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The new General Manager of Hilton Colombo Residences Karim Schadlou has been with Hilton Worldwide for 14 years and took up his current position on 4 December, very excited to be at the helm of HCR at a time it is undergoing a massive transformation.
Schadlou has 22 years of hospitality experience and formerly as Conrad Maldives Rangali Islands Resort Manager, Schadlou oversaw the operations of the luxury property which features 150 villas and 11 food and beverage outlets, including the world famous underwater restaurant.
Prior to that, Schadlou was based at Hilton Colombo Residences in the capacity of Director of Operations from 2009-2011; during this time, he was appointed twice on to a task force for the region for a rebranding exercise in Maldives, namely to Beach House Manafaru/Maldives – A Waldorf Astoria Collection and Hilton Maldives/Iru Fushi Resort & Spa.
His career in hospitality began with an internship in Germany, followed by hotel management school in Switzerland. Schadlou’s career with Hilton began with the United Arab Emirates, and has grown into China and Malaysia; he was then on projects in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Maldives and returned to Colombo.
Schadlou is a German-Iranian national, having grown up in Germany and received his education there. He is married to a Sri Lankan and has two sons.
Following are excerpts of an interview with the Daily FT:
By Marianne David
Q: You took up your current position as GM in the first week of December but you aren’t new to the chain. When did you first join the Hilton chain and what positions did you hold over the years at its different properties?
A: In 1988 I started an apprenticeship in the hotel industry in Germany. I did this for three years. Then I worked in several hotels in Europe for a very short period, after which I and attended a three-year hotel management school in Switzerland. I started with Hilton in January 2000.
I started as a Conference and Banquet Coordinator at Hilton Abu Dhabi, UAE. From there I moved internally to the front office. After three-and-a-half years of Hilton Abu Dhabi, I moved as Front Desk Manager at Hilton Beijing in China for two years. Then I moved to Hilton Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I was there for two years in the same role and then I got promoted to Director Operations. We started a project in Thailand, where we wanted to open a property. Unfortunately it didn’t open. Then I did Task Force for a very short period at Hilton Colombo, as Director Operations.
At that time there was a change of Director Operations, because Manesh Fernando got promoted to General Manager at Hilton Colombo Residences, so they looked for a Director Operations at the Hilton Colombo for a short period. That was only a three-month task force, during the SAARC Summit. I attended the SAARC summit and we had the Head of State from Pakistan staying at the Hilton at that time.
Then I did the rebranding at one of our properties as Director Operations at the Hilton Maldives as well as the Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives in the same position. Then I became the Director Operations for two years at Hilton Colombo Residences. After two years I left and went to the Maldives as Resort Manager at the Conrad, the luxury brand of Hilton Worldwide.I worked there for two-and-a-half years before I got the General Manager position here at Hilton Colombo Residences – and here I am!
I am very excited to be back – very, very excited. On a personal note, my wife is Sri Lankan and we have two sons. They were all born in Badulla so Sri Lanka became home to me. I met her at the Hilton Colombo in 2008.
Q: What were your first impressions of Hilton Colombo Residences and how have things changed now?
A: I was here from 2009 until 2011. At the time Hilton Colombo Residences was not unfamiliar to me because I was here in 2008 for three months at Hilton Colombo. The impression was very positive. I have never worked in residences before; it was something completely new. I used to work only in corporate hotels before so it was a completely different line for me.
I remember at that time we were planning the ballroom project, which is by now completed. It’s really great to see what was before and what is now. If I look now at the Hilton Colombo Residences and the changes now that the ballroom has been completed, we have done an upgrading of one of our entire floors – a transition from apartments into hotel rooms, which is very, very exciting. Of course, the upcoming project as well, which is very exciting for me. When I got this job offer, actually they said ‘Karim don’t take it so easy because you will have a lot of projects,’ and I said ‘oh that’s a great challenge’.
Q: Did you want to leave the Conrad and come here?
A: Yes and no. It was nice to be on a secluded island; I’ve been there for two-and-a-half years and we are 100 kilometres away from Malé. It’s a beautiful property no doubt, but I like the city life more, to be honest. After two-and-a-half years on a secluded island, I found it was time to leave the island and I am very excited to come back to a city – especially a city which I have been in before.
Q: How did you entry into the hospitality industry come about?
A: It was purely a coincidence and actually I have to give the credit to my uncle. He was a very frequent traveller and when I was 18 he asked me, ‘what would you like to do?’ and I said ‘I really don’t know what I want to do’. He inspired me by his travelling, in Asia as well as in the Middle East. So he said ‘look I am staying in so many hotels’ – and actually he mainly stayed in Hilton hotels, which is also a coincidence – and he said ‘why don’t you try the hotel industry?’ and I said ‘okay, why not?’ I thought of it and I did a little traineeship for two weeks in a very small hotel in Germany and I liked it. So the credit goes to my uncle.
Q: Now that you’re at the helm at Hilton Colombo Residences, what are the key things you are focusing on? Any plans of renovation or expansion in the pipeline?
A: We are in the final stage of the 28th floor room conversion. We have knocked down the three bedroom apartments and built hotel rooms – very modern, contemporary, but with a Sri Lankan feel, which is very important. This is almost completed and we are in the final stage.
At the moment we are building our new bar lounge, in the ground lobby, which we hope to complete in quarter one of next year. After that we will renovate our UBG completely. It will be multi-cuisine with a Sri Lankan feel. The drawings are almost approved and we are in the tendering process. We hope to start in quarter one and it will take at least five to six months.
We have now on the third floor new furniture which is more upscale and we are expanding our gym. Then of course we are targeting the upgrading of five floors next year.
Q: Hilton Colombo Residences is increasing being perceived as a hotel instead of ‘Residences’ alone. Is HCR changing its positioning and why?
A: Everyone says ‘Hilton Colombo Residences’ but we want to show and prove to the people in the country and especially in Colombo that we are not only a residences, we are a hotel. Hilton is an internationally recognised brand and we don’t want to have this ‘Residences’ cliché. We want to offer whatever other hotels can offer and we will get there very soon.
We already have a Hilton Colombo so we can’t call ourselves a Hilton Colombo hotel, so we need to keep the name ‘Residences,’ however we should be viewed as a hotel. Yes, we have long-term guests, but long-term guests are not our main target. We are also looking at frequent travellers and corporate business. We have meeting rooms and a ballroom with a capacity of almost 1,000 guests and therefore we should not be considered only as ‘Residences’.
Q: How would you describe the property’s offerings and potential?
A: Very positive. We should be considered as a hotel as I said because we have a ballroom, we have F&B outlets, we have a pool, we have a gym – we can offer basically everything that other hotels can offer. We are a more versatile hotel – you have the apartments, the more standard suites, the rooms for the single traveller. It’s about versatility.
We are quite central in the city given our great location. We have a fantastic ocean view. We are surrounded by supermarkets, we have laundry facilities within the hotel, meeting capacity and a ballroom for weddings… Occupancy is definitely very high and in terms of percentages, we are in the 90s.
Q: What are your views on Sri Lanka’s potential as a tourism product and what do you see as the key things Sri Lanka needs to improve on with regard to tourism?
A: Sri Lanka offers a wide range such as cultural monuments, historical monuments, great culture, great food, beautiful beaches… you are surrounded by water because you are a beautiful island. Colombo as a destination I think is great because if I see how much Colombo has developed in the past three years after I left, it’s just amazing.
I remember five years ago I came from the airport on the old airport road and when I came back this time I came on the expressway and that’s fantastic. It was really amazing. I think that’s very important because distance and time matters nowadays for all the travellers – tourist or business. If I see how the city itself has developed in terms of buildings and refurbishments and becoming upscale, I think quality is really being looked into and that’s very important. Of course the upcoming expressway to Kandy is definitely another benefit for tourism.
Q: Could you tell us about Hilton’s position worldwide and expansion plans?
A: If I look into the Hilton brand, we are one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world. We now have 100 Hilton properties only in Asia Pacific and 4,000 properties globally and Hilton is trying to grow further even in Asia Pacific.
We already have two properties in Sri Lanka, which is great, and I presume there will be more Hiltons coming up even in Sri Lanka. If the trend goes with tourism in the country, why not have even more Hiltons in the country? Hilton is not looking at growth only in terms of region; we are also looking at countries. We have six or seven properties only in Thailand, why not have more in Sri Lanka?
