20 Chieko Aoki and Blue Tree Hotels

Blending Japanese Culture with Brazilian Warmth

Lilian Wouters

“Knowing Japanese culture is really helping the Blue Tree Hotel business,” explains Chieko Aoki, the Japan-born, naturalized Brazilian, multitalented woman entrepreneur. “My vision of the world’s best hotel has a touch of European luxury, Brazilian warmth and generosity, and, very importantly, reliable service like that of Japan.” Chieko grew up in a Japanese family, and her upbringing has affected the way she approaches the hotel business. “I have uniquely incorporated ‘Japanese-ness’ in my hotel business.” She believes in Japan there are many unspoken words or concepts that do not need to be taught, as they are instilled in the Japanese culture. She teaches these concepts and ideas to her employees at the Blue Tree hotels. In addition to being the first president of LIDEM, the group of Leading Businesswomen in Brazil, she is also the founder and chairman of Blue Tree Hotels—a company that currently operates in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile—and manages hotels for business travelers as well as resorts for leisure.

Chieko Aoki’s Early Professional Career

Chieko Aoki (née Nishimura) was born in Japan and raised in São Paulo. She grew up speaking Japanese at home and Portuguese at school, and studied law at the University of São Paulo. After graduation, she lived in Tokyo and attended Sofia University, a branch of the very prestigious Jyochi University, where she studied administration and culture. She later married her Japanese husband, who still resides in Tokyo.

Chieko’s interests in hotel management grew from her early career. Her husband’s construction company, Aoki Construction, bought a stake in Caesar Park Hotels in Brazil, partnering with a local company. Chieko initially helped her husband’s business by managing the Caesar Park hotels. As she notes, “the more I worked in the hotel business, the more I enjoyed every aspect of hotel management.” At that time, she and her husband also traveled to many parts of the world and had the opportunity to stay in very nice hotels. “During this time, I also observed and learned what customers value in their hotel experience.” She developed a passion for understanding customer service at premium hotels and decided to pursue this interest through a summer course at Cornell University in the United States, where she studied hotel administration.¹

In 1982 Chieko returned to São Paulo and rejoined her husband’s construction company. She first worked at the Caesar Park São Paulo Hotel as the director of marketing and sales. At that time there were few women in the hotel business, and she was slowly earning respect from other women and from female entrepreneurs. The Caesar Park Hotel business was very successful in the 1980s, due in large part to Chieko’s initiatives to improve its occupancy levels and profitability. Chieko eventually became president of Caesar Park Hotels and developed a remarkable reputation for high-quality service. In 1988, Aoki Corporation acquired the Westin Hotels and Resorts chain. Chieko became the vice chairwoman of Westin Global and later the president of Westin South America. In 1994 Starwood Hotels acquired the Westin chain; and a Mexican group, Posadas, bought Caesar Park Hotels. Both hotel brands were then able to expand internationally to include management contracts for ninety-two hotels around the world. As Chieko notes, “It is interesting how people in Brazil still identify me as the owner of Caesar Park Hotels . . . it is interesting how branding is something very strong.²

Beginnings of the Blue Tree Hotel Business

By 1992, before the Caesar Park and Westin Hotels were sold, Chieko founded a subsidiary of Caesar Park—Caesar Towers Hotels and Resorts— as she envisioned that the market would need a chain with premium four-star-level hotels, slightly below the rating of Caesar Park Hotels. In 1996 and following the sale of the Caesar and Westin chains, she began to dedicate her energies fully to Caesar Towers—which, in 1997, became Blue Tree Hotels and Resorts—with the objective of operating five-star deluxe hotels and four-star business hotels.

Blue Tree Hotels came from her husband’s name. Aoki in Japanese means “blue tree” or “blue leaf.” When Chieko was considering a name for the hotel, she sought input from many professionals; however, she did not like any of their suggestions. She did not want to use Aoki because she thought the name would sound too Japanese to a Brazilian ear. At first, she was not fond of the name “Blue Tree” either. In 1997 Brazilians did not speak English very well, so it was also hard for them to recognize the meaning of Blue Tree. Eventually, the name Blue Tree Hotel became synonymous with prestige and high quality. Over the years, the Blue Tree Hotels expanded rapidly in Latin America. There were twenty-seven as of 2009, and Chieko planned to open seven more hotels by the end of the following year. In São Paulo alone, there are seven Blue Tree Hotels.

Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Hotel Industry

Because of the economic crisis, the number of international guests traveling and staying at premium hotels plummeted. Compared to other hotels in Brazil, the Blue Tree Hotels are doing very well. However, five-star hotels are facing the toughest times. The hotels that are expanding the fastest are the budget/cheaper hotels. In addition, rather than traveling, many people are conducting meetings through video conferences. Chieko also noticed that “fewer people travel on business trips, but may stay for a longer time period.”

To overcome this challenge, Chieko is planning to launch a new three-star budget hotel concept under the name Spotlight Hotels. She notes that

In Japan, the head receptionist at a ryokan is usually a woman, similar to a “mother,” who takes care of the hotel guests. This budget hotel will also be much smaller, and the rooms will measure only 18 square meters.

In naming this budget hotel, Chieko argues that “we will not call it the Blue Tree Hotel because customers will expect four- or five-star service with the Blue Tree name.” Previously, Blue Tree had opened a three-star hotel with the Blue Tree name. But guests were disappointed when they realized the service was not the same as the four- and five-star Blue Tree hotels they knew. Therefore, Blue Tree had to upgrade this site to a four-star hotel.

Japanese Immigrants in Brazil

Before introducing some of the astonishing aspects of the Japanese concepts instilled in the Blue Tree Hotel’s service, it is important to understand the history of the Japanese Brazilians. The first immigrant ship, Kasato Maru, landed in Santos port on June 18, 1908, with the Brazilian government subsidizing the trip from Japan. Campaigns advertised abundant employment opportunities in Brazil on the coffee plantations and elsewhere. Most of the immigrants intended to work for a few years, save money, and return to Japan. However, they soon found that the promises fell far short of the realities. Living and working standards in Brazil were much harsher than expected, and the immigrants faced harsh realities on the coffee plantations, with very low salaries, inadequate living conditions, exhausting working hours, and contracts that bound the workers to unfair conditions. For example, they had to purchase supplies (and daily necessities) from the plantation owners at outrageous prices. Instead of saving money, many went deeply into debt. The most frugal of them became small- and medium-sized rural landowners.³

Most Japanese immigrants were concentrated in the state of São Paulo. Between 1932 and 1935 around 30 percent of the immigrants who entered Brazil were of Japanese origin. Many of the Japanese children born in Brazil were educated in schools for Japanese communities in rural areas, thus preserving their culture and language. However, the third generation heralded a change in the characteristics of this population, with many moving to urban areas. In addition, during World War II Brazil closed all the Japanese schools, forcing the Japanese to integrate and attend Brazilian schools, where they learned Portuguese. There are currently 1.95 million Japanese Brazilians living in Brazil, about 90 percent of whom live in São Paulo and Plana. Roughly 4 percent of São Paulo’s population is Japanese-Brazilian.⁴ Chieko’s family immigrated to Brazil in 1957.

Bringing the Japanese Side into the Hotel Business

Chieko’s key innovation was to incorporate “Japanese-ness” into the hotel business. Many subtle Japanese concepts are utilized in training the staff. “These words or concepts do not exist anywhere else in the world other than Japan, so it is difficult to explain to the staff,” Chieko notes. “I believe in sarigenai service [subtle service]. This is a very difficult concept for Brazilians to understand.” One example is preparing a special gift that is specific to each guest before the guest arrives. Chieko tries to explain these subtle concepts by first teaching her employees about chado, the tea ceremony. The Brazilian staff are very surprised by all the minute details involved in the ritual of drinking tea. But Chieko then discusses Sennorikyu, a very intellectual Japanese tea-ceremony “teacher” from the Ando Momoyama period (1568–1615), who taught the essence of the tea ceremony to the Japanese people. According to Sennorikyu, every single motion and act of pouring and drinking tea is vitally important.

In the same manner, Chieko wants to convey to her employees the importance of sarigenai service and the meaning behind these subtle concepts—that every single motion or act by a hotel employee is very important. She notes that “in any different country, people will agree to anything if they understand the meaning and process behind the act.” Even the manager of one of the Blue Tree hotels at Faria Lima knows about the Japanese concept of atarimae, which means unquestionable common sense.

Another important Japanese concept in Chieko’s Blue Tree Hotel business is ki, which means feeling. “I believe it is extremely important to develop the human side of the staff. Having a warm heart is vital in the best hotel service, which is again related to the character ki.” Ki is used in many different words and phrases—for example, ki wo tsukau, kizukau, ki ga tsuku, and kikubari.

she says. “It is very interesting that all the employees at the Blue Tree know what ki means. Brazilians don’t know what these ideas mean in the beginning, so they really try to understand.” But because it is the norm for Japanese people, they will not think or reflect too deeply.

In addition, the rooms and amenities at the Blue Tree hotels display Japanese characters, such as ai, which means love, and zen, which means good. These characters are all related to feeling and human emotion.

“Service in Japan is the best in the world,” observes Chieko. “But I question whether the staff and employees in Japanese hotels really have ‘true warmth.’” People in Brazil are not as well-educated as those in Japan. What Chieko really values in Brazilian culture are the warmth and generosity of the people. “When there is a sick guest in the hotel, the staff in the Blue Tree Hotel will go to the customer’s room and take care of them 24 hours,” she explains. “This is the type of kindness that Brazilians have that cannot be taught, in countries such as Japan and the U.S.” She always trains the staff to smile, be happy, and treat guests as if they were your family. Historically, Brazilians have been used to helping each other in times of crisis, and Chieko believes Brazilians have a lot of volunteer spirit. (Brazil is probably ranked number two or three in the world for hospitality/warmth.) “I believe warmth and generosity are one of the most important assets of the service at the Blue Tree hotels,” she notes.

Another interesting concept Chieko has brought to the Blue Tree Hotels business is using the obi, or sash/belt, for the bed instead of a bed cover. Instead of a bed cover, the hotel chain employs a Japanese visual effect. This gimmick also reduces costs. Normally, a bed cover is about 1.8 meters long. But by using an obi, the chain uses only a strip of bed cover.

Chieko thinks that when standards or concepts are copied elsewhere, the standards of all hotels increase, which is good for the overall hotel industry.

Challenges of Managing a Hotel Business

Chieko asserts that “one of the most difficult challenges in managing a hotel business is the human relations involved in managing investors’ property and assets.” Since institutional investors own the hotels, while Chieko manages them, she needs to be able to talk to them efficiently. For example, if she wants to refurbish one of the hotels (for a long-term investment), it is difficult to persuade the investors since they often look at the short-term results. “I want to build trust among customers and want to have as many returning customers that want to stay at the Blue Tree hotels when they return to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile for a business or personal trip.” Therefore, the infrastructure, service, appearance, amenities, and hotel atmosphere are very important. These are some of the challenges she faces.

The other challenge that Chieko faces is training and educating the employees in the best way possible. “I believe the training of employees is crucial in building a successful hotel.” Chieko has always been involved in training her staff and employees since the start of her hotel business career. “Without good employees, it is difficult to sustain a good hotel.” She personally interviews all candidates for director and managing director positions, even if they are located in Argentina or Chile. She takes the employees’ training very seriously.

When selecting people to work at the Blue Tree hotels, Chieko always looks for people who have some particular value that she or the other hotel staff lack. For example, “I want to hire staff [who are] superior to me.” Chieko can manage the hotel but wants to be surrounded by employees who excel at their tasks so she can concentrate on other activities. “The hotel cannot just be healthy. Just like a woman, it needs to always want to be pretty.” She takes the hiring process very seriously, noting that “the most important features I look at when choosing the candidates is the employees’ personalities and whether they are hard working. Most importantly, I look for kind and caring employee candidates.”

Chieko says that many people have influenced her to become a better entrepreneur. She tries to learn from other people’s leadership styles and has incorporated many of their values. For example, she observes managers who excel at marketing, human relations, and leadership skills. “Almost everyone has a good value to share and look up to. So I spend as much time [as possible] meeting with wonderful entrepreneurs or managers outside of the hotel business, because I am inspired by all of them” (see Figure 20.1).

Chieko’s Role as a Female Entrepreneur in Brazil

Chieko has taken on many leadership roles as a female entrepreneur. She participates in many private and govern mental organizations, such as the

Figure 20.1 Chieko Aoki

Source: Chieko Aoki.

Business Leaders Group (LIDE), the Business Council of Latin America (CEAL), and the Association for the Centennial of Japanese Immigration. In addition, until 2008 she was president of LIDEM and the Leading Businesswomen in Brazil and took on a position in the Brazilian Events Academy, an entity that brings together the best Brazilian professional events. She is also a member of Academia de Marketing, formed by the best marketing professionals in Brazil. In addition, she was recently elected president of the Consulting Council of ADVB-Japan (Associacao dos Dirigentes de Vendas e Marketing do Brasil). “The significance of the women in LIDEM is that they are lady-like. . . . The similarities I see in the successful female entrepreneurs are that women respect what it means to be a true woman.” Successful female entrepreneurs are very team-oriented and are good at delegating tasks to others. Women excel at training their employees. They are also great at knowing the atmosphere in an organization. “If there is an issue or obstacle that needs to be analyzed, women, more than men, like to talk to the staff and understand the situation, and try to improve the situation.”

The number of women entrepreneurs in Brazil and Latin American is increasing. In addition, the number of women traveling on their own is rising. Chieko created a new concept she called WTA, “women traveling alone.” She wanted to provide services and facilities especially for women. Since she used to travel alone in her early career days and felt that she was not safe or secure at some of the hotels, she hopes that women feel safe staying alone at the Blue Tree hotels. One of the featured concepts of these rooms is to provide women with rest through color therapy. Chieko has chosen a light shade of green to suggest relaxation and peacefulness. For example, the bed has white covers coupled with light green cushions. The cushions, amenities, food menus, and toiletry boxes are all light green and have the Japanese character bi (_), for beauty, written on them. In addition, all the printed materials feature phrases by influential women leaders such as Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn, Anita Malfatti (a Brazilian painter), and Clarice Lispector (a Brazilian writer).

Some of the special services that women receive at the Blue Tree hotels are assistance for scheduling hairdressers, manicures, massages, and restaurant reservations; use of deposits; and late check-out until 4:00 p.m. The hotels also offer special surprise gifts, such as fresh fruits, aromatic pillows, therapeutic and relaxing footbaths, and powerful hair dryers. As Chieko points out, “I want to create a room that is peaceful and serene, and a room that most women want to come home to.” In addition, guests have the option of purchasing some items from a custom kit of cosmetics, such as nail polish and pantyhose. The female guests can also receive discounts and benefits at the hotel laundry and restaurants.

Many of the Blue Tree Hotel staff describe Chieko Aoki as a renowned global woman entrepreneur. In fact, many institutions, schools, and companies in Brazil contact her to help them create luxurious, comfortable stays for their clients. For example, hospitals have asked her to help with new ideas or concepts to create more efficient and comfortable hospital rooms. Galleries and exhibitions also ask her to speak about her hotel concepts to large audiences.

Chieko is determined to always strive for the best. Even when faced with challenges, she works hard to find solutions. She instills the concept of kaizen, which means improvement, in her employees as well. Japan and Brazil are 18,500 kilometers apart, but it is still astonishing that so many Japanese concepts are found in the Blue Tree Hotels’ services and employees’ training. However, can Blue Tree Hotels expand its business across all of Latin American and on a truly global scale? Can Chieko’s vision of having both Brazilian concepts and Japanese-ness in her hotel service be transferred around the world? Will the launch of the budget and women-centric hotels and rooms work in Latin America? Can Chieko also convince Blue Tree Hotels’ investors that the chain can expand internationally in this downturned economy? As Chieko thinks of answers to these questions, she is certain about one thing. “Success can be attained by hard work and the passion to want to create the best hotel with warm and friendly staff.” After all, she has successfully built prestige and luxury into the Blue Tree Hotel name.