Chapter 71 Hotel Operation Models

Mu Xin leaned back in his chair, his mind racing.

Brand licensing, management contracts, owner-owned, operator-managed—this was indeed the most viable plan.

The ownership of the hotel remained in his hands, while the operations would be left to professionals. He didn't need to understand hotel management; he only needed to provide the funding and oversee the quality.

More importantly, this model could minimize his presence to the greatest extent.

That conversation with Governor DeWine was like a thorn stuck in his heart.

A Chinese international student buying a Water Plant, buying a power plant, and building a hotel in Ohio—each of these things on its own was fine, but piling them together made it easy for people to make an issue out of it.

"If it's not on the scale, it doesn't weigh four taels; if it is on the scale, even a thousand catties won't hold it down"—he had been pondering this saying of Governor DeWine's.

It wasn't because he was afraid of trouble, but because he didn't want to cause it. Keeping a low profile wouldn't go wrong; being high-profile made it easy to crash.

If he operated a five-star hotel in his own name, he would be the one standing in the spotlight. All the attention, all the skepticism, and all the attacks would be directed at him.

But if the hotel carried the Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental brand, then these international brands would be the ones in the spotlight, and he would just be the owner in the background.

The media would report on the Four Seasons hotel settling in Hueston Woods, Ohio, not on the Chinese international student Mu Xin building a hotel.

This was the value of a brand—not to increase visibility, but to divert attention.

"Jessica, help me contact Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, and Aman." Mu Xin picked up a pen and wrote the three names on a sheet of white paper.

"Tell them I have a project: a five-star resort hotel by the lake in Hueston Woods State Park, Ohio, with a total investment of 120 million USD."

"The design is being handled by the original team from Amangiri, and I want to discuss brand licensing and management contracts with them."

"In short, I will stay behind the scenes as much as possible. Keeping a low profile won't go wrong."

Jessica frowned slightly. "Talk to all three?"

"Talk to all of them." Mu Xin put down the pen. "First, hear their conditions, then decide who to cooperate with."

"Although Aman doesn't take on other people's projects, it doesn't mean they won't change their minds. An investment of 120 million is worth their serious consideration."

"Do you think Aman will accept?"

"I don't know." Mu Xin shook his head. "But how will we know if we don't try?"

Jessica looked at him, was silent for two seconds, then nodded and took out her phone to start recording. "There's one more thing, Mr. Mu."

"Speak."

"You just said that keeping a low profile won't go wrong, but everything you're doing is heading toward being high-profile."

"Buying a Water Plant, donating police cars, donating infrastructure, building a hotel, buying a power plant—any one of these things could make the headlines of the local newspaper."

"That's unavoidable." Mu Xin picked up his coffee and took a sip. "It's impossible to be completely low-profile if you want to get things done."

"What I can do is make those high-profile things look like they have to do with others, not me."

Jessica looked at him, a flash of complex light appearing in her light gray eyes. "You are building a firewall for yourself."

"Correct." Mu Xin put down the coffee cup. "A firewall that is thick enough."

"Outside the wall are Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, the Oxford Town utility company... Inside the wall, there is only me."

"Then what about John?"

"John is inside the wall." Mu Xin smiled. "But he doesn't count as a firewall; he counts as a fuse."

"When trouble happens, he's the first one to burn out, but it won't burn me."

Jessica opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed it back.

She lowered her head, quickly wrote a few lines in her notebook, and then stood up.

"I'll go contact them right away. Four Seasons' headquarters is in Toronto, Canada; Mandarin Oriental is in Hong Kong; Aman is in London."

"The time zones are different, so it might take a few days to receive a reply."

"No rush." Mu Xin waved his hand. "The hotel has just started construction; it will take at least ten months before it can open. We have time."

Jessica nodded and turned to walk out.

Mu Xin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He was thinking about something, something that had been spinning in his mind ever since he left Governor DeWine's office.

Identity.

He couldn't change his identity: a Chinese international student investing, building factories, and doing business on American soil.

Legally, there were no issues. Everything he did was within the legal framework; taxes, approvals, contracts—every link could withstand scrutiny.

But his identity itself was a kind of original sin—not in the legal sense, but in the political sense.

In the eyes of some, a wealthy Chinese person running industries in the United States wasn't normal business behavior; it was Chinese capital infiltration.

Once this label was attached, it would be very difficult to tear off.

He didn't want to be labeled, so he needed to hide himself.

Hide behind brands, hide behind companies, hide behind foundations, hide behind every legal, compliant entity that appeared unrelated to him personally.

This wasn't fear; it was being smart.

Mu Xin opened his eyes and glanced at the system panel.

[ Oxford Town current population: 10,133 ]

[ USD distributed today: 10,133,000 ]

The population had started to recover; not by much, but at least it wasn't dropping anymore.

The workers at the construction site, the employees of Robert's company, and the new hires at Tobias's Water Plant—all these people were counted by the system as part of Oxford Town's population.

If a worker rented a house in town, they counted as a resident of Oxford Town.

If an engineer moved over with their family, their wife and children also counted.

This was the value of industry—not how much money it earned, but how many people it could retain.

Mu Xin walked to the window. The sky in the distance was gray, and the clouds were hanging very low—it was going to rain.

The workers at the construction site were probably still working in the rain. That guy Robert—as long as the money was enough, he wouldn't stop work even if it rained.

Mu Xin smiled, turned back to the desk, picked up his pen, and wrote a line on the whiteboard:

"Project Progress—Hotel construction started, power plant acquired; Next step: Determine operating brand."

He looked at that line of text, was silent for a few seconds, and then added another line below it: "Low profile. No mistakes."

This was the most important lesson he had learned from Governor DeWine: in the United States, some things aren't just about doing them right; they're about looking like you did them right.

Identity wasn't a problem, but it could be treated as one.

He didn't want to be treated as a problem, so he chose to be a faceless investor, an owner hidden behind a brand, a name that didn't need to appear in the news.

This was difficult; for a young man in his early twenties holding a massive amount of capital, asking him to keep a low profile was like asking an eagle that had just learned to fly not to look up at the sky.

But he had to learn, not because of fear, but because it wasn't worth it.

Those headlines, that attention, those flashbulbs—aside from bringing him trouble, they had no value.

What he wanted was results, not fame.

His phone rang. It was a message from Jessica: "Four Seasons replied to the email, saying they are interested and want to see the design proposal first."

Mu Xin looked at the message, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, and replied with one word: "Send."