By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
The Banyan Tree Club and Spa Seoul is gearing up for its grand opening next year with the ambition of becoming the most luxurious urban resort in the nation, exclusively targeting high-income earners.
The resort will open on a 69,000-square meter plot on Mt. Namsan, in the heart of Seoul, renovating the former Tower Hotel and constructing new facilities on the site.
In preparation, the resort recently named veteran hotelier Lee Young-il as its inaugural CEO. The appointment seems to highly value his 35-years of experience in the industry. He is regarded as one of the first generation who led the nation's hotel business boom in the early 1980s.
``I feel like I came home as the hospitality business is what I've been doing and I feel at ease,'' Lee told The Korea Times. ``But the resort is like a newborn baby growing, which needs a lot of energy. So I also feel freshness and vitality.''
He was given the post on July 1 after months of hiatus in the field. Before the appointment, he worked as CEO of the Paradise Hotel Busan.
Coming back from a short break, he is expected to write a new chapter of success in his career, facilitating his lengthy experience in the emerging market for socially and financially successful figures.
Lee's hotel career began with the Shilla Seoul where he worked for 30 years. But his relationship with the hotel began in an unexpected way.
Majoring in electrical engineering at Seoul National University, he entered the Samsung Group in 1973. He joined as an engineer when the group built the hotel in the early 1980s but later he was dispatched to the newly launched hotel as a furniture & equipment director.
``At first, I thought about quitting the job at the hotel. As an engineer, I simply thought I couldn't take this totally new assignment. People also looked down on jobs at hotels as they `serve' customers. But now I realize that it was a chance, one which changed my whole life,'' Kim recalled.
He had to make himself become used to lots of new things to survive. He made an effort to learn every detail related to the hotel as he was given new assignment in new departments. He went on to work in sales, general affairs and planning departments. He was also dispatched to the Shilla Jeju when it was launched in 1988.
``It was like a series of new challenges. I didn't have time for mannerisms. I always think that a challenge is a chance. You shouldn't be afraid of it,'' he said.
His bottom-up career to management finally led him to the post of CEO at the Shilla Seoul in 2001. He was declared one of the top 20 CEOs in the world by the renowned U.S. 'Leaders Magazine' in 2001.
The 61-year-old hotelier attributed his success to the power of education. He focused on the training of staff as well as himself to better serve customers, which is key to success in the hospitality business.
``The investment in the training of our staff is critical. They meet customers and deal with them. I try to encourage them to best serve customers through various support,'' he said.
He also believes that the simple principle can be also applied to the resort even if its main targets are different from those in other five-star hotels. One of his main concerns is how to motivate his staff to best serve customers with high expectation in the high-end market, as well as the equipment of advanced facilities through the extensive renovation.
The Banyan Tree Club and Spa Seoul will be run on a membership basis and selectively accept members to maintain its top status.
Membership will cost a 110 million won ($110,000) with an additional annual fee of 3 million won per person. It has already accepted roughly 2,000 members (about 40 percent of the goal of 4,500) even before construction is completed.
```There has been a potential need for the high-end market. The socially and financially successful want to have their own private place for relaxation, which we want to fulfill. It should be different from the selfishness of the rich,'' Lee said.
He plans to develop the resort into an ideal place for family visitors and help them form social communities to share similar interests with similar people.