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Debbie Mason

Austrian Manfred Weber first came to China in 2000 to manage Beijing's luxury Peninsula Hotel, before moving to the Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai. He  returned to Beijing to set up the city's second Ritz-Carlton, at China Central Place, Guomao, which opened last December.
Is your hotel full for the Games?

Yes, we were fully booked before we opened the hotel.


Did the second Ritz-Carlton open because of the Olympics?

To be honest, no. It's nice to have  the Games  here but we already had a long-term agreement with our owners.

There are many quality hotels in Beijing now. Do you think they could be sustained without the Olympics?
There's been a big increase in supply  in the luxury market but the China boom will not stop after the Olympics. There's a lot of investment here and it will continue. Maybe the pie is not growing as fast as the hotels are growing, but it is growing and we hope we will be a part of it. The outlook for Beijing and China is still good.  Inquiries for our hotel are still looking good for next year. The Olympics will help by broadcasting how safe China is, and how organised it is. In fact, a report on the BBC said it had revised its forecast that China would be the world's biggest tourist destination by 2020, and said it now thinks this will happen by 2015.

You don't think recent events in China - Tibet, the earthquake - will affect these forecasts?

Only in the short term. We are still fully booked for the Olympics. All our guests are coming.

What's the ratio of foreign to domestic guests in the top-end hotels?

Domestic customers are definitely growing. They are getting more and more used to luxury. That's why we are seeing a new shopping mall round every corner, and doing very well too. If you look back eight years there has been an immense change. 

Do you think it's  paradoxical that China is officially a socialist country yet there is so much in the way of luxury now?

Ah, that's the way of the world. When I came eight years ago people reported being sick because of having breathed the carbon monoxide fumes in their own hutong homes. You ask these people now how they prefer to live, like that or in a new flat with running water and electricity, they all say the same thing. Not all the development is good, but people's quality of life has been enhanced.

Are you personally interested in the Games, and do you have tickets?

Oh yes, and I'm working on tickets for the track and field events. I am myself a Great Wall Marathon runner. I'm not particularly interested in swimming, but I'd like tickets to watch some events  in the Water Cube.  My wife and I were in Beijing the night it was announced that Beijing  had won the bid to host the Games. We were in a restaurant, celebrating something - I can't even remember what. The moment it was announced all the staff were gone, out on the street celebrating. We didn't know what was going on until we got outside. We had to leave the money for our meal on the table because there was no one there to take it. People were everywhere outside. It makes me so proud now to be a part of it. I think the experience will be a little more than if we just lived here. We know a lot of details, we have been preparing since last year. It's a bit like Christmas, waiting all year for something to happen. We are getting very excited.

How do you think will Austria do?

We have medal hopes, particularly in the sailing events in Qingdao, which I've been to.

Any scope for a Ritz-Carlton in Qingdao?

In order to sustain the Ritz-Carlton it needs to be in a city that will support a certain [room] rate and I'm not sure Qingdao is there yet. But we do now have two hotels in Beijing, one in Shanghai, one in Shenzhen this year, three opening in 2010 - in Pudong, Macau and in Hong Kong, which will be the tallest hotel in the world. The check-in desk will be on  the 105th floor.





Manfred Weber