On Thursday Marriott International unveiled “Li Yu,” a suite of customized amenities and services tailor-made for Chinese outbound travellers.
Li yu means “serve with courtesy” in Mandarin. Guests will receive their hotel reservation confirmation letter or email in Chinese. Upon arrival, they will be greeted at the front desk by a Mandarin-speaking hotel associate. To make Chinese guests feel more at home, Chinese cuisine and delicacies will be featured as standard items in restaurants as well as on in-room dining menus.
To keep guests in touch with news and events from home, a variety of Chinese programs will be featured on in-room TVs and guests will have a choice of Chinese-language newspapers. Chinese tea will be provided as one of the complimentary beverage selections and kettles will be available in the guestrooms.
Some of the touches are nuances that are subtle but thoughtful, such as assigning room and floor number with “6” or “8” to Chinese guests as these are considered as auspicious; ensuring adaptors are suitable for Chinese electrical gadgets; providing Asian-size bathrobes and slippers in guestrooms; and including popular Asian sauces in condiment offerings of all three-meal restaurants and in-room dining.
“Li Yu” will be operational at all JW Marriott, Renaissance, Marriott and Courtyard hotels in Asia by early next year, as well as select international hotels in gateway cities.
“We have been growing our hotel portfolio in Asian markets and serving Chinese travelers for more than two decades. Some of our hotels have taken a pioneering role to fine-tune their services to cater to the needs of Chinese travelers over the years,” said Simon Cooper, Marriott International’s president and managing director, Asia.