Interview: Shangri-La Hotels CEO on Maintaining Brand Identity Amid Expansion

Editor’s Note: This interview is part of Skift’s CEO interview series. This particular series is with hospitality CEOs talking about the Future of the Guest Experience and the evolving expectations and demands of hotel guests. Check out all the interviews as they come out here. Also, enjoy the previous series on the Future of Travel Booking, with online travel CEOs. Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts has been rapidly expanding beyond its original Asian borders over the last decade, with some especially notable openings like Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in London this year. The hospitality group launched six new hotels altogether in 2014, with another 11 scheduled to open next year. It also rebranded some of its Traders Hotels under the new Hotel Jen flag targeting the Millennial travel segment. According to Greg Dogan, CEO of Shangri-La Hotels, the successful translation of the Shangri-La experience outside Asia rests on the consistent delivery of “hospitality from the heart,” which he says is at the core of the hotel group's DNA. That signature brand pillar is expressed in its the tagline: “There is no greater act of hospitality than to embrace a stranger as one’s own.” It is beautifully portrayed by this award-winning promotional video from 2010, as well as this recent video series in October chronicling Tibetan singer Yangjin Lamu's journey to the new Shangri-La Hotel Lhasa. The central brand message expressed by Lamu in those videos communicates the power of a grateful heart. With 88 Shangri-La properties presently operating, Dogan says his primary mission