What does it take to build the world’s largest Sheraton Hotel? (China)
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What does it take to build the world’s largest Sheraton Hotel? (China)
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Category: Asia Pacific - China - Industry economy -
Hotel opening
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2012-08-14
Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central prepares for upcoming opening and unveils behind-the-scenes details in the making of Macau’s largest hotel
Hotel team receives 10,000 job applications and interviews 5,000 candidates in preparation for grand opening
What does it take to build the world’s largest Sheraton hotel? The Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central is putting the finishing touches to Macau’s largest hotel in preparation for its opening in September 2012, which coincides with the celebrated hotel brand’s 75th anniversary. As the final preparations take place, Sheraton Macao Hotel is unveiling some of the most fascinating and impressive behind-the-scenes facts about the making of the world’s largest Sheraton.
Perhaps most impressive is the construction and staffing of Sheraton Macao Hotel, that has helped to boost the Macau economy and provided locals with a wide range of career options. The Sheraton Macao Hotel hosted a number of job fairs and received more than 10,000 applications from new graduates as well as seasoned hotel industry veterans who are excited about the opportunity to work with a global hotel company such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The hotel’s staff interviewed 5,000 candidates during the job fairs.
The uniquely international staff speaks 19 languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, English, German, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Indonesian and various Chinese Dialects. In fact, the Sheraton Macao Hotel team traveled nearly 10,000 miles (equivalent to 355 marathons!) to personally interview over 5,000 associates and managers.
How do you welcome the first batch of 1,500 new associates in Sheraton style? With an interactive Sheraton Macao Hotel welcome carnival. Understanding the needs of the new Sheraton associates, the Human Resources team turned the traditional orientation day into a fun-filled first day of work with 12 interactive and festive game booths with activities that were both entertaining and informative, including practice with their uniforms, lockers and clock-in systems as well as booths to help employees learn more about the Starwood culture, Sheraton guest experience and information related to their own compensation & benefits.
But nothing compares with on-the-job experience, so to help train the 1,500 new employees Sheraton Macao Hotel will conduct a massive two-week simulation where 10,000 “guests” will arrive and check in and out of 5,000 rooms. From valet parking and guest check-in to housekeeping and food service, the simulation will involve every employee at every level of the hotel and prepare the staff to provide exceptional experiences for all Sheraton Macao Hotel guests. The simulation will happen in two waves, with a first wave of guests arriving and staying over a four-day period. From this experience, staff will identify issues and problems and develop solutions for the arrival of the second wave of guests.
“It has been a remarkable undertaking to create the world’s largest Sheraton – a real labor of love,” said Josef Dolp, Managing Director of Sheraton Macao Hotel. “Macau is quickly transforming from Asia’s center of gambling into a destination city – and the new Sheraton Macao Hotel will be the world’s gathering place to experience the new Macau. We are pleased and privileged to be part of this.”
In 2004, Sheraton introduced its Sheraton Sweet SleeperTM Bed to rave reviews. The Sweet SleeperTM is found in each of the Sheraton guest rooms and is comprised of luxurious sheets, a deluxe duvet, a selection of feather down and hypoallergenic pillows, and a custom mattress. At the Sheraton Macao Hotel, there will be 6,256 Sweet Sleeper beds (and 15,652 pillows!) in the 3,863 guest rooms. The weight of the duvets alone will be 14,818kg. That’s nearly 15 tons of feathers!
An enormous amount of meticulous planning goes into creating the world’s largest Sheraton. To light its 3,863 guest rooms, the Sheraton Macao Hotel has to purchase and install 90,796 light bulbs, that’s more than 4.5 times the total number of light bulbs to light the Eiffel Tower! Staff will fold and place 35,217 plush towels in the guest bathrooms, fluff 15,652 pillows, and fold 9,372 bed sheets with perfect hospital corners. For guest comfort, 31,158 canned drinks are stocked in the minibars. Of course, waking up is made easier with Sheraton’s complimentary in-room coffee – served in 7,826 coffee mugs.
When you dive into one of the three refreshing outdoor swimming pools, consider that the Sheraton Macao Central hotel has more than 12,000 square meters of outdoor pools – equivalent to 7000 people lying down side-by-side!
Sheraton’s Shine Spa – the largest Shine Spa in Asia Pacific – will use 137 1-liter bottles of massage oil per month and pour 7,800 cups of Shine Elemental tea each month. Sheraton Fitness expects guests to cover 12,000km on its treadmills each month – the equivalent of a person running from Los Angeles to Macau or covering the Great Wall of China 1.35 times! To cool off those runners, Sheraton Fitness staff expects to distribute 16,800 cold face towels.
And with the largest Sheraton Club in the world, guests will relish the hotel within a hotel which features 570 Sheraton Club rooms, totaling 12,896 square feet of Sheraton Club Lounge space.
About Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central
Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central is the largest hotel in Macau, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ largest managed property in the world. Owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp., a Fortune 500 company and leading global developer of integrated resorts, Sheraton Macao Hotel is located within the Sands® Cotai Central complex, providing instant access to high-end retailers, diverse dining venues, and world class entertainment. The hotel boasts 3,863 stylish guestrooms along with the largest Sheraton Club in the world, with 570 exclusive rooms and suites, and a well-appointed Club Lounge for guests to relax, socialize, and work. Sheraton Macao Hotel features expansive state-of-the-art meetings facilities offering over 15,000m² of meeting space with access to a further 5,000 m² within the Cotai Central complex; three signature restaurants, Bene, Feast, and Xin, offering fine Asian and international cuisine; Link@SheratonSM; Shine Spa for Sheraton; three swimming pools; the holistic Sheraton Fitness Programmed by Core Performance; a Kid’s Program; and other amenities catering to business and leisure travelers and families. Like all brands within Starwood’s robust portfolio, Sheraton Macao Hotel is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest program, which made headlines when it launched in 1999 with a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,112 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and ElementSM. The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands.
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