Shama's Elaine Young: 'Most serviced apartments lack passion'

Founder of Shama Serviced Apartment's, Elaine Young stumbled into the hospitality field by accident. While styling show flats in Hong Kong, Young discovered that discerning design and creative layouts were ammunition enough for a new business venture. Soon she was inventing what was to be the first serviced apartment concept in the city.

“I would love to say it was a very complicated Harvard Business School idea, but it wasn’t,” divulges Young.

Today, the feisty Young manages 436 apartments in Hong Kong and six buildings in China. Next year, she is venturing out to open locations in Bangalore and Bangkok. It’s no surprise that RBS Coutts and Financial Times picked her for their ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the Women in Asia Awards.

CNNGo interviews Young about the airplane romance that brought her to Hong Kong, Thai karaoke and being a 'yat guek tek' -- a one (wo)man band.

 

CNNGo: When it comes to business in Hong Kong, is it still a man’s world? Is there a glass ceiling?

I do acknowledge that there is a male-female difference. But do I see it as a hindrance? Not at all. I think the prejudices are a frame of mind. If you don’t see it then I don’t think it has to be there. I don’t have any sisters, and I went to my brother’s public school. There were wonderful odds like 25 girls to 450 boys. I also had an overgrown boy scout type of a father, who always took us for adventure holidays so I’m very comfortable with boys. I’d say it is more of an advantage being a woman. You stick out and everyone remembers you. You go to conferences and there are not many female "gwais." Normally they are all Asian males wearing red ties.

CNNGo: Do you speak Chinese?


 I am totally appalling! I have contractor Cantonese so I am very good on building sites. I never thought I would stay in Hong Kong. I was just passing through the city for five days with a girlfriend as you do when you are twenty nothing. I fell wildly in love on the airplane from Hong Kong to Australia and got instantly engaged. I came back hoping I’d recognize him at the airport. Soon I realized he wasn’t the major love of my life, but the city was. By then I had my own business, played league hockey, netball and squash, and the social scene was excellent. We were still pals but not right to get married. I was too young. Back to the Cantonese, you correct it with the next generation. My children read, write and speak Mandarin. I made sure I had a tutor for them from the age of two.

CNNGo: What makes a hotel room or serviced apartment feel like a home for you?

I read a survey years ago and I never forgot it. It said that the most important feature of a hotel room for 80 percent of the people was a quality night’s sleep. I totally believe in that. I was just in Kuala Lumpur, at a gorgeous hotel, cool looking staff, but the walls must have been paper-thin. They had some turkey doing maintenance on my floor at three in the morning. It was ridiculous. I had to wake up in three and a half hours time for a major presentation. I won’t go back there. At the end of the day, you’ve got to get your basics right. If your basics aren’t right then everything else pales in significance. So for us, we over spec on our beds but I think it’s a necessary luxury. 


CNNGo: What is your favorite feature of a Shama apartment aside from the beds of course?


I love the Shama in Causeway Bay. It was designed by Dillon Garris who use to be Christian Liaigre’s head designer. All the rugs are hand knotted in Nepal. I sourced the leather in Spain and we dyed it in seven different colors. The silk we sourced in Bangkok. We went on scooters to god knows where and watched them weaving the most divine four- and six-ply silk. We ordered 440 pots from another place way out in Thailand. We had to sing karaoke in Thai and even sing Elvis in Thai there. My god, there was a lot of passion that went into putting that together. I used to source and I love doing that. But my focus now is business development so I have to leave the cushion covers for someone else.

CNNGo: Best hotel/serviced apartment experience?


Looking at the major serviced apartment groups, honestly I’d say what they lack is passion. One of the memorable times I recall was our honeymoon in the Okavango Delta on a horseback safari. It was the middle of nowhere and these guys boiled your water. So you could have a hot shower in the middle of the wild African planes. That, to me, is dream service. Once, hiking with my parents in the Himalayas, these guys would hike up in advance and every afternoon they would produce fruitcake. You’d think, how is this happening? It’s things like that when you are in a difficult environment and they just give you a delightful thing. In any normal hotel you take it for granted but when you are in those environments it’s a huge luxury.

CNNGo: Any advice you have for young entrepreneurs?


I think partnerships are absolutely key. Whether it’s ownership of your company or who you are working with, I think it is so important. Everything is always going to be great when the market is wonderful and you are making money. You gloss over any difficulties and little bumps you may have. But when things are difficult that is when it is so important that you have someone with whom you can mutually lean on and respect to work a problem through together. Alignment of interests, that is essential.


The beauty about being young is that you can afford to take risks. The biggest and best lessons you learn in life are always the hardest ones so I always say go for it. Listen to people, talk to as many people as you can but at the end of the day follow your heart and don’t be put off because you are young, embrace that.

For more details about Shama, visit their website www.shama.com