Yvonne Chin from W Hong Kong shows us her mischievous side, and how her fun and inquisitive personality makes her great at her job
From the best live music spots and karaoke bars, to our favourite street food in the city, we are constantly scouting out all the hidden gems in Hong Kong. In a similar way, every single W Hotel has their very own Insider, whose job it is to know all the nitty gritty of the city. We sat down with Yvonne Chin, the Insider at W Hong Kong, about her exciting job and found out how she accommodates her guests’ interests and connects them to all the exclusive events and entertainment happening in The 852!
Hi Yvonne, thanks for sitting down with us. Can you explain the role of the Insider at W Hotels a bit more?
The role of the W Insider is exclusive to the W brand, and the most important thing is to enhance guest experience, whether that’s through music, fashion, design or fuel (good food). Part of the Insider role is to be right on top of the pulse of what’s happening around town, and what’s new. I have to introduce those things to our guests and give them exclusive access to things that – maybe – not everybody has.
You guys are well known for your pool parties in Hong Kong, but how else is the W brand different?
We are the kind of people who function very well during the day, but then at night we’re the ones who go out and party, and cause trouble – but in a good way!
It kind of invites a specific crowd in. We’re a little bit younger, a little bit more edgy. We have good parties at night at our bar, and we get a lot of people who want to have a good time while travelling – if it’s in the hotel, great, if not, then we let people know about things that are happening around town.
What is the most exciting/refreshing part of your job?
Is it cheesy to say: I get to do what I love? (Laughs) But it’s true… This job encourages my passion. I love F&B; I love knowing what’s happening around town; I love going to events; and that’s my job. That’s pretty great, isn’t it?
Also, I like guest interaction, so I’m glad that I’m based on the operations side. Simply talking to people and making sure that they’re having a great time makes me happy. So every experience that I try to curate is different; it’s never going to be the same. Every day I’m being challenged, and that’s very exciting.
What’s the most extravagant request you’ve ever had?
There are things like: I want to be upgraded to your presidential suite, but I also had a guest who requested a hand-written joke written on his pillow every day. He made a point that he actually did this with every hotel, and he wanted to see what people would do. But he picked the right hotel, because it’s the W! If you want to have fun, we’re going to have fun with you.
Do you have any funny stories happened at work that you don’t mind sharing with us?
There was once this really polite guest, and he was just one of the really nice guests – never demanding. It was six in the morning, and when I saw him, I was just like: HI, WELCOME BACK!” And he was just like, “Oh!”
I was super loud, because it was during the overnight shift, and I was the only person there. He was the first person I saw all night, so I was super excited to have someone to talk to, but it also happened to be one of my favourite guests. So I think I scared him a little…
Can you reveal some secret cool tips on restaurants or events happening in Hong Kong to our readers?
FLM, a gay club in Sheung Wan. They have some cool events happening, like Jimmy Fallon’s lip sync battle. They also have a drag queen as a DJ, and she’s also doing Adele covers. Her name is Feminem!
There are also some cool brunches in Hong Kong. La Vache does a really good disco brunch, and Black Sheep Restaurants does The Fiasco, which is fun.
W Hong Kong Hotel, 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong, p. 3717 2222, 西九龍柯士甸道西1號
