Chapter 290 - 168: Happily Acquiring the West Lake Hotel (2)

In terms of prestige and ambiance, Banyan Tree was in a league of its own compared to these other hotels.

But you couldn’t argue with the sheer volume of foot traffic here.

The annual stream of tourists alone was enough for the hotels near West Lake to make a killing.

"Isn’t this that hotel your Uncle Chen runs?"

Qi Sheng happened to spot the Sofitel Hotel and asked Tao Siyao with a smile.

"Hmph. He’s always trying to set me up with his son. Never mind that the guy is a degenerate who drinks, gambles, and sleeps around—he’s ugly, too."

Tao Siyao said with a look of utter disgust.

Then, looking back at her handsome boyfriend, she suddenly felt an irresistible urge to give him a kiss.

"Tao Siyao, can you stop being so shameless?"

Du Xinxin cringed.

’When this woman gets flirty,’ she thought, ’she’s really something else.’

"None of your business. You’re just jealous that he likes me."

Tao Siyao haughtily linked her arm through Qi Sheng’s, which thoroughly annoyed Du Xinxin.

"Well, since we’re here, let’s go take a look inside."

Qi Sheng patted the two of them. He was already used to their bickering.

The two girls fought like cats and dogs whenever they met, yet missed each other when they were apart.

"It’s just a crappy hotel. What’s there to see?"

Tao Siyao muttered under her breath, but still obediently linked her arm in Qi Sheng’s and went inside.

The Sofitel Hotel was right next to West Lake, boasting a prime location.

It was one of the first high-end hotels in Hangzhou.

Of course, Sofitel was a brand owned by the Accor Group.

The only reason Chen Shuyuan and his partners could continue using the brand name was that they paid a hefty franchise fee.

"Wow, the view from here is gorgeous!"

Even Tao Siyao, who couldn’t stand Chen Shuyuan, was stunned by the breathtaking view of the sunset over West Lake and couldn’t help but praise it.

"It really is beautiful."

Qi Sheng nodded, watching the setting sun cast a pink glow across the sky.

’I want this hotel,’ he thought.

Although the hotel had been renovated in 2014, a hotel that had been in operation for nearly twenty years still felt dated.

It simply couldn’t compare to a newly opened hotel.

Fortunately, its location was excellent, and plenty of guests were checking in.

Qi Sheng casually booked a suite at the front desk.

Just then, he ran into Chen Shuyuan, who was on his way out.

"Mr.... President Qi?"

Chen Shuyuan quickly corrected himself and greeted him with a hearty smile.

"President Chen."

Qi Sheng smiled back at him, but there was a knowing look in his eyes.

’Before long, this man would no longer be a shareholder in this hotel.’

"President Qi, you should have just told me you were coming! Why book a room? You’re making me lose face."

After he left yesterday, Chen Shuyuan had made some inquiries about Banyan Tree Group and confirmed that it had indeed changed hands.

Even a veteran of the hotel industry like him couldn’t help but be secretly alarmed.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of Qi Sheng, but there was simply no need to get on the bad side of a deep-pocketed member of the younger generation.

His own good-for-nothing son really wasn’t worthy of the apple of the Tao Family’s eye.

That was why Chen Shuyuan was being so enthusiastic—he wanted to completely smooth over that little bit of prior unpleasantness.

But unfortunately for him, he was a step too late.

Just a moment ago, Qi Sheng had directly used Banyan Tree Group’s reserve funds.

Using the system’s mandatory acquisition rights, he had made the Sofitel West Lake Hotel his own.

Banyan Tree Group’s funds were now almost completely depleted.

Acquiring such a major property wasn’t part of Banyan Tree Group’s development strategy.

But of course, no one could stop a decision made by Qi Sheng.

Even the current CEO, Shi Fulai, could only watch helplessly as a huge sum of money was transferred out.

After all, the two vice presidents in charge of personnel and finance were both Qi Sheng’s trusted aides.

Even he, the CEO, had to tread carefully around them.

To say nothing of the other mid- and high-level executives, for whom tucking their tails between their legs was the only politically savvy move.

Chen Shuyuan escorted Qi Sheng and the girls to the hotel’s largest grand suite.

He stayed to chat for a moment, and just as he was about to get up, his phone suddenly rang.

"Chairman Liang?"

Chen Shuyuan froze for a second when he saw the caller ID.

This big boss was usually an elusive figure who rarely concerned himself with the hotel’s management.

’Why would he have time to call me today?’

Puzzled as he was, he didn’t dare delay for a second and quickly answered the call.

"Chairman Liang, what are your instructions?"

"Shuyuan, I need to inform you of something. I’ve sold my shares to Banyan Tree Group. Several other shareholders have also agreed to sell. I hope you won’t make things difficult for the rest of us."

"Uh..."

Chen Shuyuan was dumbfounded. He shot a look of disbelief at Qi Sheng.

"Chairman Liang, this is too sudden! Our hotel is doing very well. Why would we sell it out of the blue?"

"You don’t need to know the details. Just know that their background is something you absolutely cannot afford to offend."

"Whether you sell your shares or not, the sale of the West Lake Hotel is a done deal. That’s all I have to say."

The person on the other end quickly hung up, clearly resolute in their decision to sell the hotel.

"President Qi, I hope you will take good care of this hotel!"

Chen Shuyuan sighed, his gaze filled with reluctance and nostalgia as he looked at the place he had poured decades of his life into.

"Rest assured, President Chen. Banyan Tree Group spent hundreds of millions to acquire a prime property like the West Lake Hotel. We will naturally take excellent care of it."

Qi Sheng wasn’t the least bit worried that Chen Shuyuan would try to put up a fight.

The system had a thousand and one ways to make him sign on the dotted line.

He watched Chen Shuyuan leave, dejected, as if his spine had been ripped out.

The girls watched, a little bewildered.

"Brother, don’t tell me you bought this hotel?"

Du Xinxin asked, clinging to Qi Sheng’s arm with immense curiosity.

"From now on, this hotel belongs to us. Whenever you want to watch the sunset over West Lake, you can come here anytime."

Qi Sheng smiled and nodded, ruffling Du Xinxin’s hair.

"Wow, that must have cost a fortune, right?"

Tao Siyao’s eyes sparkled. She remembered her dad mentioning once in passing that the West Lake Hotel’s market value was at least seven or eight hundred million.

"It was okay. Just 680 million. I’d say it was a good deal."

Qi Sheng was secretly gloating.

The price given by the system was significantly lower than the actual market price.

A hotel right on the shore of West Lake was just that valuable.

Compared to the West Lake Hotel’s prime location, the Banyan Tree at Xixi Wetland wasn’t even worth mentioning.

The West Lake Hotel was now a prime, wholly-owned property of Banyan Tree Group.

In contrast, for the Banyan Tree at Xixi Wetland, the group was only responsible for management and had to share profits with the owner annually.

"Brother, now that you’ve bought the hotel, which brand are you going to use for it?"

Tao Siyao answered her own question. "It probably won’t be a Banyan Tree. Don’t tell me it’s going to be a Yuechun?"

"No, this will be the Banyan Tree. The one at Xixi Wetland will be downgraded to a Yuechun."

Qi Sheng smiled and gave Tao Siyao an affectionate pat on the head as a reward.

He began explaining his business philosophy for Banyan Tree Group to them.

"I’m planning to reposition the various brands under the Banyan Tree Group."

"Banyan Tree will be the group’s sole six-star luxury hotel brand, with an average room rate of over 3,000 yuan."

"Yuechun will be our premium five-star hotel brand, with average room rates increased to over 1,500 yuan."

"Yuelian will be our upper mid-range five-star hotel brand, with average room rates over 1,000 yuan."

"And Yue Garden will be the group’s entry-level five-star hotel brand, with average room rates over 500 yuan."

After listening, the girls had only one thought.

It was expensive!

Even the most entry-level brand, Yue Garden, would start at 500 yuan a night.

"Brother, if it’s that expensive, will anyone even stay there?"

Du Xinxin, already thinking of herself as the lady of the manor, started to worry.

"People who can afford to stay in five-star hotels don’t care about a difference of one or two hundred yuan. What they value most is brand prestige and quality of service."

Qi Sheng explained with a smile, "With a luxury brand like Banyan Tree burnishing our image, as long as Yuechun, Yuelian, and Yue Garden deliver excellent service, they will naturally gain market acceptance."

’In reality, I’m more looking forward to the day the system rewards me with a "Sleep Quality +100%" buff.’

’Now that would be a real earthquake for the hotel industry.’

’Especially for insomniacs.’

’If they were to discover this little secret of Banyan Tree Group...’

’...they would become die-hard fans of the Banyan Tree line of hotels.’

’They might not be able to afford 3,000 a night for a Banyan Tree...’

’...but surely they can afford the cheapest option, Yue Garden, right?’

If he had that buff, Qi Sheng was certain that the occupancy rate of his hotels would undoubtedly double.

The wealthier people are, the more they value their quality of sleep.

Compared to getting a good night’s sleep, spending a little extra money is no object.

’Ahem, Lord Tong, I’m dropping some pretty heavy hints here. Aren’t you going to make it happen?’