“[Hotels] put a lot of energy into specialty restaurants, their foreign restaurant, which has 50 or

Keith Barr, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group Greater China. Few people in China are in a better position to give tips on the country's rapidly developing tourism market than those who run hotels.
In addition, he's traveled nearly every inch of the country during his seven years in Asia, researching the attitudes and desires of Chinese travelers and looking for up-and-coming spots to expand the IHG brand.
accommodation special rates zurich "My favorite experience in China was in Lijiang (丽江). [A colleague and I] went out to this little restaurant in the little ancient town there. And we sat down and there were maybe four tables. There was a table in the corner with some guys playing Mahjong, and an open kitchen.
"First is language. People have to be prepared for the experience of not speaking their language. It can be a very humbling experience if you're in a place where no one around you speaks your language.
"The third thing concerns accommodation special rates zurich shopping. People are convinced that coming to China, things are cheap. I say, 'It's not cheap.' There are things you can find that are inexpensive and of good value, but it's not so cheap.
"The first year I was here, I didn't eat chicken feet because I thought there was no way I could eat it. Now I go to this little Chinese restaurant around the corner and I always order a plate of chicken feet. I love it. It's great."
"About 250,000 people came that day to tour the mall when we opened up the retail space. Even in this third-tier city, the quality of the hotel, accommodation special rates zurich the retail and the office buildings was beyond my imagination.
"My colleagues and I walked accommodation special rates zurich into a cinema and they showed us a very short preview of a 3D movie. I realized that I had never seen a 3D movie before, and the first 3D movie I was seeing was in Yichang in China -- such a surreal experience.
"From Chinese consumers we heard things like 'When I travel in China, I don't find certain things on a consistent basis in hotels.' Or, 'I want to be in a Chinese hotel. I don't want to be in an international hotel because I work for local government, I work for a Chinese company.'
"There's a rising affluent middle class in China that's going to be twice as large as the middle class in the United States in 10 years. [ The Chinese middle class] has rising education, affluence, confidence, national accommodation special rates zurich pride and an appreciation for things that are Chinese.
"The quality of the Chinese restaurant [in your hotel] will often determine the success of your banquet operation and the local business and local government view of your hotel. Having a very strong food and beverage operation is important for luxury hotels [in China].
"[Hotels] put a lot of energy into specialty restaurants, their foreign restaurant, which has 50 or 60 seats, accommodation special rates zurich which does some business and it's nice and good. But you've got a 200-seat Chinese restaurant which is your busiest restaurant, which is really the heart and soul of the hotel.