Benjamin Lacoste, CEO of Metropolo Hotels, is very optimistic about the future, his brand focuses on Chinese culture and the number of outbound travelers from China is increasing at an exponential rate.

"In the next few years, 200 million Chinees will travel all over the world," he said, speaking at the ITB in Berlin. "This is very good news for us."

Metropolo is part of the Louvre Hotels Group, a French company with six brands and more than 1,000 hotels, according to its website. Metropolo, which started in China in the early 20th century, has grown to 100 hotels today, Lacoste says.
The company calls its brand's focus "a tribute to Chinese values of harmony," which brings together the best of Oriental and Occidental culture.

How Metropolo does that is by focusing on people and details, Lacoste says.

"We give them something to remember," he said, detailing how the hotels offer a traditional tea ceremony as part of the guest check-in experience.

At the same time, the brand does give a nod to the modern. Recently in Shanghai, the company opened a "smart hotel" where everything is connected and robots are everywhere.

"It is interesting the way customers are using it," he said. "Still, we allow them to choose – if they want personal contact, it's there."

This is strictly an exclusive feature, reprints of this article in any shape or form without prior written approval from 4Hoteliers.com is not permitted. Jabeen Bhatti is reporting exclusively for 4Hoteliers.com at ITB Berlin 2019 - www.4Hoteliers.com/itb.

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