How we built the best boutique hotel in China [Social Entrepreneurship in China]
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Details
The Lindens will share their Chinese hospitality journey, and highlight the keys to building a unique social enterprise in China, one distinguished by its cultural immersions and the preservation of local culture. They will explain how to carefully convert governments and local ethnic minorities from barriers to enablers, and how to collaborate with industry partners and leverage word-of-mouth marketing. They will also discuss the challenges they currently face in quickly scaling the business from one to four hotels in just 3 years.
About the speakers
Jeanee and Brian Linden own three award-winning boutique hotels in Yunnan, China. In 2007, they converted an old mansion in Xizhou into what is now recognized as one of the top 5 boutique hotels in China, world-renowned for the deep cultural immersions that guests experience during their stays. More importantly, these “cultural centers” focus on promoting local economic development and preservation of the local Bai culture, with their most recent project including a microfinancing initiative. The Linden Centers are a great example of social entrepreneurship in the hospitality sector. Throughout, the Lindens have worked very closely with Chinese national and regional governments, which are providing some of the funding. The Lindens also own an Asian Art Gallery in Door County; and Brian had a career in the Chinese movie industry before they started the Linden Centers.