NEW YORK— Perhaps the U.S./Mainland China spy-plane crisis wouldn’t have lasted quite so long had President Bush taken his lead from Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc Chairman Kwek Leng Beng about the proper way to negotiate with Asians. “One of the most important things to an Asian in any negotiation process— business or otherwise— is saving face,” Chairman Kwek told HOTEL BUSINESS®. As he pointed out, it was by adhering to this basic principle that he was able to beat out a host of overseas suitors for the Seoul Hilton some two years ago, at a price considerably below the originally asking price for the Daewoo Corp. property. “While other potential buyers [and those brokers representing them]approached the situation with a determination to capitalize on the owner’s weakened financial situation by stating what they were expecting to pay for the property,” the chairman said, “I went in asking the owner what he thought the hotel was truly worth. And though I thought the asking price was probably too high, I told him that if he would open his books and allow me to verify his estimation of the property’s worth, I would write him a check on the spot for his asking price— provided I found his assessment and his numbers realistic and workable. “Of course,” he added, “as we went through the hotel’s books, I found many items that were questionable and asked that they be explained. If or when these questions weren’t satisfactorily addressed, my idea of what the property should sell for would be readjusted downward accordingly.” At the end of the due-diligence process, Chairman Kwek said he wasn’t prepared to pay the asking price for the mega Korean property— but he did come up with what he felt was a reasonable counter-offer (reported as something in the neighborhood of $230 million U.S.). Leaving that number “on the table,” he returned to London and informed the owner that he was prepared to publicly announce his withdrawal from the bidding for the site. As such, the M&C impresario had effectively played his second winning card: his ability to make an instantaneous decision regarding the purchase, rather than having to communicate and clear the opportunity through a host of others thousands of miles away. Ultimately, the owner asked Chairman Kwek to return to Seoul to finalize the agreement.
