lifestyle
personality OKURA OPPORTUNITY ‘I think the biggest challenge you always face (as a hotelier) is your staff being your clients too, because we have to make everyone happy. If there is something wrong within your team it is passed on to the guests. It goes the full circle, so you have to make sure your staff are well looked after…You treat them fairly and you have a winning formula.’ -- Wildemann
Interview with Samir Wildemann, General Manager, Okura Prestige Bangkok By Gavin Nazareth 36
Lookeast | lifestyle
H
e was just a 12-year-old on holiday with his parents in Kuantan, Malaysia when Samir Wildemann first decided that the business of hoteliering was for him. “We were staying at the newly opened Hyatt and I saw the general manager lying by the pool, and thought to myself: that’s the job I want,” recounts the hospitality veteran of 22 years who has taken over the reins of the Okura Prestige Bangkok scheduled to throw its doors open this year. “As a child we traveled a lot and we always stayed in nice hotels, so I saw life in a hotel and it just seemed so glamorous. Some kids want to be a fireman or fly a jet plane, for me it was hotels,” says Samir. “I spent my childhood as an expat kid in Asia. In the late ’60s, my father who was working for Lufthansa was posted to Thailand, so I went to kindergarten here. We then moved to India, where I went to the German school in New Delhi. Then on to Japan, where I graduated from the German high school in Tokyo." To fulfill his dream of working in the hospitality industry, he went back to Europe to study hotel management in Salzburg. He says that he tried his hand at a few other jobs because his father was not in favor of him working in the hotel industry as it was “long hours for little money.” “After that I moved to France where I started my career with Meridien,” he reveals. He worked in various positions with the group’s properties in Paris, Senegal, and Singapore before it brought him to Thailand where he managed the Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club (“My first general manager position,” he says) . From Phuket he moved to Le Royal Meridien Baan Taling Ngam on Koh Samui, which is now the Intercontinental. “I then moved to run, first the Pan Pacific, and then the Radisson Bangkok,” he says with a smile. “Obviously when the opportunity with Okura came up my hand was high up.” Located on the corner of Ploenchit and Wireless roads, the 242room Okura Prestige Bangkok, the Japanese hospitality group’s first property in Thailand, occupies the top half of the mixed-use development Park Ventures that uses advances green technologies and bills itself as one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in Thailand. In an exclusive interview with Lookeast, Wildemann talks about the Okura philosophy, what the new hotel has to offer, and the challenges ahead. Tell us a little about the Okura brand and its corporate philosophy. The Okura company was established 58 years ago but the first hotel, the Okura Tokyo, opened in 1962 so this May they are celebrating their 50th anniversary. It was post-war when the hotel opened and there were no international chains in Japan, though there was the Imperial Tokyo. Okura wanted to build a flagship hotel to show the world what they could do. It was just before the Tokyo Olympics and the IMF forum. Today the reputation that Okura Tokyo has in Japan is phenomenal, similar to that of the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. It has a totally different DNA that focuses on service and food, and at 50 it still lives from its service standard. It’s hard to compare with any other international chain. The Okura group has 23 hotels and owns most of its properties. Last year in May the company opened an Okura in Macau as part of the Galaxy complex. We have one in Shanghai, two in Hawaii, two Shillas in South Korea, and one in Amsterdam -- a stunning property that has the one-star Michelin Yamazato restaurant, and recently celebrated 40 years. The company is also expanding. Along with
the Bangkok opening, we are opening in Taipei this June. In 2010, the company added an additional 60 hotels to the portfolio after it bought JAL Hotels, which operate the Nikko Hotels International (NHI) and Hotel JAL City (HJC) chains. The company’s philosophy has always been to focus on the ACS philosophy set by our first chairman, which basically means providing the best accommodation, cuisine, and service. I think a hotel makes its name through its food and obviously the lodging and service, but facilities are secondary. It is really what the hotel can deliver in terms of the look and feel, the staff it has, the welcome the guests gets. So that’s the focus of our property here too, and every Okura. In a city crowded with hotel brands, what will Okura bring to the table? True, Bangkok is crowded with hotels, sometimes two, in every soi. But at this stage it comes down to location. The owners also have a huge network of hotels in Thailand and are very supportive. When Okura was approached, obviously it was extremely pleased to be here because it is a perfect location. It’s also about branding, the fact that we are Okura, the only Japanese brand in Thailand at this stage. Another factor is that it is a mixed-use development, which is perfect because there is office building below. In terms of investment that is exactly what should be done nowadays. With 240 rooms, the hotel is an average size for Bangkok. And though we are adding to the inventory, something the city does not need as the industry is under pressure already. I think there will be some struggle as Bangkok has been suffering a lot lately, but because of our very good location, the fact that we are an original brand, I believe it’s a good time. Do you think being an Asian brand might give you an edge? I don’t think people would go by that because there are some fantastic hotels in the city and some very nice brands. Business is very location driven; certain brands attract certain types of customers. Being Asian or not doesn’t really matter as there are a lot of good American and international brands here. What sells and makes the difference is the Thai hospitality. I think the fact that we are Japanese is a bit unique. Japan has a very rich service culture and attention to detail and what makes us different here is combining the two with the renowned Thai hospitality. I think it’s a perfect fit. What is the most distinctive/unique feature of the hotel? Architecturally, it is quite distinctive, with the shape of the building representing the wai, the Thai way of greeting. Another characteristic feature is the 25m-lap pool, which is cantilevered on the side of building on the 25th floor. And probably the most unique factor is that it is a really green building. It is called the Ecoplex on Wittayu and has been designed in accordance with the US Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) in five key areas: sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. It has a lot of features already built in architecturally from which the hotel will benefit: Low-E coated glass, light balancing sensors, grey water recycling and Co2 sensors. In addition, the structure features the Building Automation System (BAS), which controls and manages the internal engineering systems. Nowadays most hotels are doing their bit trying to contribute and may 2012 | 37