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Discover the testimonial of Celia, a student of the MSc in International Hospitality Management currently studying on both EMLYON's Asian campus and Institut Paul Bocuse's Restaurant School in Shanghai!

• What has been your favorite course so far in Shanghai?

My favorite course in Shanghai has been the brand design course given this week by Mr Ron Swidler, Vice President at Gettys (a North American concept and brand design firm). It is our first class here at the Institut Paul Bocuse and I think we all loved it. We got the point of view of a passionate and professional expert of the industry which was both interesting and engaging. We learned some theory about how to create a concept with a strong and unique identity but we also worked on creating our own hotel concept from a brand we liked in order to take in all the information Mr Swidler gave us. Four groups were formed and chose four different brands (L’Occitane, Criollo (chocolate company), Gombaude-Guillot (wine maker) and Chanel) and from those brands, each group imagined four different hotel concepts and guest experiences.   

• In your opinion, how is the Asian hospitality business different from the one in Europe?

Working on an in-company project with ACCOR led us to research the hospitality market in China. We found out that most of the hotel groups are now trying to “sinofy” their brands or to create new hotel concepts dedicated to Chinese travelers (“sinofication” trend):

 - ACCOR formed a partnership with the hotel Chinese group Huazhu in 2014 and is working with them to develop their market in China

 - IHG has created the Hualuxe brand especially for Chinese travelers

 - Hilton has developed a new Chinese program to integrate Chinese culture in their services (tea culture, special facilities so that Chinese business travelers can have access to meeting rooms where they can do business/have lunch, Mandarin interpretation services 24/7, Menus translated into Mandarin, Chinese F&B service and cuisine…)

The Chinese way of living is changing, the middle class is growing and more and more Chinese travelers are expected for the years to come for both in-bound and out-bound tourism. Developing adapted brands for these travelers and developing special loyalty programs for them is strategic for the whole hospitality industry (hotel groups, airlines etc…)

• Where would you like to do your internship?

I would like to do my internship in Europe, probably in Spain so that I can practice both my English and Spanish. I would love to find a job position in the field of guest relation management or brand development as I'm very interested in customer experience and satisfaction management as well as the whole process and innovation to make the guest loyal to a brand. For now, I have sent some applications for internships to well-known groups such as Hilton, Ritz-Carlton (Marriott) and Le Méridien (Starwood).

• What would be your ideal job?

I know that I want to work with both employees and clients so I think an operational management position would be an interesting option. For now, as I just explained, I'm very interested in the experience/satisfaction/loyalty process which is why I am looking for an internship that will enable me to experience it.