Dorsett Wanchai breathe new life into family time

Dorsett Wanchai is part of Dorsett Hospitality International.

Sitting against the backdrop of the vibrant hospitality market in Hong Kong is The Dorsett Wanchai, offering family value and new services tailored to changing customer needs and the new company brand. The Dorsett Wanchai is part of Dorsett Hospitality International, a Hong Kong hotel brand with 52 hotels in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, London, Malaysia, Japan and Australia.

“We focus on delivering a stylish, comfortable, and affordable accommodation through our vibrant Hong Kong-inspired hospitality,” says Anita Chan, General Manager at the Dorsett Wanchai. “The Dorsett Wanchai, previously known as the Cosmopolitan Hotel, is our flagship hotel in Hong Kong, rebranded in October 2016. Now a 4.5-star hotel, we are an award winner in several international and local categories for the family. Our vision is to be the preferred family hotel in Hong Kong by offering comprehensive family-friendly amenities and innovative themed suites that cater to the travel needs of family travelers.”she says.

Their key offering s incude The Family Quad Room, which accommodates up to four people with connecting rooms and triple rooms. Guests who stay with their little ones in any of the luxurious hotels’ family rooms can enjoy a full range of amenities for their kids: a snack box, teddy bear, kid’s dental kit, slipper, bathrobe, mobile storybook library, in-room sweet treat as well as a colorful candy bar, available everyday from 6pm to 7pm in the hotel’s lobby. The Dorsett Wanchai also works with a variety of popular brands to co-create themed suites to suit a wide range of travel preferences and lifestyles. “Our themed suite collection features an Ocean Suite, Jockey Suite, Sony 4K 3D Experience Suite,Osim Massage Suite and the soon-to-be-launched Glycel Supreme Beauty Suite,” says Anita. “Each themed suite comes with different extra perks; if a guest stays in our Jockey Suite on a Wednesday night, we will offer you a Happy Wednesday welcome pack comprising an entry pass to the Happy Valley Jockey Club as well as some free drinks coupons, our beauty-conscious guests who stay in our Glycel Suite can enjoy a full set of facial, hand and body treatment valued at HK$3,500 in our Glycel beauty spa salon, in addition to a set of complimentary skincare and free use of beauty devices in the room during their stay.”

Flexible Times
Moving with the times the Dorsett Wanchai now offers new services; a 1-hr Response Guaranteed, website live chat and the recently launched ‘26 Hours A Day’ feature. “This allows flexible check-in time and a full 26-hour stay in our hotel,” says Anita, “This means that if a guest checks in at 4pm they can stay until 6pm the next day without any extra charge. This special feature is exclusively for direct bookings on brand.com, with three days notice required prior to arrival.” With the extra hours, guests can make the most of their time to explore the city and neighborhood, just like a local. The Dorsett Wanchai also introduced an ‘Eat & Shop Like a Local’ travel guide, a handy guide that features a list of recommended shops and restaurants to visit nearby. “Our guests come from all over the world; UK, US, Australia, Europe, Singapore and Korea. PRC is still our largest market with 99% of our guests being Fully Independent Travelers,”Anita noted.

Vibrant new brand
Anita has embraced the challenge of rebranding creatively. “We continue to refine our brand since our name changed,” explains Anita, “Specifically, as a Hong Kong brand, we associate our brand with the unique character of Hong Kong itself; vibrant, flexible, efficient and cultured. At the Dorsett Wanchai, our guests experience an exciting stay filled with fun events such as the Rugby 7s Best Dressed Contest and Dorsett Wine Hour, as well as other thoughtful offerings such as our shuttle bus, a handy phone and Water Bar.” Aligning their new brand with local culture aims to make guests feel like their stay is as ‘vibrant as the city that never sleeps’. Anita proudly adds, “Winning several important awards such as the ‘Best Family Hotel in Hong Kong’, awarded by HK Business Magazine, has further elevated our ‘family-friendly’ image in the industry.”

Over the last few years the hotel industry has seen large disruptions with new players. Anita’s shares her insights, “The emergence of share accommodation sites like Airbnb is really changing the way travelers book hotels today.

Because travelers are looking for more than just accommodation nowadays, they search for a deeper connection with the city they are visiting, often beyond the touristy destinations. Travelers want to get more local insights and know more about the cultures and the people that form the city. So two years ago we launched the ‘Eat & Shop Like a Local’ travel guide which includes specially curated lists of places Hong Kong people go to and we encourage our guests to experience the same too.” The Dorsett Wanchai also offers meal vouchers from local well-known ‘cha chaan teng’ to allow guests to try what a HK-style breakfast is like and even to get a taste of the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant.

Anita’s leadership involves a vision for the future. “We have many great plans ahead. One of them is our group-wide CRM programme spearheaded by myself and our e-commerce team. I oversee the development of the group website as well as our loyalty programme. We are launching new features on our group-wide website which provides an additional channel to book direct with our hotel and with more, personalised features,” she noted.

The CRM programme will allow guests who view a family promotion in the website to receive similar promotions when they next visit the hotel groups’ other websites. “CRM allows us to better understand guests’ preferences by analysing their previous stays at our sister properties. This means we can better serve their needs and reward guests. These are exciting developments that will truly benefit guests staying at the Dorsett Wanchai and other Dorsett properties,” concludes Anita.