April 19, 2006
Sniff sniff. Julian King, a PR man for the new Park Hyatt Beijing, is asking us to inhale a stick of scented bamboo.
"Feel this, smell it," he says. "To create a feeling of experience, an organic feeling from seeing, touching and smelling."
He's lost in scent, but stumbles on in slightly unruly English: "So the fragrance will leave on your finger and will last a whole day. This is the orange."
What we're smelling is Hyatt's new China strategy. Led by a surge of foreigners looking to get rich here, China is a booming market that the Chicago-based hotelier is trying to exploit. It's now building ten hotels in red hot markets like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It's also digging deeper into the interior with investments in Chongqing, Dongguan, Nanjing and elsewhere.
In the U.S. market, Hyatt has been criticized for being slow to expand. And the Hyatt brand stateside is often eclipsed by more luxurious rivals like the Four Seasons, the Peninsula and the Ritz Carlton. But in China Hyatt is trying to be a big player in an increasingly crowded five-star sector - a move that would, if successful, solidify its position in the world's fastest growing market.
It would also make Hyatt more attractive to investors in a constantly rumored public offering.
The luxury push is especially evident in Beijing.
YAO MING SLEPT HERE

We're standing with Mr. King in a model unit in the still under construction Park Hyatt, a 63-story, 237-room boutique hotel, condo residence and retail complex in the heart of the capital's bustling central business district.
On Chang'an Street, amidst the monolithic superstructures of state power, the Park Hyatt stands tall - taller in fact than any other building in Beijing.
To be completed next year, the development is a conspicuous symbol of the new China aimed at the country's nouveau riche - Beijing power brokers, CEOs, celebs and other Yao Mings of the world.
For Hyatt, the towering complex - funded with Merrill Lynch and local developer Yin Tai Holdings Co. - isn't just an aromatic place to spend an opulent night. Hyatt is out to create a new lifestyle for a richer China, dubbed the Park Life.
To do this, the hotelier is for the first time getting into residential real estate, offering 32 posh penthouses and 228 high-end condos. It's also managing a retail arcade made up exclusively of high-end Euro-only luxe stores like Hermes, Chanel and Armani.
"(Our clientele) understands money," says Catherine Yin, Yin Tai general manager. "They're well-traveled, well-educated leaders of regional business, many coming from stints abroad."
Condo prices are 60,000 RMB per square meter, or about $1.8 million for a two-bed/two-bath with dramatic city views, heated bathroom floor tiles and state of the art Miele kitchen appliances.
Chinese Tony Sopranos apparently need not apply. To live the Park Life, you have to have class as well as cash.
"We cannot sell to someone who only has money," says Ms. Yin. "We will sell to the people who both have money and reputation."
Will Hyatt's new strategy pass the smell test? Half of the residential units are sold after five months on the market. As for the penthouses, this week developers are putting on a Hong Kong dog and pony show to entice the even deeper pockets of Kowloon.
WATER WATER EVERYWHERE

Hyatt already knows how to bring the bling to China. A 10 minute stroll west from Mao's mummy and the Forbidden City sits the Grand Hyatt Beijing, a 600 room hotel that opened in late 2001.
It's packed with Caterpillar and Wrigley execs, Northern Trust bankers and other international jet setters who know a good minibar when they see it.
Speaking of potent liquids, the hotelier brought in a Feng Shui expert to help it replace some of its American branding with Asian flair. The advice? Water, and lots of it. Said liquid is a symbol of money and good luck. Accordingly, three circular fountains grace the entryway, with more inside. There's also a Vegas-worthy, resort-style indoor swimming pool with a virtual sky featuring 20 different weather phenomena. One of which is not, presumably, the gray polluted skies of Beijing, made grayer by exhaust fumes and periodic dust storms whipping in from the neighboring Gobi desert.
2.6 FOR THE PEOPLE

Aside from Feng Shui, Hyatt has also tapped another uniquely Chinese characteristic - abundant and cheap labor. The place is crawling with employees clad in hipster Commie garb - black, stylish and vaguely militaristic.
They wear nametags featuring Americanized monikers. Instead of Xian and Jhang, there's Dick and Jane. There's also April, Toby, Phoebe and Hannah.
And they're everywhere, 2.6 of them for every guest. The bulk staffing is designed to produce luxury, Beijing style. The feeling is one of constant yet subtle attentiveness, with people always at the beck and call: upon entry, you're greeted not once but thrice.
People walk around with headsets communicating to make sure your beer glass is never empty.
A full beer glass in front of you at all times? Now that's Feng Shui.

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