Three Powerful World Leaders – Three Kempinski Hotels

Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing and Yanqi Lake Beijing Hotel came under the world’s spotlight as official hosts of the APEC China 2014 AELM global summit. The meeting was attended by President Xi Jinping of China, USA’s President Barack Obama and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, with the event overseen and managed by Key International Hotels Management Co. Ltd.

Yanqi Lake is a beautiful scenic location at the foot of Yanshan Mountains, close to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. At just 60 kilometres north of the Chinese capital, Beijing, it was an idyllic place to hold APEC China’s 2014 AELM. This group of luxury hotels were newly opened and are some of Kempinski’s largest properties in China. The luxury destination, managed by Key International – as part of a joint venture with Beijing Tourism Group and Kempinski hotels, includes 595 guest bedrooms and suites distributed across Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing, the Yanqi Hotel and 12 boutique hotels along the lakeshore and Yanqi Island. With leisure facilities which include 14 bars and restaurants, two Kempinski The Spa wellness centres, the Yanqi Pagoda, fitness facilities, a private marina and beautiful landscaped gardens – the summit was the perfect event to showcase Kempinski’s impressive new resorts.

The APEC global summit took place inside the 8,277 square metre Beijing Yanqi Lake International Conference Centre overlooking the lake. Interiors were designed by US-company Gensler Beijing, led by Emma Chang, an American- Chinese design director. A total of 16 interior specialists from both China and the US worked tirelessly to ensure the room surpassed expectations. Everything from the size and quality of hand-crafted carpets to diameters of meeting tables in the conference centre was taken into consideration. In the Jixian Hall where the AELM was held, the one-piece carpet was handmade over 4 months by more than 100 craftsmen and women.

The role of operational and management staff prior to, and during the summit was equally as important. Key International put an incredible amount of planning and preparation into the global meeting. The company deployed a service task force of 395 employees from other Kempinski and NUO Hotels they manage throughout China, and a total of 790 further staff from 25 provinces were brought in to serve at the AELM. Supervisors and room attendants totalled 95 employees, there were 223 chefs in attendance and a security detail of over 500 personnel were drafted to Yanqi Lake to protect the delegates.

Organising such a large-scale meeting and conference would be daunting for many management companies, but with Key International’s extensive knowledge and expertise, their vision, values, respect of local heritage and collaborative spirit, APEC China’s 2014 AELM was decreed a huge triumph by all.

Based out of Beijing, Key International manage the Kempinski Yanqi Lake hotels as part of their growing South East Asia and China portfolio and were an integral part of the project from the first day it broke ground. Having spent two decades at the head of international hospitality, no other entity could offer such valuable perspectives and expertise to such an important global event. Key International’s know-how and understanding of Chinese luxury, heritage and culture allowed them to provide a bespoke customised service, ensuring the world’s leaders were catered to throughout the duration of their stay.