While Yulan Group founder and CEO Justin Ma was always interested in the hospitality industry, he never thought that one day, he would become a hotelier with two properties to his name - all before the age of 30.
As a third-generation member of Tai Sang Land Development's Ma family, he has always looked up to his grandfather and father, who were great businessmen and entrepreneurs.
"They always told me to not be afraid to be the fool in the room," he recalled, "Keep asking questions - that's the quickest way to learn."
As a child, he would often travel around the world with his family.
"The first touchpoints when you go traveling is usually the hotels," he said.
"I have always been fascinated with the industry. I like design and I like to travel."
One of the cities Ma loved was San Francisco, which his family visited every summer.
The Millfield graduate also read business administration at the University of San Francisco and majored in hospitality management out of interest.
It kindled his entrepreneurial spirit.
"A big part of it also came from studying in San Francisco. It was a time when a lot of start-ups and IT companies were happening in the area," Ma recalled.
"I grew in that environment and am always looking for new products, meeting new people, always brainstorming ideas."
After graduating, Ma returned to Hong Kong and began working for a coworking space firm to meet people and get new ideas.
"I actually started as a receptionist - just checking people in and doing admin work - then more to the community manager side, doing events and basically everything. It was a small team and also a startup."
In 2017, he joined the family business.
Coincidentally, it was around that time that he started his first business, ChargeSpot, a powerbank sharing service company.
During one of his trips to the mainland, he discovered that almost every restaurant provided shared powerbank services.
Seeing the potential of the service, Ma looked to introduce it to Hong Kong when he met a team with a similar vision.
He quickly joined and invested in the team, and the rest was history.
The service launched in Hong Kong the same year, and expanded to Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and back into the mainland.
"ChargeSpot was my first time in a managerial position and helped me learn how to grow a business. It also defined my management style," he explained.
He stressed the importance of good talent and providing them with the right resources to thrive and move the company forward.
"A company is just a bunch of people, and a hotel without its people is just a building."
This mindset of adding value and encouraging growth can also be found in the birth of Yulan Group, a subsidiary Ma started under the family business.
"I looked back at my family business and we have underutilized assets. It made perfect sense to me to use the skillset and ideas I have and bring them to the assets that we have. For the family business, that is perfect."
One of his first projects with the group was reviving and rebranding The Figo boutique hotel in Sheung Wan.
His most recent project is the opening of the Arca hotel in Wong Chuk Hang, which had its grand opening last week.
The name Yulan stems from the Chinese name for a type of magnolia flower that is native to Asia, which ties into the Ma family's history and roots.
In another gesture to the theme, both hotels are named after a type of magnolia.
"We decided on these names so that they are all in a family and have ties," Ma explained.
Plans for the Arca were set in motion when the government announced its plans for the Wong Chuk Hang MTR station, said the founder. The property was originally an industrial building acquired in his grandfather's time.
"We took the opportunity with the government scheme where you could pay the premium and change the land usage. So we changed it to a commercial building and decided to have a portion for a hotel there."
Taking inspiration from the district and the building's heritage, industrial elements were incorporated into the hotel design.
With the Arca, Ma hopes to create a unique and lifestyle-focused destination.
The frequent traveler recalled his experience in a Shanghai hotel.
"I brought a book with me when I was traveling. I left my room and when I came back, they put a bookmark in the page that I was reading," he said.
"It is small stuff like this that makes your stay and experience in a hotel stand out. That is what we try to do - have that personalized experience for people at our hotels."
The entrepreneur is looking to venture into senior living, serviced apartments and other aspects of hospitality in the future.
Said the 29-year-old: "If you have any ideas, just go ahead and try them. The most you can do is fail. Life is too short to be regretful. That's my advice to people: if they have the chance, just go and try everything."
