Daniella Tonetto－澳门喜来登金沙城中心大酒店营销总经理－General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel.
Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel and The St. Regis Macao are two of the most exciting hotel properties by Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Macao.
Delta Bridges: Regarding of Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, it has recently been upgraded to Sheraton Grand, comparing to those existed facilities and services, what have been added to the hotel after the brand upgrade?
Daniella Tonetto: The Sheraton Grand globally was a recognition of our best Sheratons around the world, it really was not about adding but about recognising a consistency for our travellers around the world. Because if you travel in the United States, the Sheraton is quite different to the Sheraton here in China or in Asia Pacific, so the “Grand” recognition is really about consistency across the world. So these were the Sheraton hotels that already provided excellent service; they have very high guest satisfaction; they have offered the Sheraton Club, certain number of restaurants, meeting facilities. So we already met this criteria. So the goal is about keeping the consistency for all of our travellers going forward.
DB: As one of the few female hoteliers in the General Manager position and a mother of two children, do you have a special focus towards family travellers when promoting the hotel business?
DT: It is easier for me to understand what the families need. Whether they have families or not, every hotelier would recognise that family business is very important for the Sheraton. But it is a little bit easier for me to understand what to provide as we are working on the strategies I can help the team to understand what is important. Not many of my team have children. However it is good to get many people involved so that we can tailor the needs for young children, babies or teenagers.
DB: There are Sheraton hotels on both sides of the boarder: Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel and Sheraton Zhuhai, will there be a package for travellers to enjoy the full Sheraton Experience in two cities together?
DT: Currently there is a package for travellers: one night at Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel + one night at Sheraton Zhuhai. For leisure travellers, they often choose to stay in Zhuhai one or two days then come to Macao. Working together with Sheraton Zhuhai also helps with the Sheraton Brand recognition. Once The St. Regis Zhuhai opens, we will consider something similar.
DB: Macao has a rich history, how does the hotel help travellers with their discovery journey in the city?
DT: With the Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, we encourage our guests to use the MGTO(Macao Government Tourism Office) app and website to move around: there are various recommendations for walking tours, culture tours, and guidance to historical sites and etc. For The St. Regis guests, we have a tailored a family experience: the hotel can organize a car for half a day, also provide a camera and a photo album. Guest can choose three or four of the main sites of Macao, take a photo and start to fill out their photo album. There is also a half day city tour for guests to join.
DB: Macao is at the transition to be a tourist city with attraction of its history, art and culture. The hotel market in Macao is also getting more competitive at the same time with more hotels to open in the coming future. At this stage, for Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel and The St. Regis Macao, what is the plan for the next few years?
DT: The competition is very good for Macao. The more development that comes, the more attractions for people to come to the destination. We need more attractions to keep people coming to Macao again and again. The addition of the competition is excellent. The coming international luxury hotels are also good for Macao. The number of luxury travellers are growing around the world and they want to travel more and more as the generations change. We really see The St. Regis Macao as the best luxury hotel in Macao in 5 years for its best location, facility and services.
