A photo of Christian Thomasberger,General Manager of Oakwood Residences Hangzhou

Handsome, modesty, easygoing and elegant: this is the first impression Mr. Christian Thomasberger gives us. He is now general manager of Oakwood Residences Hangzhou. The name card he gives us indicates that his Chinese name is Qian Zhan. Zhan in Chinese refers to fight. He explains that he is willing to fight challenges.

He began to fight challenges when he started his hospitality career in 1987 as an intern at Hotel Sacher Vienna, Austria. In the following 30-plus years, he rose steadily from food and beverage department jobs to management positions in different countries such as Spain, Cyprus, Egypt and Tunisia. November 2020 saw him appointed general manager of Oakwood Residences Hangzhou. The new job gives him new challenges in a country on a different continent.

Oakwood Residences Hangzhou is a deluxe serviced-department facility. With 155 suites, each with a fully equipped kitchen and full-range services, Oakwood is the preferred residence choice for foreign executives in the capital of Zhejiang Province. The slogan “Only for the Top 500” says it all.

“Different from normal hotel rooms, our suites are family-style spaces, each with fully equipped kitchen, a washer, a dryer, and other devices and furnishings. Our guests consider the hotel their home away from home,” says Thomasberger. He hopes that Oakwood Residences Hangzhou is more than a space for guests and that they can consider themselves hosts enjoying living and socializing here most comfortably and freely.

As time changes, Oakwood Residences Hangzhou now sees an increasingly younger clientele. In order to make residents feel most relaxed and happy so that they can feel like living at home, Oakwood Residences not only celebrates festivals, birthdays and anniversaries, but also holds leisure-centered activities for long-stay residents on monthly basis, such as outings, sessions at the fitness center, hands-on cooking classes and so on.

A photo of Christian Thomasberger,General Manager of Oakwood Residences Hangzhou

In face of challenges, the general manager communicates most positively with his employees at Oakwood Residences Hangzhou and leads his team to address challenges creatively and turn challenges into opportunities.

In addressing the challenges of the global pandemic, Thomasberger shares his insights with us: “China leads the world in its ability and mechanism to battle the pandemic. I believe all the countries should learn from China. In terms of business, the number of international tourists at our hotel has decreased in comparison with the numbers of past years, but the domestic tourism market has helped us a great deal. We will focus more intensely on the local market and intensify the online sales effort so as to have more bookings and long-stay guests.”

Thomasberger enjoys living in Hangzhou. He says that he is truly honored to live and work in the city. When he has time, he likes to walk for two or three kilometers to the West Lake to unwind himself and have a spree on most memorable dishes of Hangzhou cuisine such as steamed perch and stir-fried shelled shrimp with Longjing Tea leaves.

“I am happy to call Hangzhou my new home,” confirms Thomasberger.