Hilton, Starwood cater to Chinese travellers

US hotel chains across the globe are adding popular Chinese dishes to their food menus as they compete to attract the growing travel market from China.Starwood Hotels andamp; Resorts Worldwide and Hilton Worldwide Inc. are among the chains looking to include meals such as Chinese rice porridge, congee to the breakfast buffet as well as incorporating hospitality standards that cater to Chinese visitors, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The move sits in line with figures released by the US Travel Association which saw a 53 percent increase in Chinese inbound travellers visiting the US in 2010 compared to the prior year."Chinese travel is going to provide one of the great opportunities that we'll ever see in the business," Hilton Hotels chief executive Chris Nassetta said.

Among its first adaptations, Starwood said it is rolling out a new program the Starwood Personalized Travel, that will see its hotels offer Chinese travellers individualised and specific services to Chinese travellers.Commencing with 19 hotels in New York, London and San Francisco, the amenities include tea kettles, translation services and slippers.The company told the newspaper that the program will run at each of its hotels worldwide by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, Hilton Hotel said it is preparing a program called Hilton Huanying aka Hilton Welcome.
According to the newspaper, the program will commencing from August and will include services such as a fluent Mandarin worker at the front desk, Chinese television stations as well as full Chinese breakfast from dim sum, congee and fried dough fritters.

Source = etravelblackboardasia