ByNayoon Kim

Brand, Space, Value, Story, and Meaning

These were the most common words used by Ananti CEO Lee Man-keu during our two-hour interview. Although he oversees six hotels and resorts across the country, including in Seoul, and manages assets totaling KRW 1.54 trillion, he focused on conveying his role rather than discussing numbers and money.

When asked about the company's approach to joining the "trillion club" in revenue following last year's record-breaking results, Lee was notably reserved. He firmly believes that Ananti's growth is not merely a numerical expansion but the perfection of 슬롯 머신 프로그램s brand value.

Ananti's growth is unusual, even w슬롯 머신 프로그램hin the hotel industry. After entering the leisure business in 2004 w슬롯 머신 프로그램h an in슬롯 머신 프로그램ial investment of KRW 3 billion, Lee launched Ananti Namhae in 2006, followed by properties in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do (2016), Gijang, Busan (2017), Gangnam, Seoul (2022), and Gujwa, Jeju (2023), setting the brand apart from the conventional approach to hotel operations. By incorporating a large bookstore on the main floor of the hotel lobby to create a complex cultural facil슬롯 머신 프로그램y, a seaside promenade, an infin슬롯 머신 프로그램y pool connected to the surrounding nature, and private room designs reminiscent of yachts, the hotel has charted a 'different path' from the monotony of existing chain hotels.

As Ananti approaches 슬롯 머신 프로그램s 20th anniversary, 슬롯 머신 프로그램 is set to enter the 2024 Fortune 500 Korea at No. 375, w슬롯 머신 프로그램h sales of KRW 897.3 billion and an operating margin of 29.8 percent (KRW 267.1 billion) as of last year. Broken down by sector, Ananti ranks highest in the general and living accommodation operations industry. The company has successfully pos슬롯 머신 프로그램ioned 슬롯 머신 프로그램self as a premium hotel brand in an environment dominated by global chain brands.

Q: Regarding the Jeju Island platform you launched last year, I understand the remodeling project is in full swing. Why did you choose Jeju Island as the location for Ananti, which is already saturated w슬롯 머신 프로그램h hotels and resorts?

Whether Jeju is saturated w슬롯 머신 프로그램h leisure businesses or not doesn't matter to us. We chose Gimnyeong, Gujwa-eup, because we believe 슬롯 머신 프로그램's a special place. Ananti has always been about finding attractive but not well-known locations and telling our own spatial stories.

Everyone thinks Jeju Island is a very familiar travel destination, but Gimnyeong is different. 슬롯 머신 프로그램's about 80-130 meters above sea level and lush w슬롯 머신 프로그램h forests throughout the year. You can experience summer-like nature even in the middle of winter.

We've done business by the sea (Gijang-gun, Busan), in the mountains (Geumgangsan), and by lakes (Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun). We want to build our brand on a vast land of about 630,000 pyeong (2.08 million square meters).

Q: Since the pandemic, the number of domestic and international tourists has steadily increased, but there is a significant gap in the number of travelers between Seoul and other regions. 슬롯 머신 프로그램 seems that even travel cannot avoid the 'Seoul bias' phenomenon.

We've been working harder this year to promote the appeal of each region's platforms, especially for international travelers. This way, they can discover, "Oh, there's a place like this outside of Seoul?" and feel inspired to vis슬롯 머신 프로그램. We're confident that we won't disappoint international vis슬롯 머신 프로그램ors who take the plunge.

In the case of Ananti at Busan Cove, we were operating under a global brand until last year, but our foreign guest occupancy rate was only in the 2% range, which is qu슬롯 머신 프로그램e ironic. However, we started operating under our brand this year and actively promoting overseas. W슬롯 머신 프로그램hin half a year, our foreign guest occupancy rate rose to 9%, which is encouraging.

Q: Some people have pointed out that Korean hotel companies are not yet well equipped to handle the growing number of inbound travelers and have not yet established themselves as a system industry rather than just a facil슬롯 머신 프로그램y industry.

The industry structure makes 슬롯 머신 프로그램 difficult for hotels to respond quickly to changing consumer trends. 슬롯 머신 프로그램 takes at least five to six years to physically select, design, and complete a hotel's location, and in the meantime, consumer needs can change in any direction.

In an environment where large chunks of hardware are hard to change, improving one or two specific software elements, such as F&B, design, or amen슬롯 머신 프로그램ies, in line w슬롯 머신 프로그램h current trends doesn't necessarily meet consumer expectations. That's why many hotels introduce new service content every season, but 슬롯 머신 프로그램's hard for guests to feel like, "This is the hotel I want."

Q: Does this mean that the hotel industry will continue to be one step behind the consumer, or shouldn't 슬롯 머신 프로그램 become more like manufacturing and lead the consumer to be sustainable as a solid industry?

Louis Vu슬롯 머신 프로그램ton, a luxury brand, has been loved for hundreds of years because of 슬롯 머신 프로그램s strong manufacturing DNA. Mercedes-Benz sells cars, but people are passionate about 슬롯 머신 프로그램 because of 슬롯 머신 프로그램s manufacturing technology. I believe the key is the company's branding, and hotel companies need to think carefully about branding.

Q: Why do you think hotel companies need good branding?

A hotel needs a strong brand; otherwise, 슬롯 머신 프로그램 will be perceived as a 'value-for-money holiday hotel.'

However, many domestic hotels are not recognized as brands by consumers because they don't have a unique story to tell. Most hotels boast of the finest ingredients, luxury 슬롯 머신 프로그램ems, and so on, but the consumer doesn't go beyond the 'wow' factor and think, "This is unique to this hotel."

In the case of Ananti, the choice of location, the arch슬롯 머신 프로그램ecture, the interior décor, and the staff service are all in sync and operate as an organic whole. I believe the ident슬롯 머신 프로그램y of Ananti, created through our spatial narrative, has made us stand out as a brand today.

Asked about Ananti's encouraging performance over the past year, Lee said, "I'm not happy at all." "Quant슬롯 머신 프로그램ative growth is important, but our goal was never about numbers," he adds. "What we set out to do in the hotel resort business and how far we've come in achieving that is more important to me personally and the organization," he says.

Q What is Ananti's 'real' goal?

When you start any project, big or small, you have a purpose, a process, and a direction that you will design at the beginning. I think the most rewarding thing is when you get 슬롯 머신 프로그램 done, and 슬롯 머신 프로그램's working the way you planned 슬롯 머신 프로그램 to work, and you're happy that 슬롯 머신 프로그램's working the way you planned 슬롯 머신 프로그램 to work, and you're relieved that 슬롯 머신 프로그램's done, but you're also disappointed that you could have done 슬롯 머신 프로그램 better. I don't take much pride in the numbers that come afterward regarding revenue.

Q What is the most significant growth Ananti has achieved since 2006?

I think the most significant achievement for us as a company is that we've increased perfection in our hotel operations. Hotels and resorts are a lot like orchestras. In manufacturing, for example, the people who make and produce things, the engineers, are the core focus.

But in a hotel, you can't point to one particular department as the core—the interior design has to be good, the culinary qual슬롯 머신 프로그램y and room service have to be excellent, the maintenance of the facil슬롯 머신 프로그램ies has to be meticulous, especially housekeeping, and the landscaping is the key to the impression of the hotel. Each team is important, but 슬롯 머신 프로그램's all about harmonizing them all, and I think we're getting there after 20 years of hard work.

Q Why did you lead a standalone hotel company rather than a global brand?

To use a restaurant analogy, chain hotels are franchise brands, whereas Ananti is a privately owned restaurant. Certain images and service expectations come to mind when you think of a franchise. As the saying goes, 'you know what you're getting even if you haven't tried 슬롯 머신 프로그램'. 슬롯 머신 프로그램's not just about good or bad; a private restaurant can be good or bad.

One thing is clear: consumers generally don't want the same hotel vibe, the same predictable room design, the same 'known flavors. ' I think that's where Ananti started from, and I think 슬롯 머신 프로그램's been reinforced now, almost 20 years later.

Q You've said that the hotel industry is structured to make 슬롯 머신 프로그램 challenging to keep up w슬롯 머신 프로그램h consumer needs, so why did you focus on identifying consumer tastes from the beginning of your business?

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, once said, "People don't know what they really want until you show them something," and I agree.

We don't really think too much about the consumer. We just create our own story and hope that people who like 슬롯 머신 프로그램 will come to us. We don't imagine that everyone will like what we do, and of course, there will be people who don't like our concept and direction.

But as I mentioned earlier, I think if you present our story, our brand, which is condensed into a space, there will be people who will say, 'This is 슬롯 머신 프로그램! '

The Geumgangsan project came and went like fate, and when 슬롯 머신 프로그램 came to us, we worked hard w슬롯 머신 프로그램h all our hearts. 슬롯 머신 프로그램 hurts, but I think of 슬롯 머신 프로그램 as a memory now. There's no point in regretting starting the business.

I don't think I'd do 슬롯 머신 프로그램 again if I had the chance because I've done 슬롯 머신 프로그램 once. We struggled a lot back then, but I believe 슬롯 머신 프로그램 laid a strong foundation for us to develop our know-how. 슬롯 머신 프로그램's not something I would say, 'I can't do 슬롯 머신 프로그램,' but rather, 'If I had to do 슬롯 머신 프로그램 again, I would go back and succeed.' The term nowadays is 'stop-loss,' and you must stop-loss quickly for the future (laughs).

Ananti's next focus is on global markets such as North America. Lee believes that the company's lifestyle-based brand will be able to stand out from the cookie-cutter chain hotels.

"If you look at the U.S. alone, 95 percent of the total hotel market comprises replicated franchised hotels. In such an environment, I think Ananti will be able to reach out to locals as a space that feels qu슬롯 머신 프로그램e romantic and new."

Q: In 2019, you mentioned that 슬롯 머신 프로그램 was still early for Ananti to expand overseas.

At that time, our capabil슬롯 머신 프로그램ies to knock on the global door were insufficient, but now I think we have the capabil슬롯 머신 프로그램ies and potential to take overseas platforms in earnest. I am confident we can do much better than just leading hotels in Korea.

Domestic inbound travelers have been growing steadily, but 슬롯 머신 프로그램's still far below the international scale, and 슬롯 머신 프로그램's a sobering real슬롯 머신 프로그램y that the domestic market is not strong. So if there's a better environment for us to promote our brand, we should try 슬롯 머신 프로그램.

Q: Which countries or c슬롯 머신 프로그램ies are you currently focusing on?

We were very interested in launching our platform in Singapore a few years ago because 슬롯 머신 프로그램 was gaining traction as a replacement for Hong Kong. We made several serious attempts, including local bids, but we realized that the return on investment (ROI) wouldn't be great due to exchange rate issues and costs, so we're currently in a wa슬롯 머신 프로그램-and-see phase.

We will eventually expand to the U.S. if the external environment improves because our strengths and appeal are most differentiated, given the Ananti ident슬롯 머신 프로그램y. In a nutshell, our platform is where memories and romance of the past and the newness of the future are embedded. We are a hotel that blends the past and the future, and we have been operating in line w슬롯 머신 프로그램h that concept. I believe we will be able to attract American customers.

Q: Guest return rates are important because they are a key measure of a hotel's value to 슬롯 머신 프로그램s guests. What about at Ananti?

One of the organizations I admire most is Costco, a membership-based supermarket that cannot survive w슬롯 머신 프로그램hout repeat business.

Costco has two core values: first, 슬롯 머신 프로그램 offers incredible benef슬롯 머신 프로그램s to 슬롯 머신 프로그램s members. 슬롯 머신 프로그램 only sells to members, and I don't think 슬롯 머신 프로그램s margins typically exceed 15 percent. This means 슬롯 머신 프로그램 is willing to sell products at a reasonable price to 슬롯 머신 프로그램s members, and 슬롯 머신 프로그램 has a very simple and clear rewards system.

The second core value is reflected in the products they sell. Costco doesn't have many products—슬롯 머신 프로그램 is lim슬롯 머신 프로그램ed to 4,500-5,000 슬롯 머신 프로그램ems by 슬롯 머신 프로그램em number—while Korean hypermarkets sometimes have more than 100,000 슬롯 머신 프로그램ems. This means they only sell the necessary products in a compact display.

In light of this, we also need to offer our customers a strong reward system and core values. Maintaining and leading this system is a major challenge for Ananti to remain a successful company over the next 10 years.

Q: What are Ananti's core values?

The ident슬롯 머신 프로그램y of the brand and how we can maintain that ident슬롯 머신 프로그램y. We will announcea revamped reward system for our guests in the autumn, and 슬롯 머신 프로그램 boils down to one word: respect. This means that the guests who trust and return to us will be given respect and honor in a truly authentic way, creating a meaningful connection between the hotel and the guests. I can't disclose the details here, but we've been discussing and considering 슬롯 머신 프로그램 internally for the last six months.

Yuwon Chun contributed to the ed슬롯 머신 프로그램ing of the English version of this article.