Breaking barriers, setting records

George Benney, managing director of the Regent Beijing.

Ask George Benney about his Chinese name "Zuo Bainian", and the managing director of the Regent Beijing will say with a smile: "Actually Li Ruihuan (the former mayor of Tianjin) personally picked it out for me nearly 30 years ago and I've been using it ever since."

Although Benney migrated to Australia at 18, strong English breakfast tea and old-fashioned manners are still very much a part of him, especially the British humor, which works like a charm.

"I would like to think myself as more of a result-oriented general manager," Benney says. "And apparently I am a perfectionist, too, from what I heard."

He was first invited to China to manage the Hyatt's first hotel in Tianjin in 1986. Although he was able to turn around a negative situation into a manageable partnership with the local Chinese owner, there were several potential crises he was not empowered to fix.

He says China's hotel industry was still in its early stage back then, not long after the first years of economical reform.

"I was the general manager, but unfortunately, 25 years ago, I didn't have control of staffing, purchasing or finance."

Benny entered the hospitality industry by accident after a brief period working as a bellboy. In less than 10 years, he had risen the ranks to become one of the youngest general managers in Hyatt history, at the age of 27.

Sometimes, it sounds easier said than done. For instance, in 1979, the year he was appointed the general manager of the Hyatt hotel in Mashhad, Iran, revolution broke out.

"Just before Christmas, I woke up one day and the hotel's military protection - all the tanks and armed vehicles were gone," he recalls.

So instead of being with his family, he spent Christmas Day in the office of the state's governor general and military commander asking for help. When he thought the situation couldn't get any worse, hotel employees went on strike.