To begin, could you tell us a bit about your journey to become the General Manager of the Sheraton Grande?

I am a fifth-generation hotelier – I was actually born inside a hotel. As a child, I would help my father by running errands around the hotel. That’s how it all started. I then worked as a cook and a waiter, and from there went on to do a Hospitality Management degree in the United Kingdom. I then realised that the modern hotel management system belonged to US-based multinationals, so I joined Hilton International. I was fortunate enough to work at head office in the US, which was an enriching experience and enabled me to get to know the Chairman and President well. In 1976 I became Area Vice President for Food and Beverage Asia-Pacific, which proved to be a great way to learn the culture of these countries through their food. I have since worked for forty years in the hotel industry in East Asia. Eventually Starwood approached me, as they had done previously, and offered me this property. My family loved living in Thailand so we moved to Bangkok in 2000, and I’ve been running this hotel ever since.

You say you have a love for Thailand – what is it about this country that you most love?

First and foremost, it’s the people and the culture. I think a lot of it is related to Buddhism, the reverence for the Royal family and the respect given to them and to senior citizens. This society has a vertical, hierarchical culture, which means everybody looks up to someone else – be it parents, a doctor, their teachers. This has positives and negatives. In business, there is an inclination to delegate upward. When I started here I came with the idea of trying to empower my people but I quickly noticed some resistance. Giving them more power in daily decision-making made them uncomfortable, and I relate this to the vertical hierarchical culture which we have here.

With regard to the Luxury Collection here in Thailand, what are you trying to introduce here?

It starts with the way you welcome guests here: with the wai and a big smile. We want customers realise they are in Thailand and not a global hotel in London or New York. We also try to accomplish this with the touches like teak wood and Thai silk in our rooms to give the feeling that this is indeed Thailand. The bathrooms have handmade tiles brought down from Chiang Mai. We have theme suites designed like a Thai house. Of course, all of this is even more felt with the food that we offer.

Bangkok is a city full of hotels. How do you compete with the other five star brands?

We focus on personalised, engaging service to our guests. Social media platforms like TripAdvisor, Booking.com and Expedia confirm that we are doing a great job. We have ranked continuously for the past five years in Bangkok’s top ten hotels on TripAdvisor. In terms of what differentiates us from others, we have an amazing recreational space which we are lauded for. We have a pool area which will make you forget you are in the heart of Bangkok, a variety of superb restaurants, and the jazz club. Our jazz club is a unique selling point as we have quality Grammy award winning performers among our invited singers.

Thailand has faced some challenges in recent times. How do you think 2017 and beyond is going to turn out from your point of view?

Since 2014 when the military took over there has been a stabilisation in the country and it was a pleasant surprise to see both the leisure and corporate guests promptly returning. With the passing of the King last October, there was some concern about political disturbances but happily there were none. The first quarter of this year has been quite beyond our expectations. We have to thank the low-cost carrier industry, as it has definitely had an amazing impact. When I first came here perhaps 20% of the hotel’s business was from Asia. It has completely changed now, with mostly Japanese and in second place Korean visitors.

What do you want to achieve as General Manager here before you hang up your boots?

I would like to see the performance of the hotel continue improving, as well as the restaurants attracting not only hotel guests but guests from outside as well. We are well on track so I don’t have big aspirations, just the cream on top of an already established luxury hotel.