A SENSE OF PURPOSE

Rosewood Hotel Group's head honcho Sonia Cheng reflects on her journey so far and dives into why running a hotel empire is about so much more than just glossy exteriors

- Andrea Lo

Operating a hotel group is just not just about “the beautiful products” anymore, Sonia Cheng, the CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group, tells Tatler. It’s also all about the “powerful, meaningful relationships we build”—between her hotels and their guests, she says.

Not that the beautiful products aren’t important, of course—and Rosewood has these in droves. At the time of writing, the group has 31 properties across 18 countries around the world, with 27 in the pipeline. “A sense of place” is a philosophy of the brand—and its hotels are known for celebrating the culture, heritage and history of the location they are in. Rosewood Munich, which opens this month and takes up the former State Bank of Bavaria headquarters and the historic Palais Neuhaus-Preysing, is one such example. Other hotels under Rosewood’s portfolio include legendary properties like The Carlyle in New York and Paris’s Hôtel de Crillon; the former underwent a three-year transformation that was unveiled in 2021, and in the same year, Carlyle & Co, a private members’ club inspired by it, opened at Rosewood Hong Kong. Openings in years to come include properties in gateway cities like Shenzhen, Seoul and San Francisco, and resort destinations like the Maldives.

What makes guests come back, however, are “the memories that they’ve created with us,” says Cheng. “For today’s generation, as well as our customers and employees, it’s very important that an organisation is purpose-driven.”