Name: Joseph Nam (Jae Seob Nam)
Title: Vice President and Director, Marketing and Sales
Company, city: Hotel Lotte Co., Ltd.; Seoul, South Korea
Number of employees: 4,103
Recent project: Launch of the new lifestyle/boutique hotel brand L7 in Seoul
First job: Human Resources Associate at Lotte Hotels and Resorts
Little-known fact about you: I enjoy hiking. Korea has many beautiful mountains, and I find the views from the summit very refreshing.
Your Business
Essential business philosophy: Make the impossible possible.
Best way to keep a competitive edge: Continuous research and development.
Yardstick of success: A professional attitude at work determines success. From the start of my career at Lotte, I treated every task with pride, even those that seemed minor to others. I didn’t let go of any assignment until I was satisfied with the result.
Joseph Nam as a Traveler
Most important item when traveling: Kindle.
How I spend time on board: Catching up on reading.
Favorite restaurant: Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul, Lotte Hotel Seoul.
Favorite destination: Los Angeles.
About Hotel Lotte Co., Ltd.
How do travelers experience Lotte Hotels’ “to love our guests” philosophy? Lotte Hotel is Korea’s largest luxury hotel group, operating 13 hotels domestically and six internationally. What distinguishes us from global chains is the warm, Korean-style service delivered from the heart. Hospitable by nature, Koreans have long upheld a tradition of offering guests the best possible care. That cultural heritage is evident in our service: we aim to create a “home away from home,” treating each guest with familial warmth and sincere attention.
How did Lotte get started and what are its future plans? During the early 1960s, Korea initiated a long-term tourism development plan. Lotte Hotels was founded in 1973 to build a world-class hotel representing Korea. The founder sought to modernize the country and advance its tourism industry. Lotte acquired the Peninsula Hotel—which at the time had 111 guestrooms in an eight-story structure—and transformed it into Lotte Hotel Seoul. Rebuilt by renowned designers, the 38-story hotel opened in 1979 as Korea’s tallest building, offering 1,000 guestrooms, 18 restaurants and bars, 21 banquet rooms and an indoor pool.
Over the following decades, Lotte Hotels evolved into a leading domestic hotel group. Its first upscale property, Lotte City Hotel Mapo, opened in 2009, followed by Lotte City Hotels at Gimpo Airport, Jeju, Daejeon, Guro, Ulsan and Myeongdong. In 2016, we launched the lifestyle brand L7 Hotel in Myeongdong.
Lotte’s overseas expansion began in 2010 with a hotel in Moscow, followed by additional international properties. In 2015, we acquired the landmark New York Palace and opened Lotte New York Palace.
Today, Lotte Hotels and Resorts is Korea’s largest hotel group and is actively positioning itself as a global representative of Korean hospitality. With ambitions to rank among the top three hotel brands in Asia, our plans include expanding the L7 brand in Korea—beginning with L7 Hongdae—and opening new 6-star luxury hotels at Lotte World Tower and Busan Lotte Town. Internationally, luxury properties are planned for Yangon, Myanmar; Yantai, Shenyang and Chengdu in China; and Saint Petersburg and Samara in Russia.
How does each hotel incorporate local culture? We adapt each property to reflect its location. For example, Lotte City Hotel Tashkent Palace in Uzbekistan retained the classical exterior and sophisticated 1958 interior during its 2013 renovation, preserving local heritage. We also integrate cultural elements into staff uniforms and service. Our concierges wear hanbok, traditional Korean dress, in Korea. When we expanded to Vietnam, concierges wore áo dài, the Vietnamese national costume. Such thoughtful local touches are appreciated by guests and staff alike and help our hotels connect with the communities they serve.