Page 11 - Sphere No.32 (Dec 2012)

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Sphere 32
For the hutchison Family, with a quarter of a million
staff in 52 countries, the holidays are seen as more than simply
an opportunity for increased sales. around the world, the
Group’s divisions participate in the local holiday traditions
of the communities in which they operate and often go to
great lengths to spread holiday cheer to their patrons. For the
Property and hotels division, this is particularly important.
“When guests choose to stay with us for the holidays, we are
excited to prepare our hotel for their stay and fill the air with
festive ambience,” said christina cheng, General manager of
the harbour Plaza 8 Degrees in hong Kong. “We decorate the
entire hotel, offer special festive room packages and fill our on-
site menus with special holiday dishes.”
“in hong Kong, the christmas festivities are celebrated as a
commercial holiday in addition to a formal day off work, and
thus, the whole city has begun to participate,” shared andy
castillejos, General manager of the harbour Plaza metropolis
in hong Kong. “We begin organising our festive programme
six months in advance, planning our food and beverage menus,
lobby and individual venue decorations and special holiday
performances, such as live carol singing in our hotel lobby.
This advance preparation ensures a smooth, festive atmosphere
during the holiday season.”
even in mainland china, where christmas is not as widely
celebrated compared to chinese new year a few weeks later,
the harbour Plaza chongqing decorates its lobby, restaurant
and grounds. “We put up a traditional fir tree outside our
hotel every year and include a festive lighting display indoors.
We even serve a traditional Western-style christmas dinner,
complete with a roasted turkey and all the trimmings” said
Peter Wong, General manager.
holiday decorating is equally important for the other
sector of the property group, where shopping malls begin
their holiday decorating in early november. “in hong Kong,
the christmas holiday and the lunar new year are back-to-
back and so full of joy,” said Florence lee, chief manager of
Pr & Promotions Development and marketing of hutchison
Whampoa Property. “Thus, we allocate more resources to
decorating our properties during this holiday season than for
any other festival throughout the year.”
This spreading of holiday cheer extends beyond these
customer-facing businesses, however. sa Power networks
in australia, for example, has come to be known in its
community for its generous contribution to spreading holiday
joyfulness. “For the past 17 years, we have hung holiday lights
on the building of our head office in Keswick. This tradition
has become a well-known and loved part of adelaide’s
christmas celebrations,” said Kylie Kerrigan, communications
consultant.
in addition, sa Power networks provides support for the
holiday decorating efforts of the communities throughout
its service area. “across the region, we volunteer to hang
christmas decorations on the main streets of our communities,
and even occasionally participate in local holiday parades!”
For instance, sa Power networks has contributed to the lights
of lobethal display, the largest community holiday light display
in the southern hemisphere, and the loving tree light display
erected at the mary Potter hospice facility in honour and
remembrance of community members whose lives have been
touched by cancer.