Jan Buettgen believes good service comes from the heart. Photo:Courtesy of Grand Millennium Beijing

 

While meeting the new general manager of the Grand Millennium Beijing, Jan Buettgen, our first impression was of the enthusiasm and passion he brings to hospitality and life.

Jan, a veteran international hotelier with over 30 years of experience in Germany, Britain, Switzerland, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, enjoys the cultural commonalities of these places and is inspired by the vast diversities.

He mentioned that all people are in search of joy and happiness. Knowledge and wisdom are the prerequisite for a successful search.

Prior to joining the Grand Millennium Beijing, Jan was the GM of 88 Xintiandi in Shanghai, which under his leadership won five times consecutively the World Travel Awards, the so-called Oscars of the industry. We asked him therefore to compare a boutique hotel to a 5-star international hotel. 

Jan compared the two hotel types to two different models of Porsche, the famous sports car. He mentioned the top international 5-star hotels are just like the Cayenne, with top performance, superior comfort, speed and the ability to seat five customers. The Porsche 911 is fun, fast, high performance and can seat two customers. Both car types reach their goal and destination, yet both are tailored to needs of the customers.

As for his understanding of and insights into service, Jan said that true service, which he thinks is sharing, can only be experienced through and from the heart.

He explained further that service from the heart is only triggered by humility, a core sentiment of humanity, resulting in modesty, care and the goodness in truth. He philosophically added that humility is just like a cup, which you can fill up with lots of goodness. But once the cup is broken, nothing will remain and all the goodness will be scattered.

When asked to comment on the prospects and development of China, he said, "The future of the hospitality industry is promising and will be booming. There will be cycles of bruises and dents, meaning some days are filled with sunshine, some are rainy, yet the combination of both propel sustainable growth for all of us."

He added, however, that, "Our service culture needs to be refined  more and more among ourselves and that service is the universal driving energy keeping us together in harmony."