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Innovation with ‘hostmanship’ at Urban Resort

Hostmanship is a buzzword being promoted by Markus Engel, CEO of Urban Resort Concepts, based in Shanghai, China. “The hotel world has lost the essence of what hospitality is all about and we need to get away from processes and paperwork,” he says firmly.

Urban Resort Concepts CEO Markus Engel: “We need to get away from processes and paperwork."
Urban Resort Concepts CEO Markus Engel: “We need to get away from processes and paperwork.”

He sees hostmanship, the art of making people feel welcome, as a composition of intuition and generosity. It is also an explorative and sensory journey that goes well beyond conventional luxury. As a company that, working with investors, plans, oversees design and subsequently manages, Urban Resort Concepts is in a unique position to make this work.

Speaking at the company’s first hotel, the widely lauded PuLi Hotel and Spa, in Shanghai, he explained how hostmanship will become one of his company’s differentiators. “We will be offering check-in, check-out on a 24-hour basis. Come when you want, leave when it suits you. And while you are staying with us, you will have free minibars, plus laundry and breakfast. We are evolving the mindset of all the team to make decisions.”

The PuLi, which has 229 keys, opened in July 2009. It is a highly efficient machine that this year, 2018, will see average occupancy of 76.8%, with average stay of 2.4 nights, and, what is really impressive, 47.2% is repeat business. Within the next six months, Urban Resort Concepts will have expanded from this one hotel to a portfolio of four. The PuShang, which opened in October in Xiamen, is, says Engel, offering a Hawaii-type experience.

Next to open are The PuXuan Hotel and Spa in Beijing, above Sotheby’s Beijing gallery and right next to the Forbidden City, and Urban Resort Concepts’ first hotel outside China, The RuMa in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (this is under 10 minutes’ walk to the city’s iconic Twin Towers).

“Now we are on our way, we will be in other international destinations soon, and hostmanship with help us have additional brand reputation,” Engel said.

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