“Xiaolan, do you think we can win the bid for the municipal government guesthouse?”

Liu Yong felt uncertain.

In later years, government guesthouses would become known for their outdated decor, with small-town guesthouses falling far behind modern hotels in terms of style and grandeur.

But in 1984, hotels were rare, and international hotels were exceptional cases found only in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Various guesthouses bearing government and institutional titles were the mainstream. When the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse in Shangdu was completed, it was the city’s most impressive building, with small ceramic tiles on its exterior – considered extremely luxurious at the time.

Shenzhen’s municipal government guesthouse was different from others. As a Special Economic Zone pilot for reform and opening up, it was the face of foreign investment. Where else would foreign friends and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan stay if not at the municipal government guesthouse? The zone’s first five-star international hotel had just broken ground, and even with Shenzhen’s famous “Shenzhen Speed,” completing the main structure of a well-designed five-star hotel within the year would be an achievement.

It would be normal to focus on decoration in ’85 and aim for official opening by ’86.

This perfectly matched Xia Xiaolan’s memories – how could she not know about the ‘Nanhai Hotel’? Shenzhen’s first five-star international hotel opened in 1986, went quiet in 2009, and later joined the hotel giant Hilton Group. After a renovation in 2013, it was renamed ‘Hilton-Nanhai Wing’ and given new life. Of course, by then, Shenzhen had five-star hotels everywhere, but Xia Xiaolan remembered that while the interior decoration had changed, the exterior structure remained constant.

On Shekou’s seafront, the Nanhai Hotel’s main structure resembled a sail, facing an unobstructed sea view. From there, one could directly see the Shenzhen Bay Bridge and Hong Kong, which had left a deep impression on Xia Xiaolan.

As for the municipal government guesthouse, Xia Xiaolan had no recollection of it.

The hotel industry would become so developed in the future that with so many accommodation choices, who would stay at a guesthouse? The municipal government would simply designate an official reception hotel each year, avoiding the hassle of management!

But this didn’t prevent Xia Xiaolan and Liu Yong from discussing the guesthouse bidding.

As Wang had said, the entire renovation was split into several parts: guest rooms, restaurants, conference rooms, and lobbies.

The guesthouse currently has 67 rooms of various sizes, 3 large conference rooms, 9 medium and small conference rooms, 2 restaurants, and 1 reception hall. All this was detailed in the materials. Tang Hongen truly wanted to help – the materials were comprehensive, including the guesthouse’s architectural floor plans. Liu Yong didn’t even need to measure on-site; his measurements wouldn’t be this precise anyway. These were the archived construction drawings.

Win the guest room renovation bid?

Impossible – with 67 rooms total, this was the biggest piece of the pie, and it was almost impossible for ‘Yuanhui’ to take it all with their qualifications.

The renovation would take time, and Liu Yong didn’t have enough money to advance the costs.

For a moment, Xia Xiaolan considered bank loans. Small private businesses couldn’t hope to get bank loans, but if someone put in a word… No, it was better not to push their luck. Better to take what was offered first before asking for more.

Three large conference rooms and nine medium/small ones – this bid wasn’t as prominent, but perhaps worth trying.

The same went for the restaurants.

She asked Liu Yong which one he wanted to do. After much deliberation, he asked: “If different contractors handle different parts, how can we ensure the guest rooms, conference rooms, and restaurants have a unified style?”

Liu Yong hadn’t wasted those months studying professional books, and he’d absorbed Xia Xiaolan’s teachings – otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked such a professional question. In ’84, who talked about unified styles? Mention style to clients, and most would look bewildered.

“Not unified? Then we’ll present a unified design proposal to solve the guesthouse’s problems.”

At first, Liu Yong didn’t understand – he’d only be doing the restaurant renovation but had to create a design plan for the entire guesthouse. Just drawing a two-room renovation plan costs Gong Yang 50 yuan – with 67 rooms, the design fees would probably eat up all the profits… Xia Xiaolan knew he’d misunderstood and patiently explained:

“Guesthouse, hotel, and inn renovations differ from home renovations. They emphasize overall style rather than individual style. Standard rooms share one design plan, single rooms another, and suites yet another – our workload isn’t that large.”

Though it meant doing a bit more work, this extra effort could eliminate other competitors.

If Liu Yong’s overall renovation plan was good enough, they couldn’t use his design plan and give all the work to others without sharing some soup with ‘Yuanhui’!

With Tang Hongen’s influence, the chance of the guesthouse taking Yuanhui’s plan but giving all the work to others was zero. The design was valuable, but what client would pay for the design now? Design fees couldn’t be charged separately to the Shenzhen Municipal Government Guesthouse – they had to be included in the overall quote. There were no intellectual property rights yet – mention design fees, and at least nine out of ten leaders would frown.

Wang had mentioned Hong Kong renovation companies were bidding.

Others had also learned this contract was connected to the ‘Nanhai Hotel’s renovation. A five-star hotel renovation would tempt even Hong Kong companies.

The Hong Kong companies probably wanted to eliminate all competitors. What did it matter if the project was split into smaller bids? They could use their strength to win all the small bids, making the entire guesthouse renovation theirs. This would showcase their capabilities to the Shenzhen government and secure their position for next year’s “Nanhai Hotel” renovation project!

They could profit less from the guesthouse – next year’s ‘Nanhai Hotel’ renovation would be the real money-maker.

Xia Xiaolan thought the Shenzhen municipal government was quite clever. To compete for the ‘Nanhai Hotel’s renovation contract, Hong Kong companies would likely bid low for the guesthouse. With the ‘Nanhai Hotel’ as bait, companies would willingly work for the municipal guesthouse at low prices… Ha! This strategy wouldn’t work on Xia Xiaolan – could her uncle’s ‘Yuanhui’ grow enough in half a year to handle a five-star international hotel? Better not think too far ahead and focus on the current job.

‘Yuanhui’ could certainly take this business without profit, not for next year’s ‘Nanhai Hotel’ project, but to build good relationships with the Shenzhen government.

Take a small loss for publicity – they’d make it back elsewhere.

First, establish a good reputation; having presentable achievements was fundamental for long-term development. Xia Xiaolan felt her uncle Liu Yong needed to train a team first. Gong Yang was just one part, along with two experienced renovation workers. They also needed coordinated carpenters, electricians, and plumbers. The renovation was more intricate than construction. Construction was simpler – construction workers could be recruited from anywhere, but renovation had few precedents in China. Training an experienced worker wasn’t easy!

“For bidding, choose either conference rooms or restaurants – which one?”