The right place

Under the same umbrella of Shangri-La group, Kerry Centre is popular in China, especially among younger-generation business people.

Centro Bar and Lounge, two popular nightspots, are the flagships of the Kerry Centre. In early 2003, it asked Hong Kong-based Darryl W. Goveas of Pure Creative Asia, whose portfolio includes Hong Kong's Alibi Restaurant & Bar as well as many Christian Dior & Cartier boutiques in Asia, to revamp the hotel's previous bar. In September 2003, the bar Centro made a splash with the public because of its trendy interior design.

Within seven years of the opening, the hotel has received many awards, such as the 2005 Best Hotel in the Shangri-La group, and one of the Top 5 Hotels in Beijing by Euromoney magazine.

"The hotel has operated very well, it's a great challenge for me to make it better," says he, who declines to provide the figures about the occupancy rate.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotel, a leading worldwide service provider in the hotel and tourism sector, the five-star hotels in Beijing usually had an occupancy rate of 75.3 per cent in 2005.

"I, along with my team, am trying to create opportunities to carry out more innovative products and services, as well as diversify our business," he says.

Innovation, according to Yang, is the DNA of Kerry Centre's development path. Besides Centro, it has the most comprehensive and well-equipped fitness centre in Beijing, covering an area of 6,000 square metres. It has court facilities, a gymnasium, a jogging track, and a 35-metre indoor swimming pool.

"We would like to have a good mix of international and local business, and will focus more on the MICE market," he says. MICE stands for meetings, events, exhibitions and conferences. In recent years, the MICE sector has been a new focal point for hotels, along with food and beverages.

Kerry Centre has a Grand Ballroom, one of the largest in the city, which accommodates up to 1,500 guests, and has a Kowloon Ballroom with a capacity of 220 guests and 11 additional function rooms.

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