Tycoon: I Have an Unlimited Modifier

Upon entering the city, Qi Sheng surveyed the ancient capital of six dynasties.

The towering ancient city walls gave it a sense of profound history, distinct from other major metropolises.

As it happened, the Banyan Tree Group also had a presence in Xi’an.

Its subsidiary, the Yuechun Hotel, was located in Lintong.

It was a hot spring resort hotel less than a five-minute drive from Huaqing Palace.

Qi Sheng had Gu Feng drive to the hotel.

The hotel’s general manager, Wang Huazhang, having been notified in advance, was waiting at the entrance early.

The moment he saw the dazzling red Cullinan, he quickly walked up to greet them.

"Chairman Qi, welcome to the Lintong Yuchun Hot Spring Hotel for your inspection. I am the general manager, Wang Huazhang. It is a great honor to be of service to you."

"Hello."

Qi Sheng gave a faint smile, not at all surprised by Wang Huazhang’s eagerness.

"Chairman Qi, I’ve already arranged a private bathhouse for you. The water in the hot spring pool has been changed. What are your thoughts?"

Wang Huazhang was, of course, well aware of the changes within the Banyan Tree Group.

The rumors about the new boss were running rampant.

But he never would have imagined it.

The new boss hadn’t gone to the group’s headquarters in Singapore first.

Nor had he visited the Banyan Tree Hotel in Shanghai.

Instead, he had come to the unremarkable Yuechun Hotel in Xi’an.

This made him both excited and unavoidably nervous.

This was a golden opportunity for a meteoric rise, and it all depended on whether he could seize it.

...

Yuechun was positioned as a high-end five-star hotel, a tier just below Banyan Tree.

Room rates ranged from six or seven hundred to four or five thousand per night.

With the big boss, Qi Sheng, checking in, Wang Huazhang had arranged a private bathhouse.

This was a way of embracing the local culture by experiencing Xi’an’s hot spring tradition.

The private bathhouses were all on the ground floor, each with a small, exquisitely designed courtyard.

The pools inside were more private and cleaner than the public ones.

Qi Sheng nodded slightly, reasonably satisfied with the room’s environment.

He also knew that Wang Huazhang must have had people clean it repeatedly and meticulously in advance.

That was the only reason it was in its current state of cleanliness.

He saw through the charade but didn’t point it out.

Most five-star hotels were probably at this level.

If you wanted to make money, service would inevitably be neglected to some extent.

The online reviews for Yuechun were mixed.

As a five-star hotel, Yuechun’s performance and reputation were still considered acceptable.

"Chairman Qi, our hotel’s restaurant is rather average. How about I book a table at a restaurant in the city for you?"

Wang Huazhang cautiously sounded out the big boss, afraid of overstepping his boundaries.

"Have a seat. We don’t need to go out for a meal. I’d like to hear your thoughts on hotel management."

Qi Sheng waved his hand and casually handed Wang Huazhang a bottle of water.

"Thank you, Chairman Qi."

Wang Huazhang accepted the bottle, feeling flattered and slightly overwhelmed.

He began to speak at length about his understanding of the hotel management industry.

During this process, Qi Sheng scanned Wang Huazhang.

He was an Elite Level talent, and his management skills were quite good.

This was within his expectations.

Wang Huazhang spoke eloquently for half an hour.

Seeing that Qi Sheng remained silent, he started to grow a little cautious again.

"Chairman Qi... that’s more or less the extent of my knowledge and insights on hotel management."

"Not bad. The profitability of this Yuechun Hotel you manage is very impressive, which shows you’ve run it with great care."

Qi Sheng was just stating the facts; he wasn’t praising him simply because of his enthusiastic attitude.

Among the five-star hotels that have opened in Xi’an,

Yuechun’s brand influence wasn’t particularly strong.

But not only has it avoided losses, it has maintained a steady profit.

For that, Wang Huazhang had to be commended.

"Thank you, Chairman Qi..."

Wang Huazhang was overjoyed, not expecting to be praised by the big boss.

"Don’t get too happy just yet. I’m about to mention the shortcomings."

Qi Sheng waved his hand, a half-smile on his face. "Profitability is important, of course, but you should also be clear on the impact service has on reputation."

"Ah..."

Wang Huazhang scratched his head in embarrassment.

The elated expression on his face vanished completely.

As a professional with a degree in hotel management and extensive experience,

he was all too aware of how important service and reputation were to a hotel’s brand.

But in many cases, service and profit were mutually exclusive.

As the general manager, his KPI was profitability.

For the sake of profit, he was willing to sacrifice a certain level of service.

"Now that I’m in charge of the Banyan Tree Group, the emphasis on service must be elevated to a higher priority than profit."

"The Yuechun brand needs to carry the banner for the group’s five-star hotels, so the task for you general managers is not a light one."

"I’ve seen online comments complaining that the hotel restaurant’s food isn’t very good. Is that true?"

Qi Sheng had done his homework on the way here, so he was raising these points with a clear purpose.

"As you know, among our group’s hotel brands, only Banyan Tree can attract high-quality restaurants to partner with us."

"Our Yuechun brand’s influence is too weak. We can’t even compare to Hilton, let alone the Waldorf."

"The restaurants willing to move in are of inconsistent quality."

Wang Huazhang wasn’t just making excuses.

He had indeed extended invitations to some of the more famous restaurants, but they had all politely declined.

Restaurants like Xinrong Ji, where the average cost per person is over 1,000,

even if they wanted to open a branch in a hotel,

would choose a luxury hotel brand on the level of the Waldorf or Banyan Tree at the very least.

Yuechun’s status was equivalent to a second-label wine from Lafite.

It was entirely dependent on its big brother, Banyan Tree, to drive its success.

"Let’s not rush that. Does the hotel have a hot pot buffet restaurant right now?"

Qi Sheng had seen online reviews saying the hotel’s self-operated hot pot buffet had a decent reputation, so he asked casually.

"Originally, I wanted to outsource the restaurant, but then I considered that mismanagement of a buffet could easily damage the hotel’s reputation."

"In the end, I gritted my teeth and chose to operate it ourselves. The hot pot buffet has actually brought in quite a few customers for the hotel."

Speaking of the hot pot buffet, a trace of pride couldn’t help but appear on Wang Huazhang’s face.

"Take me to see it."

Qi Sheng had only just gotten the idea on his way here.

The Banyan Tree Group had many hotels like the Lintong Yuchun.

As the owner, Qi Sheng could orchestrate a powerful alliance between his hotels and restaurants.

For example, a five-star hotel like Yuechun could house a Spicy King.

Relying on the latter’s reputation and customer traffic, it could also boost Yuechun’s room occupancy rate.

High-end Banyan Tree Hotels could house restaurants like Zifei or Yu Tu, where the cost per person is over 1,000.

This would be perfectly in line with Banyan Tree’s ultra-luxury hotel positioning.

The high-net-worth customers brought in by the restaurants would even drive up the hotel’s occupancy rates and brand influence.

Wang Huazhang led Qi Sheng to the hotel’s self-operated Yuechun Garden Hot Pot Buffet Restaurant.

It wasn’t mealtime yet, but many employees were already busy.

Since it was a self-operated restaurant, the employee uniforms were also custom-made by the hotel.

"Hello, President Wang."

Seeing Wang Huazhang, people continually nodded and greeted him as they passed.

As for Qi Sheng, whom Wang Huazhang was fawning over,

all the employees were curious. ’Could he be the young master of some wealthy family?’

"Chairman Qi, do you see any areas in the restaurant that need improvement? I’ll have them rectified as soon as possible."

Wang Huazhang gave Qi Sheng a tour, humbly asking the big boss for his guidance.

"Overall, it’s very well done. In the future, all Yuechun hotels will have a Spicy King move in, which isn’t too different from your self-operated hot pot restaurant."

"Huh?"

Wang Huazhang was a bit dumbfounded, staring blankly at Qi Sheng.

"Chairman Qi, what about these employees?"

"Their job duties won’t change, only the color of their uniforms and the company they belong to."

As the big boss, Qi Sheng’s words were naturally a royal decree.

"Understood. I’ll cooperate fully with the handover."

Wang Huazhang felt a bit downcast and reluctant.

This Yuechun Garden Hot Pot Buffet Restaurant was like a child he had raised himself.

Now, Qi Sheng was giving it away to someone else to raise, and he was in no position to refuse.

"Look at you, all reluctant. Do you want to be the general manager of a Banyan Tree Hotel or not?"

Qi Sheng patted Wang Huazhang’s shoulder with amusement, offering him a reward so sweet it was almost cloying.

"Of course I do! It’s what I dream of!"

Wang Huazhang was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously, afraid Qi Sheng would go back on his word.

That was Banyan Tree, an ultra-luxury brand on par with established hotels like the Waldorf.

Compared to Yuechun, its less-famous little brother,

Banyan Tree was a household name in the hotel industry.

In comparison to the general manager position at a Banyan Tree Hotel...

’A small hot pot buffet restaurant meant nothing at all!’

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!