In the United States, doing business is not just about making money, but also about understanding the rules. Kitty Lo, the founder of Manhattan Hotel Group, recalled that when she first arrived in the United States, she knew little about the laws, regulations, and business culture. However, through various experiences and setbacks, she gradually realized that respecting the system and leveraging expertise are key to establishing a solid foundation.
Lo has been deeply involved in hotel investment and operation for many years, at one point owning 14 hotels simultaneously with assets exceeding billions of dollars. Her business style is rational and restrained. Unlike the stereotypical image of a “successful entrepreneur,” she openly admits that she is not naturally bold but believes in thoroughly doing her homework in all endeavors.
Reflecting on the challenges she faced in the early days of starting her business, Lo admitted that apart from the language and cultural differences, the biggest hurdle was the various regulations and systems. Whether it’s buying hotels, conducting transactions, or handling employee issues, the U.S. is a highly institutionalized society where not understanding the law can lead to significant risks.
As a result, she early on established the concept of “division of labor.” Consulting lawyers before transactions and having legal advisors during operations became a standard procedure for her. However, she also emphasized that consulting does not mean complete reliance, stating, “Before seeking professional advice, I always do my own homework to at least understand where the issues lie so that discussions are meaningful.”
Born in a poverty-stricken military dependents’ village in Jiali, Lo had to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of her family from a young age as her mother was chronically ill and her father was serving in the military. Her tough childhood upbringing instilled in her a resilience and a character that is not afraid of hard work or challenges.
Early every morning, Lo would ride her bicycle in the misty dawn to buy groceries for her younger brother before rushing off to school. She started finding ways to “earn money” to help with the family expenses at a young age, picking peanuts in muddy fields in exchange for meager grocery money. Like an uncrushable rose, Lo blossomed even more in adversity.
While most people tend to complain or feel discouraged under pressure, Lo never gave up and instead had a spirit of becoming stronger with each setback. For her, negative emotions do not solve problems, and only by facing challenges can one grow and become more resilient.
“I don’t usually talk about ‘stress.’ When faced with a problem, the focus is on finding solutions,” she said. Many people easily get overwhelmed by emotions in difficult situations, but for Lo, challenges are just realistic problems that need to be addressed.
This resilience and unwillingness to retreat became crucial psychological foundations for her entrepreneurship and investment in the future.
In the field of hotel investment, one of the most frequently asked questions to Lo is how to expand to multiple hotels in a short period of time. Her answer always revolves around two words – timing.
In 1986, Lo graduated from Ming Chuan University in Taipei and started her first job as a salesperson at a securities company. Riding the wave of the “Taiwanese economic boom,” Lo earned a monthly salary and bonuses totaling up to 1.25 million Taiwanese dollars in her first month, marking her first significant income.
The experience she gained in the stock market made Lo particularly sensitive to market cycles, cost of capital, and risk assessment. “When to enter and when to exit the market is often more critical than what you buy.” Every decision is backed by a meticulous evaluation of interest rates, exchange rates, and GDP.
“Low interest rates make capital cheap, and everyone naturally dares to expand; high interest rates bring cash flow pressure, making problems easy to arise.” Many people may take out loans without a clear understanding of whether they can still amplify profits after deducting interest. Lo uses numerical calculations to project operational results, ensuring that every leverage has substantial support rather than relying solely on market momentum.
Lo recognized the importance of institutionalized management early on. Through standard operating procedures (SOP), forms, and process design, she reduced reliance on individual capabilities. “It’s not that the employees are not working hard, but rather the systems are not well-designed.” In her view, professional capabilities are just the starting point, while the real support for long-term business development lies in governance structure and financial discipline.
Regarding whether her children would inherit the business, Lo has a relatively open attitude. She does not force her children into the family business but instead cultivates a sense of responsibility through participation and motivation.
Aside from competitive salaries, she also allocates small equity stakes in new investment projects to her children, allowing them to truly feel that “this is their own business.” She also places great emphasis on values education, dedicating herself to charity and scholarship programs in the long term and designing mentorship systems that enable students to simulate actual business operations.
“I don’t want my children to only see profits but also to understand social responsibility,” she said.
Looking back on her entrepreneurial journey, Lo believes that success does not come from never falling down but from knowing when to pause and when to move forward.
“The hottest moment in the market is often not the best time,” she cautioned, emphasizing that real opportunities often arise when the majority hesitate. To her, investment and entrepreneurship are never about gambling but are long-term decisions that require a combination of expertise, discipline, and patience.