在他30岁之前，他就已经在柬埔寨（Cambodia）管理过一家酒店，并拯救了位于泰国（Thailand）和巴厘岛（Bali）的两家有财务困难的五星级酒店。如今，他正在准备一家位于上海的300间客房的酒店的开业。
作为瓦岱勒巴黎校区2000届的校友，他的职业生涯道路独一无二，精彩绝伦！因此Jeremie de Fombelle被要求赞助母校2006级的学生。
以下是一个无与伦比的精彩成功故事！
Jeremie，你于2000年毕业于瓦岱勒，但是2002年你就已经成为了柬埔寨诺利亚三星级酒店（La Noria three-star Hotel）总经理。你是如何得到这份工作的呢？
在去柬埔寨之前，我就已经有了四星级维多利亚酒店与度假村集团（Victoria Hotels and Resort Group ）的工作经验。我负责他们位于欧洲巴黎的小型销售和营销办公室。
他们所有的酒店都位于东南亚国家。我的最后一次实习是在越南的这家酒店链进行的。由于他们对我的工作非常满意，所以他们为我提供了这份在法国的工作。但是我真的想要留在国外留在亚洲，并从事一份运营类的工作，所以之后我离开去了柬埔寨管理这家小型浪漫酒店的餐厅。
这对我而言以及对酒店业主而言都是一个疯狂的赌注！当时我并没有很多的经验，但是我却有很多直觉和判断力，最重要的是，无限的动力。尽管这份工作薪水并不高，但是我却学到很多东西。很快这个决定就被证明是正确的，酒店业主也迅速将我升职为整个酒店的管理者。
在你加入东方快车集团（Orient Express Group）之后，你先后管理过老挝普瓦奥乐人公寓五星级酒店（ Residence Phou Vao 5* Hotel）4年，以及泰国东方快车纳帕塞五星级酒店（Napasai Orient Express 5*）3年，最后是巴厘岛金巴兰普利五星级酒店（Jimbaran Puri 5*）1年。跟我们多聊聊你在“东方快车”旗下酒店的工作经历吧。你是如何从一家公司跳到另外一家公司的？你在巴厘岛、泰国、老挝和柬埔寨所注意到的团队领导力各有什么不同呢？
我坚信职业生涯是由决定和一点运气组成的。我加入东方快车的方式就是体现这一点的最佳例证。而我也非常巧合地见到了这个拥有马德里丽兹酒店（Ritz in Madrid）、里约科帕卡巴纳皇宫酒店（Copacabana Palace in Rio）、威尼斯希普利亚尼酒店（Cipriani in Venice）、著名的东方快车（Orient-Express train），以及世界各地其它45家独特的酒店的传奇酒店集团的经理。
他们需要为位于老挝的酒店找一个年轻的经理。我获得了这份工作，10年后，我仍然不敢相信这是真的！30岁时我开始管理一家东方快车酒店。这是我的职业生涯的真正开始。我非常享受为东方快车工作的这些年。我真的非常感谢谢他们，同时我也奉献了很多。当你热爱自己的工作时，你就能得到好的结果！在老挝就是这样。
继老挝之后，集团给了我一家位于泰国苏梅岛（Koh Samui Island）的更大酒店让我管理。当时那个度假村正处于严重的财政困难时期。所有事情都必须重新进行，也需要快速的升级更新。这就是我们团队所做的事情，坦白来讲，这是一份令人兴奋的工作！巴厘岛的情况和泰国的情况一样：一家有着绝佳地理位置但效益不佳的东方快车酒店。再一次，他们派了我去拯救这家酒店。
这三个国家尽管都不一样，但是却有着一个共同点：超强的酒店服务意识。在这些国家管理一家酒店是一次很棒的机会。我认为在我们西方国家这种无与伦比的服务意识并不是这样。这里仍然有一些欧洲没有的亚洲限制，但是我们需要记住的最重要的事情就是保持在地球上这个地区大家所拥有的强烈的酒店服务意识。
在拥有这么多工作经历之后，你认为亚洲的豪华酒店业如何呢？
顾客在亚洲的豪华酒店拥有巨大的优势：当与欧洲或美国相比时，价格真的很便宜。如果我入住曼谷文华东方酒店（Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok）或者河内索菲特传奇大都市酒店（Metropole in Hanoi）——两家我在亚洲最喜欢的酒店，那么在这个月剩余的时间我都不会“被打扰”。但是我认为如果我下次去巴黎的时候呆在丽兹酒店，可能就不是这样的了。我能向你们保证曼谷文华东方酒店的服务绝对和丽兹酒店的服务一样棒！
你已经在准备2014年8月五星级常州万达嘉华酒店（Wanda Realm Hotel Changzhou）的重新开业。这是一家邻近上海的300间客房的酒店。你能和我们谈谈万达酒店及度假村管理集团（Wanda Hotels and Resorts）吗？
万达是一个专门从事房地产、购物中心和电影业务的庞大的中国集团。它去年的营业额达240亿美金。如果你想要一个对比，去年法国酩悦轩诗尼-路易威登集团（Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy, LVMH）的营业额是270亿欧元。万达的老总，福布斯排名中国最富有的人，想要使万达酒店与度假村成为豪华酒店世界领导者之一。该集团的增长速度极快，在过去7年里年连续增长30%。它的一半酒店是由索菲特（Sofitel）、洲际（InterCon）和喜达屋（Starwood）等品牌经营。但是今年即将开业的20家酒店的绝大多数将会冠以它自身的品牌名称：万达酒店与度假村。
他们拥有庞大的资源和急速增长率。在东方快车工作这么多年后我想要迎接一个新的挑战。我想要涉猎“商务酒店管理”领域，进行开业筹备工作；我的简历上还没有这样的工作经历，而且我想在一个繁荣发展的国家进行这项工作！邻近上海的常州万达嘉华酒店就像实现了我的一个梦想一样。我的妻子和三个孩子已经准备好跟随我前往中国。
你为这次开业做了哪些准备工作呢？
很多工作！当你要开一家酒店时总是意味着很多的工作，但是在中国这甚至超出了我的想象！酒店将于8月8日开业。一家集团酒店从来都不会错过它的开业日期。我们确信这将不会是第一家！
我的同事监管建筑工作以确保在截止时间内所有规格都达标。我已经有了大约50人的团队，但是大部分的人员都将于下个月开始培训。酒店将于7月份之前逐步进入收尾阶段，届时我们会进行一个试营业。但是在此之前，我们必须预定好所有的设备，确保我们的开支都在预算内，建立好所有的团队，制定好我们的销售和营销策略，获得所有的许可证，招聘员工并不断招聘！这是一份量大又艰巨的工作，但是同时也是一份如此令人兴奋的工作！你必须拥有优秀的团队成员。这是一次人类冒险。
你会对那些未来想要管理一家酒店的瓦岱勒学生提供什么建议呢？
保持耐心！努力工作！迅速学会讲流利的英语。确保你拥有优秀的支持团队，知道如何去委派工作，但是不要分配太多工作出去！接受你可能会失败的事实，因为这会使你不断成长并重新振作起来。
你在瓦岱勒学到的知识如何帮助你获得职业生涯的成功？你对瓦岱勒有什么印象深刻的事情吗？
我在瓦岱勒度过了非常美好的时光。瓦岱勒是在酒店管理这个小的世界当中的严肃性和可信性的保证。它也是一个非常棒的全球网络。如果让我再选一次，我也绝对不会换学校的。我仍然记得我与Magne先生的面试，当时他是瓦岱勒巴黎校区学校主任。他信任我，我非常感激他。我也感到极度自豪能够成为瓦岱勒巴黎校区2006级学生的赞助者。
你的一年计划？五年计划？十年计划？
目前来看，展望未来有点困难。首先我必须在中国完成这家酒店的开业，确保它大获成功。这需要很多的工作！我也希望自己将来能够再次在东南亚国家工作，例如泰国或越南。我和我的家人都很喜欢这两个国家。中期目标的话为什么不在这些国家担任酒店总经理或者在企业中任职呢。
长期来看，我或许会回到法国，开一家自己一直梦想的酒店。但是这些都要循序渐进。我现在38岁，并不着急，我的计划可能之后又会发生什么变化也说不定。这取决于我遇到谁以及我之前提到的那一点运气，希望能够继续获得好运！
瓦岱勒国际酒店与旅游管理商学院 - Institut Vatel
中文介绍页面：http://www.gheac.com/edu/vatel/
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JEREMIE DE FOMBELLE, AN EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS STORY!
Before he was 30, he had already managed a hotel in Cambodia, saved two five-star hotels in Thailand and Bali with financial difficulties and he is now preparing to open a 300 room hotel in Shanghai.
A Vatel Paris 2000 alumnus, Jeremie de Fombelle was asked to sponsor the Class of 2006 of his own school, because of his fascinating and irreproachable career path!
An exceptional Success Story follows!
***
Jeremie, you graduated from Vatel in 2000, and in 2002 you were already the La Noria three-star Hotel General Manager in Cambodia. How did you get this job?
Before Cambodia, I already had previous experience with the Victoria Hotels and Resort Group - 4 star leisure activities. I was in charge of their small Sales and Marketing office for Europe, located in Paris.
All their hotels are located in South-East Asia. I had worked for this hotel chain in my final internship in Vietnam. Because they were happy with my work, they offered me this job in France. But I really wanted to remain abroad, in Asia, and work in an operational job and I left to manage the restaurant of this romantic little hotel in Cambodia.
It was a crazy bet for me and for the owner too! I didn’t have a lot of experience but I had lots of common sense and above all, lots of motivation. It wasn’t very well paid either, but I learned a lot. This was quickly quite successful and the hotel owner rapidly promoted me to manage the entire hotel.
After that you joined the Orient Express Group, where you managed the Residence Phou Vao 5* Hotel in Laos for four years. Then, another three years in the Napasai Orient Express 5* in Thailand, and finally a year in the Jimbaran Puri 5* in Bali. Tell us more about your “Orient Express” years. How did you jump from one company to another? What differences did you noted about team leading in Bali, Thailand, Laos and in Cambodia?
I’m firmly convinced that a career is made up of decisive meetings and a bit of luck. The way I joined Orient Express is a perfect example of this. I met with the managers of this mythical hotel group that owns the Ritz in Madrid, the Copacabana Palace in Rio, the Cipriani in Venice, the famous Orient-Express train and 45 other unique properties throughout the world, quite coincidentally.
They needed a young Manager for their hotel in Laos. I got the job and 10 years later, I still don’t believe it! I was under the age of 30 and managing an Orient Express hotel. This was the true beginning of my career. I loved working all these years for Orient Express. I owe them a lot. Really, I do. I also gave them a lot. When you love your job, you get good results! That was the case in Laos.
After Laos, the group gave me a bigger hotel to manage on the Koh Samui Island in Thailand. This Resort was in dire financial straits. Everything had to be redone and it needed serious upgrading. That’s what we did with the team and frankly, it was an exciting job! The scenario in Bali was the same as for Thailand: an Orient Express Group Hotel in a superb location, though it had poor results. Once again, they called me to be the fireman!
These three countries, though every different, did have one common denominator: an unheard of sense of hospitality. Managing a hotel in one of these countries is a great opportunity. I think that in our Western countries, this unequaled sense of service is no longer the case. There are also some Asian constraints that you don’t have in Europe, but the main thing to remember is the strong sense of hospitality that you have in this region of the globe.
What do you think of the luxury hotel sector in Asia after all these experiences?
Consumers have a huge advantage with luxury hotels in Asia: when compared with Europe or the United States, the prices are really cheap. If I stay at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok or at the Metropole in Hanoi - my two very favorite hotels in Asia - I won’t be “broke” for the rest of the month. I don’t think that would be the case if I stayed in the Ritz the next time I visited Paris. And I can promise you that service in the Bangkok Oriental is just as good as at the Ritz!
You have been preparing the reopening of the five-star Wanda Realm Hotel Changzhou for August, 2014. This is a 300 room hotel near Shanghai. Could you tell us about the Wanda Hotels and Resorts Hotel chain?
Wanda is a very large Chinese group specialized in real estate, shopping centers and movies. It had a 24 billion dollar turnover last year. If you want to compare, last year LVMH in France had a 27 billion euro turnover. Wanda’s owner, the wealthiest man in China, according to the Forbes Ranking, wants to make Wanda Hotels and Resorts one of the global leaders in luxury hotels. This group is growing by leaps and bounds, with 30% of uninterrupted annual growth for the past seven years. Half of their hotels are managed by Sofitel, InterCon, Starwood, etc. But most of the 20 hotels they’ll be opening this year will be under their own brand name: Wanda Hotels and Resorts.
They have huge resources, and a growth rate to match. I wanted a new challenge after having spent so many years with Orient Express. I wanted to dabble in “business hotel management” and roll out an opening; I didn’t have that yet on my resume, and I wanted to do this in a booming country! The Changzhou Wanda, next to Shanghai, was like a dream come true. My wife and three children were ready to follow me, so off we went to China.
What are you doing to prepare this opening?
Working a lot! When you open a hotel it always means a lot of work, but in China, it’s even more than I would have believed! The hotel will open on August 8th. A group hotel has never missed its opening date. So we sure aren’t going to be the first!
My colleagues monitor construction work to make sure that specifications are complied with and the deadlines are respected. I’ve already got a team of about fifty people in the offices with me, but most of the personnel will arrive next month to attend our training sessions that we’re setting up. The hotel will be delivered in stages until July, and we’ll be having a soft opening then. But before that we have to order all the equipment, make sure that we’re within budget, set up all the teams and our Sales and Marketing strategy, get all the permits, recruit and keep on recruiting! It’s an enormous job, but such an exciting one at the same time. You have to have good team members. It’s a human adventure.
What advice could you give to Vatel students who would also like to manage a hotel?
Be patient. Work hard. Make sure to communicate your results. Speak fluent English as quickly as possible. Make sure you have good support teams and know how to delegate, but not too much! Accept that you’ll fail, because that will make you grow and bounce back.
How did what you learned at Vatel help you to succeed in your career? What memories do you have of Vatel?
I’ve got great memories of the time I spent at Vatel. Vatel is a guarantee of seriousness and credibility in the small world of hotel management. It’s also a great network all over the world. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t change schools. I still remember the interview I had with Mr. Magne, who, at that time, was the Vatel Paris School Director. He trusted me and I owe him a lot. I’m also very proud to be the sponsor for the Vatel Paris class of 2006.
What is your one year project? Five years? And ten years?
I find it difficult to look ahead so far. First I have to open this hotel in China and make sure it’s a success. And that’s going to be a lot of work! I also hope to work one day again in South-East Asia: Thailand or Vietnam for example. Both my family and I love these two countries. Why not a job in General Management or even a job in Corporate in the medium term in one of these countries.
In the longer term, maybe I’ll come back to France and open the hotel I’ve always dreamed of. But there’s no rush. I’m 38 now, in no hurry, and my projects could change by then! Depending on whom I meet and that little bit of luck that I talked about, and hope to continue to have.
作为瓦岱勒巴黎校区2000届的校友，他的职业生涯道路独一无二，精彩绝伦！因此Jeremie de Fombelle被要求赞助母校2006级的学生。
以下是一个无与伦比的精彩成功故事！
Jeremie，你于2000年毕业于瓦岱勒，但是2002年你就已经成为了柬埔寨诺利亚三星级酒店（La Noria three-star Hotel）总经理。你是如何得到这份工作的呢？
在去柬埔寨之前，我就已经有了四星级维多利亚酒店与度假村集团（Victoria Hotels and Resort Group ）的工作经验。我负责他们位于欧洲巴黎的小型销售和营销办公室。
他们所有的酒店都位于东南亚国家。我的最后一次实习是在越南的这家酒店链进行的。由于他们对我的工作非常满意，所以他们为我提供了这份在法国的工作。但是我真的想要留在国外留在亚洲，并从事一份运营类的工作，所以之后我离开去了柬埔寨管理这家小型浪漫酒店的餐厅。
这对我而言以及对酒店业主而言都是一个疯狂的赌注！当时我并没有很多的经验，但是我却有很多直觉和判断力，最重要的是，无限的动力。尽管这份工作薪水并不高，但是我却学到很多东西。很快这个决定就被证明是正确的，酒店业主也迅速将我升职为整个酒店的管理者。
在你加入东方快车集团（Orient Express Group）之后，你先后管理过老挝普瓦奥乐人公寓五星级酒店（ Residence Phou Vao 5* Hotel）4年，以及泰国东方快车纳帕塞五星级酒店（Napasai Orient Express 5*）3年，最后是巴厘岛金巴兰普利五星级酒店（Jimbaran Puri 5*）1年。跟我们多聊聊你在“东方快车”旗下酒店的工作经历吧。你是如何从一家公司跳到另外一家公司的？你在巴厘岛、泰国、老挝和柬埔寨所注意到的团队领导力各有什么不同呢？
我坚信职业生涯是由决定和一点运气组成的。我加入东方快车的方式就是体现这一点的最佳例证。而我也非常巧合地见到了这个拥有马德里丽兹酒店（Ritz in Madrid）、里约科帕卡巴纳皇宫酒店（Copacabana Palace in Rio）、威尼斯希普利亚尼酒店（Cipriani in Venice）、著名的东方快车（Orient-Express train），以及世界各地其它45家独特的酒店的传奇酒店集团的经理。
他们需要为位于老挝的酒店找一个年轻的经理。我获得了这份工作，10年后，我仍然不敢相信这是真的！30岁时我开始管理一家东方快车酒店。这是我的职业生涯的真正开始。我非常享受为东方快车工作的这些年。我真的非常感谢谢他们，同时我也奉献了很多。当你热爱自己的工作时，你就能得到好的结果！在老挝就是这样。
继老挝之后，集团给了我一家位于泰国苏梅岛（Koh Samui Island）的更大酒店让我管理。当时那个度假村正处于严重的财政困难时期。所有事情都必须重新进行，也需要快速的升级更新。这就是我们团队所做的事情，坦白来讲，这是一份令人兴奋的工作！巴厘岛的情况和泰国的情况一样：一家有着绝佳地理位置但效益不佳的东方快车酒店。再一次，他们派了我去拯救这家酒店。
这三个国家尽管都不一样，但是却有着一个共同点：超强的酒店服务意识。在这些国家管理一家酒店是一次很棒的机会。我认为在我们西方国家这种无与伦比的服务意识并不是这样。这里仍然有一些欧洲没有的亚洲限制，但是我们需要记住的最重要的事情就是保持在地球上这个地区大家所拥有的强烈的酒店服务意识。
在拥有这么多工作经历之后，你认为亚洲的豪华酒店业如何呢？
顾客在亚洲的豪华酒店拥有巨大的优势：当与欧洲或美国相比时，价格真的很便宜。如果我入住曼谷文华东方酒店（Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok）或者河内索菲特传奇大都市酒店（Metropole in Hanoi）——两家我在亚洲最喜欢的酒店，那么在这个月剩余的时间我都不会“被打扰”。但是我认为如果我下次去巴黎的时候呆在丽兹酒店，可能就不是这样的了。我能向你们保证曼谷文华东方酒店的服务绝对和丽兹酒店的服务一样棒！
你已经在准备2014年8月五星级常州万达嘉华酒店（Wanda Realm Hotel Changzhou）的重新开业。这是一家邻近上海的300间客房的酒店。你能和我们谈谈万达酒店及度假村管理集团（Wanda Hotels and Resorts）吗？
万达是一个专门从事房地产、购物中心和电影业务的庞大的中国集团。它去年的营业额达240亿美金。如果你想要一个对比，去年法国酩悦轩诗尼-路易威登集团（Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy, LVMH）的营业额是270亿欧元。万达的老总，福布斯排名中国最富有的人，想要使万达酒店与度假村成为豪华酒店世界领导者之一。该集团的增长速度极快，在过去7年里年连续增长30%。它的一半酒店是由索菲特（Sofitel）、洲际（InterCon）和喜达屋（Starwood）等品牌经营。但是今年即将开业的20家酒店的绝大多数将会冠以它自身的品牌名称：万达酒店与度假村。
他们拥有庞大的资源和急速增长率。在东方快车工作这么多年后我想要迎接一个新的挑战。我想要涉猎“商务酒店管理”领域，进行开业筹备工作；我的简历上还没有这样的工作经历，而且我想在一个繁荣发展的国家进行这项工作！邻近上海的常州万达嘉华酒店就像实现了我的一个梦想一样。我的妻子和三个孩子已经准备好跟随我前往中国。
你为这次开业做了哪些准备工作呢？
很多工作！当你要开一家酒店时总是意味着很多的工作，但是在中国这甚至超出了我的想象！酒店将于8月8日开业。一家集团酒店从来都不会错过它的开业日期。我们确信这将不会是第一家！
我的同事监管建筑工作以确保在截止时间内所有规格都达标。我已经有了大约50人的团队，但是大部分的人员都将于下个月开始培训。酒店将于7月份之前逐步进入收尾阶段，届时我们会进行一个试营业。但是在此之前，我们必须预定好所有的设备，确保我们的开支都在预算内，建立好所有的团队，制定好我们的销售和营销策略，获得所有的许可证，招聘员工并不断招聘！这是一份量大又艰巨的工作，但是同时也是一份如此令人兴奋的工作！你必须拥有优秀的团队成员。这是一次人类冒险。
你会对那些未来想要管理一家酒店的瓦岱勒学生提供什么建议呢？
保持耐心！努力工作！迅速学会讲流利的英语。确保你拥有优秀的支持团队，知道如何去委派工作，但是不要分配太多工作出去！接受你可能会失败的事实，因为这会使你不断成长并重新振作起来。
你在瓦岱勒学到的知识如何帮助你获得职业生涯的成功？你对瓦岱勒有什么印象深刻的事情吗？
我在瓦岱勒度过了非常美好的时光。瓦岱勒是在酒店管理这个小的世界当中的严肃性和可信性的保证。它也是一个非常棒的全球网络。如果让我再选一次，我也绝对不会换学校的。我仍然记得我与Magne先生的面试，当时他是瓦岱勒巴黎校区学校主任。他信任我，我非常感激他。我也感到极度自豪能够成为瓦岱勒巴黎校区2006级学生的赞助者。
你的一年计划？五年计划？十年计划？
目前来看，展望未来有点困难。首先我必须在中国完成这家酒店的开业，确保它大获成功。这需要很多的工作！我也希望自己将来能够再次在东南亚国家工作，例如泰国或越南。我和我的家人都很喜欢这两个国家。中期目标的话为什么不在这些国家担任酒店总经理或者在企业中任职呢。
长期来看，我或许会回到法国，开一家自己一直梦想的酒店。但是这些都要循序渐进。我现在38岁，并不着急，我的计划可能之后又会发生什么变化也说不定。这取决于我遇到谁以及我之前提到的那一点运气，希望能够继续获得好运！
瓦岱勒国际酒店与旅游管理商学院 - Institut Vatel
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JEREMIE DE FOMBELLE, AN EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS STORY!
Before he was 30, he had already managed a hotel in Cambodia, saved two five-star hotels in Thailand and Bali with financial difficulties and he is now preparing to open a 300 room hotel in Shanghai.
A Vatel Paris 2000 alumnus, Jeremie de Fombelle was asked to sponsor the Class of 2006 of his own school, because of his fascinating and irreproachable career path!
An exceptional Success Story follows!
***
Jeremie, you graduated from Vatel in 2000, and in 2002 you were already the La Noria three-star Hotel General Manager in Cambodia. How did you get this job?
Before Cambodia, I already had previous experience with the Victoria Hotels and Resort Group - 4 star leisure activities. I was in charge of their small Sales and Marketing office for Europe, located in Paris.
All their hotels are located in South-East Asia. I had worked for this hotel chain in my final internship in Vietnam. Because they were happy with my work, they offered me this job in France. But I really wanted to remain abroad, in Asia, and work in an operational job and I left to manage the restaurant of this romantic little hotel in Cambodia.
It was a crazy bet for me and for the owner too! I didn’t have a lot of experience but I had lots of common sense and above all, lots of motivation. It wasn’t very well paid either, but I learned a lot. This was quickly quite successful and the hotel owner rapidly promoted me to manage the entire hotel.
After that you joined the Orient Express Group, where you managed the Residence Phou Vao 5* Hotel in Laos for four years. Then, another three years in the Napasai Orient Express 5* in Thailand, and finally a year in the Jimbaran Puri 5* in Bali. Tell us more about your “Orient Express” years. How did you jump from one company to another? What differences did you noted about team leading in Bali, Thailand, Laos and in Cambodia?
I’m firmly convinced that a career is made up of decisive meetings and a bit of luck. The way I joined Orient Express is a perfect example of this. I met with the managers of this mythical hotel group that owns the Ritz in Madrid, the Copacabana Palace in Rio, the Cipriani in Venice, the famous Orient-Express train and 45 other unique properties throughout the world, quite coincidentally.
They needed a young Manager for their hotel in Laos. I got the job and 10 years later, I still don’t believe it! I was under the age of 30 and managing an Orient Express hotel. This was the true beginning of my career. I loved working all these years for Orient Express. I owe them a lot. Really, I do. I also gave them a lot. When you love your job, you get good results! That was the case in Laos.
After Laos, the group gave me a bigger hotel to manage on the Koh Samui Island in Thailand. This Resort was in dire financial straits. Everything had to be redone and it needed serious upgrading. That’s what we did with the team and frankly, it was an exciting job! The scenario in Bali was the same as for Thailand: an Orient Express Group Hotel in a superb location, though it had poor results. Once again, they called me to be the fireman!
These three countries, though every different, did have one common denominator: an unheard of sense of hospitality. Managing a hotel in one of these countries is a great opportunity. I think that in our Western countries, this unequaled sense of service is no longer the case. There are also some Asian constraints that you don’t have in Europe, but the main thing to remember is the strong sense of hospitality that you have in this region of the globe.
What do you think of the luxury hotel sector in Asia after all these experiences?
Consumers have a huge advantage with luxury hotels in Asia: when compared with Europe or the United States, the prices are really cheap. If I stay at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok or at the Metropole in Hanoi - my two very favorite hotels in Asia - I won’t be “broke” for the rest of the month. I don’t think that would be the case if I stayed in the Ritz the next time I visited Paris. And I can promise you that service in the Bangkok Oriental is just as good as at the Ritz!
You have been preparing the reopening of the five-star Wanda Realm Hotel Changzhou for August, 2014. This is a 300 room hotel near Shanghai. Could you tell us about the Wanda Hotels and Resorts Hotel chain?
Wanda is a very large Chinese group specialized in real estate, shopping centers and movies. It had a 24 billion dollar turnover last year. If you want to compare, last year LVMH in France had a 27 billion euro turnover. Wanda’s owner, the wealthiest man in China, according to the Forbes Ranking, wants to make Wanda Hotels and Resorts one of the global leaders in luxury hotels. This group is growing by leaps and bounds, with 30% of uninterrupted annual growth for the past seven years. Half of their hotels are managed by Sofitel, InterCon, Starwood, etc. But most of the 20 hotels they’ll be opening this year will be under their own brand name: Wanda Hotels and Resorts.
They have huge resources, and a growth rate to match. I wanted a new challenge after having spent so many years with Orient Express. I wanted to dabble in “business hotel management” and roll out an opening; I didn’t have that yet on my resume, and I wanted to do this in a booming country! The Changzhou Wanda, next to Shanghai, was like a dream come true. My wife and three children were ready to follow me, so off we went to China.
What are you doing to prepare this opening?
Working a lot! When you open a hotel it always means a lot of work, but in China, it’s even more than I would have believed! The hotel will open on August 8th. A group hotel has never missed its opening date. So we sure aren’t going to be the first!
My colleagues monitor construction work to make sure that specifications are complied with and the deadlines are respected. I’ve already got a team of about fifty people in the offices with me, but most of the personnel will arrive next month to attend our training sessions that we’re setting up. The hotel will be delivered in stages until July, and we’ll be having a soft opening then. But before that we have to order all the equipment, make sure that we’re within budget, set up all the teams and our Sales and Marketing strategy, get all the permits, recruit and keep on recruiting! It’s an enormous job, but such an exciting one at the same time. You have to have good team members. It’s a human adventure.
What advice could you give to Vatel students who would also like to manage a hotel?
Be patient. Work hard. Make sure to communicate your results. Speak fluent English as quickly as possible. Make sure you have good support teams and know how to delegate, but not too much! Accept that you’ll fail, because that will make you grow and bounce back.
How did what you learned at Vatel help you to succeed in your career? What memories do you have of Vatel?
I’ve got great memories of the time I spent at Vatel. Vatel is a guarantee of seriousness and credibility in the small world of hotel management. It’s also a great network all over the world. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t change schools. I still remember the interview I had with Mr. Magne, who, at that time, was the Vatel Paris School Director. He trusted me and I owe him a lot. I’m also very proud to be the sponsor for the Vatel Paris class of 2006.
What is your one year project? Five years? And ten years?
I find it difficult to look ahead so far. First I have to open this hotel in China and make sure it’s a success. And that’s going to be a lot of work! I also hope to work one day again in South-East Asia: Thailand or Vietnam for example. Both my family and I love these two countries. Why not a job in General Management or even a job in Corporate in the medium term in one of these countries.
In the longer term, maybe I’ll come back to France and open the hotel I’ve always dreamed of. But there’s no rush. I’m 38 now, in no hurry, and my projects could change by then! Depending on whom I meet and that little bit of luck that I talked about, and hope to continue to have.