Head north to a ski paradise

On July 1, the Hilton Niseko Village opened at the foot of 1,309 meter Mount Annupuri in Hokkaido. A two-hour drive from Sapporo, the 506-room deluxe hotel is the company’s first mountain resort destination in Asia.

Hilton Niseko Village comprises a ski in – ski out location with manicured pistes and deep powder glades at its doorstep. Summertime activities include two championship style 18-hole golf courses, Pure Action which features numerous children's activities, horse riding and SNAG golf, just to name a few. The hotel also provides a base for the region’s white water rafting, fishing, onsen and numerous adventure options. The Hilton was built on an existing property that has undergone multi-million dollar renovations.

Initial interest in the resort has been flattering, says General Manager Daniel Welk who, along with other Hilton and Niseko Village executives, gave a media presentation at the Hilton Tokyo in May. The main selling point is the resort’s diverse appeal and the fact that it is a year-round mountain resort, on par with the great resorts in North America, Canada and Europe.

Born in Tweed Heads, Australia, Welk has more than 16 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. He worked in Australia, the UK and Bali, before being assigned to the Radisson Hotel at Narita in 2003 (and becoming its GM in 2005). Welk joined Hilton Hotels in 2008. Japan Today editor Chris Betros catches up with Welk during a recent visit to Tokyo.

What is the main difference between the Hilton Niseko Village and other hotels you have worked for?

The Hilton Niseko Village location is unmatched at the foot of Mount Annu’puri. At the hotel doorstep is a quality golf course, Pure Action and the Niseko Village Gondola. The ability to have so many quality activities just a few steps away makes the hotel unique and certainly different to anywhere I have worked previously. A mountain resort allows you the freedom to vary your services and facilities greatly dependent on the season, which makes each day more exciting than the day one before.

Where are you expecting most guests to come from?

It depends on the season. Being a year round mountain resort, the hotel appeals to a wide customer base. In winter, the hotel is targeting a 70% domestic, 30% international market mix whilst during the summer months, 80% domestic and 20% international (predominately drawn from regional Asia).

What was the pre-opening buzz like?

We have had a fantastic response from the media over the past three months. This support has been the catalyst for healthy advance bookings right up until March 2009. We are forecasting a 35% revenue growth in fiscal 2008.

What about overseas interest?

There is great potential from regional Asia, considering that Cathay Pacific flies direct to Sapporo, as do China Airlines, Eva Air and Korean, to name a few. Even Continental flies from Guam. Being a year-round mountain resort destination, combined with Niseko Village's superb resort offerings, Hilton Niseko Village offers a unique environment for guests to enjoy a truly untapped world class destination.

What about access?

It’s not a problem. If you are a skiing enthusiast, the two-hour commute from Chitose airport won’t matter because the snow quality is so unbelievable. You can go to Nagano or Niigata but you won’t get the quality or consistency of snow you’ll find in Niseko. Trains from Sapporo run right up until 9 or 10 p.m. Hilton Niseko Village will also offer complimentary transfers to customers from train stations in Kutchan or Niseko. Buses go direct from Chitose to Niseko. We also have a fleet of cars. Since we have a helipad on the hotel grounds, we will be trialing helicopters out of Chitose from Aug 9-17. We are talking to three companies about offering this service to our clients.

How have you been marketing the resort?

The pre-opening response was so good from the different media outlets that I have been able to channel more funds into employee training and development programs. In terms of marketing, we work with our worldwide Hilton offices, to leverage the strength of the Hilton brand. We have sales staff based domestically in Sapporo, Tokyo and Niseko. They work closely with wholesalers because they supply the majority of the business.

What about conventions?

The Hilton Niseko Village is ideal for the MICE market – meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions – because the hotel has the largest ballroom in the region. We can host dinners for 500-600 people. It’s a huge opportunity because no other hotels in the region can offer a similar size MICE facility to Hilton Niseko Village.

Where did you get all your staff from?

Hilton, being the first international branded hotel in Japan 40 years ago has a great reputation, and has enabled us to retain many quality employees and recruit young exciting and vibrant staff who really want to live the mountain experience. Overall, we have a substantial multicultural and multilingual team. We currently have Japanese, Australian, Chinese, Korean and British staff working at the hotel. The resort experience is all about employees’ personality, that uniquely personal touch, which is critical in a resort environment because guests usually stay at the resort for extended periods of time.

Is the hotel industry a mobile labor market?

I don’t think the Japan labor market is as mobile as other markets in the world, for example China, Thailand or Indonesia. In Tokyo, you’ve seen a lot of movement in the past two or three years because of the number of new additions to the luxury hotel market. But overall, the Japanese turnover is a lot lower.

What is your definition of a good hotelier?

A good hotelier should always be transparent with both guests and employees. Operating a hotel is like operating an orchestra where there are so many different components. When one component fails, the whole orchestra fails. As a hotelier, I have to teach each employee that their individual roles are very important to the overall customer experience. My job is to keep every department motoring along to provide a memorable customer experience for all our guests.

What is a typical day for you?

As you can imagine, I have to move around a lot. I live 10 minutes’ drive from the hotel and have been working seven days a week during the lead-up to the opening. I’m usually in the office at 7 a.m. and typically finish around 9 p.m. or even later sometimes.

How’s your Japanese?

I am restarting my Japanese lessons. I was in Indonesia for three years and in that time I learned to speak Indonesian. I think it is important that I use Japanese.

How do you like to relax?

I like surfing, tennis and barbecues.

For more information on the Hilton Niseko Village, visit Hilton.com/worldwideresorts.

© Japan Today