“I have the most incredible job, taking innovation into the marketplace and testing it,” said Bruce Ryde, Marriott International’s vice president of Luxury Brands and Marketing for Asia Pacific.
Based in Hong Kong since taking the job in October 2018, Ryde’s 10-strong team also works out of Singapore and Shanghai, and among many projects they are working on right now is raising butler service to the next level. “We are trialing this at The St Regis, Shenzhen [China},” he said. “We take what corporate suggests and translate it for the China market. We are already finding, in the trials, that there is a huge appetite in Shenzhen for someone who is your guiding hand. This is far more than packing and unpacking and getting your tea or coffee. We want to learn how a butler can be a local spy, know everything there is about a neighborhood that is just right for a particular guest.”
Ryde added that, so far, discerning guests at The St Regis, Shenzhen, love the enhanced personal recognition, and the enhanced service also brings out extra passion in the concierge crew, who he said need to be very special people.
Ryde’s global territory is India east to Fiji, and from China, Korea and Japan south to Australia. Across eight brands, he has 124 open hotels, with 11 more opening this year. How on earth does he differentiate?
“Every brand is unique,” he declared at typical breakneck speed. “Yes, St Regis has its butlers, and it is a little bit personal-residence coupled with a hint of midnight soirées in New York. Ritz-Carlton, perhaps a little more traditional, has no butlers but it has extraordinary club experiences, and extraordinary dining experiences with a huge number of Michelin stars.”
Ryde is especially excited right now about J.W. Marriott, suggesting there will be a lot coming out about this brand in the next few months. “This is a family company and J.W. Marriott is a brand that is going after parents and children. We have just re-launched J.W. Marriott Seoul, in the Korean capital’s Gangnam district. It now has beautiful F&B concepts, lots of natural spaces, and a herb garden.”
As well as nurturing each brand, the Ryde remit also includes handling marketing budgets for Asia Pacific – this year, 60% of that marketing budget is going on communicating via digital. He seems to spend a lot of his waking hours communicating, liaising with all Marriott’s departments, including development and design.
Ryde reports to Global Brand Officer, Luxury and Lifestyle Brands, Tina Edmundson, who works out of corporate headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, a full 13 hours behind Hong Kong. He also reports to Marriott’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Asia Pacific, Peggy Fang Roe, fortunately based in Hong Kong.
Ryde had always wanted to work the world (as a pre-teen back in Sydney – so far from anywhere, he says – he wanted to be a flight attendant to see many other countries). Now he is constantly on planes, keeping his brands distinct and benchmarking – outside the industry with Tom Ford (because of the way he has retained his name and personality) and LVMH’s Rimowa luggage (because of its great story), as well as Monocle magazine and other significant brands.
“I am a brands guy with years of experience in mainstream ops and sales and marketing, and I have had my own company,” Ryde added. “I have always loved the brands in Marriott, particularly after the addition of Starwood’s portfolio, and when this opportunity came up I felt it was the culmination of everything I had previously done. And Marriott may be a huge company, but there is such a personalized approach.”