Cecilia Tan

ceciliatan2006@126.com

SITTING at a table at the Hard Rock café in a T-shirt and jeans, Glenn Peat, the newly appointed general manager of China’s first Hard Rock hotel — Hard Rock Hotel Shenzhen — showed off his signature tattoo to Shenzhen Daily and said his personal motto is Kia Kaha.

“Kia Kaha is a phrase in Maori, which means be strong. Because there is no guarantee of tomorrow, so we should take opportunities in life,” said Peat, a New Zealand-born hotelier. “Kia Kaha is also my tattoo. I left my hometown 19 years ago, and it always reminds me of my root.”

Peat has worked with hotel brands such as Hyatt and Shangri-La. He once led Hyatt Regency’s first property in Punjab, India to become Trip Advisor’s favorite hotel in the city and helped Pudong Shangri-La achieve the highest guest satisfaction score in the history of the hotel.

But after having served “traditional” hotels for over 25 years, Peat said he got tired of wearing a suit everyday. As an extrovert, he found that Hard Rock suits him very well.

“We all like to be different and then all my friends said that Hard Rock is the perfect brand for me,” he explained.

Just like the brand, Peat pursues a unique life experience. He is an owner of seven horses and a camel; he collects motorbikes and has boats for water skiing; he loves extreme sports, such as bungee jumping, jet boating, sky diving, endurance horse riding and quad bike riding. He said his Chinese zodiac is the dragon and he prefers to be a fire dragon. These personal traits all come from his upbringing and the diverse culture of his homeland.

“I have grown up with outgoing, loud people who love adventures. And through my life and working experience, I have also created my brand, which is to be dynamic, positive, outgoing and energetic. I want to motivate people around me and I think the key to working in the business is to have that positive attitude,” he said.

As for Peat, challenges generate opportunities. Operating a lifestyle hotel with a strong cultural character in China is barely different from managing an ordinary hotel in other countries.

“The only barrier for me is language. But I have a strong team to work with,” he said. “The business philosophy in China is the same with other places. In Shenzhen we have a positive market. We don’t have many competitors surrounding us and the place can bring a potential corporate business to us.”

“Thus, what we can do is to make Hard Rock the No. 1 entertainment venue in the city. We actually provide more than just rock. We offer every genre of music here, with personal guitars in the room, a phonograph and great amplifier. We do what others can’t do: Hard Rock holds over 30,000 entertainment shows each year. We believe we can cater to the taste of Shenzheners, who are open for new things and always stay young with strength,” Peat said.