Lotte New York Palace was ranked No. 3 in “The 2018 Best Hotels in New York City” by US News & World Report. US News & World Report is an American media company that publishes news, opinions, rankings, and analysis of various industries, including travel, education, health, automobile and more. Founded in 1933, the web-based media is read by 23 million adults daily.
The survey included about 230 hotels located in New York City, which were evaluated based on various standards, hotel grade, customer feedback, and awards. In the category of “The Best Hotels in New York City,” Lotte New York Palace Hotel was ranked No. 3 after The Beekman – a Thompson Hotel – and Lowell Hotel. These selected Best Hotels were mostly small boutique hotels, while Lotte New York Palace Hotel is the only large-scale hotel with more than 500 rooms.
With more than 130 years’ history, Lotte New York Palace Hotel was originally the New York Palace Hotel, built in 1882. In 2015, South Korea’s Hotel Lotte Ltd. bought the city’s landmark hotel, and it has maintained high occupancy rates and organized large-scale international events since then. Last April, Lotte New York Palace Hotel was selected as one of the “21 Hot Hotels around the Globe” by Forbes Travel Guide, serving as a temporary home to US President Barack Obama during the UN General Assembly two years in a row.
As a leading hotel brand outside of South Korea, Lotte Hotels & Resorts made a name for itself as one of the top hotels in New York City, the center of global economy, where world-renowned hotel chains fiercely compete for rankings.
According to analysis, the Korean hotel’s successful integration in the American market was made possible by successfully transmitting to local employees the hotel’s special service mindset based on the uniquely warm and affectionate Korean sentiment known as “jeong.” Each year, about 10 key manager-level employees in charge of training, room maintenance, and food & beverage are sent to Seoul to attend special lectures by CEO Jung-hwan Kim and Signiel General Manager Morten Anderson. They also attend courses on facial expression, service mindset, phone etiquette, and response to customer complaints, which are part of the Service Standard Training exclusive to Hotel Lotte, at Lotte Hotel Service Academy. Founded in 2015, the academy aims to become the best hotel school in Asia. During the training, points of improvement from Westerners’ perspectives are also reflected in the service, creating synergy in overall improvement.
In addition, Lotte Hotels succeeded in making Signiel Seoul – which opened in April 2017 with a goal of becoming the best landmark hotel – No. 1 in global travel magazine Global Traveler’s “The Best New Luxury Hotels in Asia” while opening new hotels in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Yangon, Myanmar, and Arai Resort in Japan as well as in Hongik University Area and Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea. This year, Lotte Hotels plans to open its third and fourth hotels in Samara and Vladivostok, respectively, in Russia. The group charges ahead at the heart of Seoul; 11 years after its opening, the complete transformation of the New Wing of Lotte Hotel Seoul will be completed this summer.
“I feel truly honored and happy that, thanks to the love of our customers and united efforts of our employees, Lotte New York Palace Hotel was recognized for its class and self-esteem. We at Lotte will continue to exert effort to improve service quality and upgrade facilities in order to secure our position as the most beloved Lotte Hotel not only in Korea but also around the world,” CEO Jung-hwan Kim said.