobs, wealth and more diversity, he said, 'Some staff came to join us because they grew up in Mong Kok and wanted to be part of it all.' In addition, the hotel was bringing people to Mong Kok that had never been there before.
He said the hotel had applied for the HKMA Quality Award in the belief that it would be merely a good learning experience. 'It was rather a surprise to find out that we'd actually won.'
The emphasis from the start was to run a 'true quality operation', embracing the community around the hotel. In order to implement an organisational structure underpinning quality, the Malcolm Baldrige model (named after a former US Commerce Secretary) was used as a framework. The model has been described as a 'road map' for high-performing organisations.