Hilton International is cautiously expanding its business in China in a bid to guarantee customers can receive good services while keeping the chain of hotels profitable to the owners.

"Our consistent aim is making people feel confident to trust Hilton... that they can get the same services in any Hilton in China as they receive in New York, Washington and London." said Vlad Reyes, the general manager of Hilton Beijing.

"And it should be aided by good financial support, trustworthy partners, as well as high-quality facilities and human resources."

Meanwhile, Hilton International should assure owners that its hotels are profitable, which can lead to sustainable and healthy development of the hotel giant.

As one of the world leading five-star hotel operators, Hilton International entered China in 1993 and has currently five chain hotels in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Dalian.

"The five Hilton hotels as a whole make the same amount of money in profits as all Holiday Inns around China every year, and the accommodation rates for Hilton in China stands at 90 percent on average, "Reyes said.

He admitted that China's opening-up of its hotel industry in 1984 has had positive impacts on Hilton International and offered great business opportunities for the chain.

"After China's entry into the World Trade Organization, we drew more benefit from the opening of related markets, involving expositions, tourism and real estate, and their rapid development," said Reyes.

So far, Hilton China is eyeing the huge potential in the domestic market and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

"We have noticed that, different from 1980s, the domestic market has become a large part of our business in these years," said Reyes.

In addition to international visitors, Hilton's meeting, convention and leisure services lured more Chinese customers, who felt those services are professional, comfortable and reliable.

Reyes indicated that he could not estimate what the scale of the market is, but he believed the local market might be a promising sector for Hilton International.

"For the 2008 Olympic Games, we have many things to prepare in high efficiency," said Reyes.

He cited such things as selecting sites to opening new hotels and competing to provide related services for grand sporting event.

Besides setting up more of its main hotel chain, Hilton International has set up its Conrad brand of luxury hotels in China to meet the requirements of ever-increasing meetings traffic and luxury tourism in the nation.

(China Daily December 10, 2003)