Hilton Shanghai, the city's first international hotel, has been recognized as a top business hotel in Shanghai for its convenient location and outstanding facilities for more than 20 years. However, the hotel's newly appointed general manager Gerd Knaust says it is the people that make the hotel successful. More than 380 employees have been working with the hotel for more than 15 years. Some of them have personal relationships with customers. ''It's a people-relation business,'' Knaust says. ''They really tell me about the stories in the last 15 years. It's something very nice to listen to. It's also a lasting memory for the guests.'' In fact, over the years, some of the guests have stayed in the hotel 200 or even 300 times. Knaust, who has been working in the hospitality industry for more than 30 years, started his career as a chef in Germany. During his early 30s, Knaust already moved to the top in the culinary   field as director of kitchen of Hyatt Regency Cologne in Germany. After holding several general manager positions in Mandarin Oriental hotels, Knaust joined Hilton International as the general manager to open the Conrad and Doubletree by Hilton at Haitang Bay, Sanya in 2010. When he was appointed as the general manager of Hilton Shanghai in November, he not only was heavily involved in recruitment, sales and marketing strategies but also he worked closely with the food and beverage team to develop the hotel's restaurant concepts and menus. ''I believe that we should offer quality and healthy food.'' he says. Knaust believes that a hotel must value the customers' comments on Ctrip, Trip Advisor and other platforms, etc. ''It keeps us more on guard to be 100 percent professional,'' he says. Knaust joined Hilton International as the general manager to   _  .
start his career as chef be involved in recruitment open the Conrad and Doubletree develop the hotel's restaurant concepts and menus