Crossover Cooperation – Bring the Best into Taiwan

For a long time, the Regent Taipei has enjoyed critical acclaim among five-star hotels. As a leading hotel, it is the first choice for international superstars and celebrities who visit Taiwan such as the king of pop Michael Jackson, international superstar Mariah Carey, Hollywood golden age icon Sophia Loren, the famous angelic voice Sara Brightman, just to name a few. This popular, top-ranked hotel is often the first on the mind when Taipei and Taiwan visitors think of luxury hotel.

Established in 1991, Silks Hotel Group started from its flagship Regent Taipei and expanded into different countries around the world. It has become a multinational hotel group with Taiwan as its base. At present, there are three hotel brands in Silks Hotel Group, including Regent, Silks Place, and Just Sleep, each targeting different customer segments to satisfy various visitor needs. At the same time, it also extended its business into catering, apartment hotel management, and the franchise of Domino's Pizza in Taiwan.

Steven Pan, the Chairman of Silks Hotel Group, intends to bring the best of the world to Taiwan. At the same time, he endeavors to present the best of Taiwan to the world. One of his operation strategies is to enhance cross industry cooperation; his diverse operation strategies not only boost business performance but also keep Silks Hotel Group in the media and market spotlight.

For example, in 2011, Regent Taipei invited the internationally renowned Taiwanese chef André Chiang to return to Taiwan, which initiated a new wave of culinary culture in Taiwan and attracted many innovative chefs to visit and present their dishes. Another example is offering the guest experience which brings international visitors to Silks Palace, such as introducing a dessert inspired and looks like the renowned artifact Jadeite Cabbage. Moreover, he also brought Le Petit Chef to Taiwan for the first time, featuring innovative immersive dining experiences with 3D projection which integrated dining, entertainment and technology seamlessly

Steven expects Regent Taipei to become a “celebrity chef incubator” and introduce more top chefs and renowned cuisines to Taiwan and perhaps convince these talents to stay in Taiwan. Steven points out that later this year, various brands including Chu Yu Japanese Cuisine and Rakukenhigh-end Japanese Wagyu barbecue restaurant, will both station their outlets at Regent Galleria, located at the basement of Regent Taipei.

Crossover collaboration between multiple parties integrates the various ambitions of each party involved and strengthens each other's brand values, ultimately augmenting brand influence and facilitating the entry into the international market. This is just an example of Steven's foresight into the market. “Accurate Targeting” is another one of his breakthrough tools.

“Experiencing local life and explore hidden gems through experience-based travel will become a trend. It is impossible for a single brand to satisfy all consumers, market segmentation becomes necessary. Regent Taipei must integrate even more with local culture, in addition to all the services it already provides.” – Steven Pan, Silks Hotel Group.

Steven thinks that in the past two to three decades, Taiwan has geatly benefited from the growing trade between Japan and America, globalization, rapid industrialization of neighboring countries and their economic booms, and much more. Many business visitors and multinational corporations came to Taiwan and boosted tourism, and eventually hotels emerged like bamboo shoots after the rain. Nevertheless, as time progressed, the economy in Taiwan became stagnant and the number of visitors coming decreased. The hotel industry is saturated; therefore it needs to think of different ways to increase the size of the market.

“Taiwan is like the ugly duckling in Asia, as if it is hiding under a table, waiting to be discovered.” Steven discovered that “experience-based travel” – experiencing local life and exploring hidden gems through experience-based travel- will become a trend. Since it is impossible for a single brand to satisfy all consumers, market segmentation becomes necessary. Regent Taipei must integrate even more with local culture, in addition to all the services it already provides. With an emphasis on multi-brand, multibusiness, and multi-base, Silks Hotel Group could maximize its offerings and rejuvenate this classic brand by expanding its consumer base.

For example, Just Sleep Hotel-Taipei Sanchong opened in 2019. The hotel's address was the former “Long Fa Timber Factory,” the founding location of Pin Yang Development Corp. After renovations, the hotel kept the design details of a factory - the bare pipelines, wood works, iron parts, tables made with heavy machine parts, are all innovations which fuses local history with modern architectural style, imbuing the hotel a sense of urban chic.

Selecting the right hotel brand for the right location is Steven's strategy: use local elements, promote the history, culture and lifestyle and integrate them into the hotel architecture, style and even service. This is what Steven calls “Local Renaissance”. “Our strategic positioning must be 100% accurate, so accurate that we are the no. 1 within one square kilometer.” Regarding this issue, Steven always gives much freedom for brand managers to develop their creativity and fulfill their thinking in high gear By respecting his professionals' talents and values allows each hotel brand or newly developed hotel location to perform at a certain standard.

Regarding the future of Taiwan's tourism, Steven thinks the next couple of years will be a turning point for Taiwan's economy. It will decide the path of the development for the next 30 years. Facing the trade war between China and USA, if the Taiwanese government responds appropriately, Taiwan could benefit from the crisis and result in economic growth for businesses and tourism. “It is difficult for Taiwan's economic development to rely on internal demand. We must leverage global scale economics to maximize the market.”

Steven's strategy is not only to pursue the rejuvenation of his classic brand but also to reintegrate resources. He pursues high-end customers but also penetrates the “domain of everyday life lifestyle” to enhance operation, paving his own path in the competitive hospitality industry.

In the interview, Terence Chen, the General Manager of THL visited us in the conference room in Regent Taipei. When Terence and Steven met, both instantly hit it off. Steven began studying in the USA when he was in high school and returned to Taiwan at twenty-seven; both Steven and Terence studied at UC Berkeley, both were fellow students years apart at the same school. They met later at alumni reunions which initiated their friendship.

To Steven, Terence is much like a younger brother that takes very good care of his friends. Despite Terence's busy schedule, he spends much time on his friends. “It is rare to find someone willing to spend time with others in our society today.” Appreciating his attitude in life, Steven was willing to spend four hours persuading Terence to join the International Association.

Both of them often meet together for meals. Steve mentioned that the “Regent Champion Beef Noodles” retail package that is sold in the retail channel is a product inspired by a chat with Terence. “It should be possible for us to bring consumers our products via different channels to allow different customers to taste it either at home or in office.” The product launched to rave responses.

Regarding the mission of bringing the best into Taiwan, both share similar ideas - Steve entrust the operation of the hotel brands to his professional subordinates, giving them much liberty in operation with creativity; Terence also highly values talent, giving employees opportunities without hesitation and his full trust under the principle of fairness.