158 - Travel & Leisure - Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

News and Views
Interview with a Chief
Rogier Verhoeven, Executive Director, President
of Hospitality Division at Shun Tak Holdings
Rogier Verhoeven, Executive Director and President of the
Hospitality Division at Shun Tak Holdings talks to us about
Shun Tak’s involvement in the hospitality industry in the
Pearl River Delta, the expansion into the China market and
the face of tourism in Macau.
z By Kristen Beattie
How is Shun Tak involved in the hospitality industry in
Hong Kong?
Interestingly our involvement in the hospitality industry in
Hong Kong is limited. We own only one property here, namely
the 658-room SkyCity Marriott. However, we were pioneers in
Macau in that we were the very first to bring international hotel
brands, including the Mandarin Oriental and Westin there. Before
2000, when I started to work with the Group, Shun Tak didn’t
have a Hospitality Services Division. Instead, all efforts were
focused on the Transportation Division (known for its red colored
TurboJet ferries) and real estate investments. Through these, the
Group’s Board recognized the hospitality industry’s potential and
aspired to assemble an integrated tourism portfolio. I was
therefore assigned the task to start the Hospitality Services
Division, ‘STHSL’ to harness that potential.
Today, Shun Tak has become a well-integrated hospitality
conglomerate led by Ms. Pansy Ho. She is renowned amongst
the tourism industry both in the region, as well as
internationally. Ms Ho currently serves as a Member of the
Macau SAR Tourism Development Committee, an Executive
Committee Member of WTTC and Vice-Chairman of the
China Chamber of Tourism.
What is STHSL and who does it serve?
‘STHSL’ stands for Shun Tak Hospitality Services Limited; the
company that regroups Shun Tak’s hospitality ventures. STHSL,
through its subsidiaries, whether behind the scenes or directly
facing guests, serves a wide range of stakeholders: travelers and
property, as well as Meeting, Incentives, Conventions and
Exhibitions (MICE) venue owners. We own hotel properties and
restaurants, manage MICE venues and own a travel agency
brand. In addition we own a hospitality training academy in
Zhongshan, China.
How many MICE events do you organize annually?
Shun Tak manages two MICE venues: The Canton Tower and The
Macau Tower. STHSL has established a solid footprint in the Pearl
River Delta’s corporate scene. In 2011, STHSL served respectable
clients and made significant strides in harnessing business from
national-level summits and top-notch sports events. Clients
included China Mobile Group, GE Medical Service, Toshiba
4
Medical Service and a host of international luxury brands.
National events included the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
ABAC in February 2011 and the 5th China Cup International
Regatta 2011 “Blue Knight Festival” in October.
How many hotels in Hong Kong and Macau does the
Shun Tak Group own major interests in?
We own stakes in the SkyCity Marriot Hong Kong, the
Mandarin Oriental Macau, the Jumeirah Macau and the Westin
Resort Macau. Ms. Pansy Ho, through her own investment, is a
partner of MGM Macau. Prior to joining Shun Tak, I had also
assisted Pansy to develop MGM’s hotel. MGM and Shun Tak are
separate and operate independently.
How do you see the Group’s Hospitality Services
Division growing over the next 5 years?
Proactive expansion into the China market is definitely the focus
of growth. Today, China is already the second largest tourism
economy in the world and also one of the largest destination
countries. Opportunities are abound and we are eager to make
our mark here. Taking up the management role of Canton Tower
marks one of our first steps in that direction. We demonstrated
our hospitality management capabilities through the Shanghai
Expo, we played an important role in Macau Pavilion, and have
since gained good exposure, benefiting from word of mouth
publicity, amongst Mainland corporates. We are currently in
talks with various potential partners who share a similar
business vision - and we believe the potential for our Group is
enormous. Apart from the PRC, Shun Tak is are also openly
seeking potential projects in South East Asia, Europe as well as
America – we are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to
strengthen our portfolio and generate synergistic values to our
current network.
Macau
Rogier Verhoeven
What is Shun Tak’s association with the Sociedade de
Turismo e Diversoes de Macau?
The Group owns an effective interest of 11.5% in STDM, which
in turn owns a 55.23% stake in Sociedade de Jogos de Macau
(SJM). As Shun Tak is a non-gaming company its association
with STDM is purely that of an investor.