Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Wednesday, 4 December 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
A: I first joined the Hilton in 1996 as a management trainee and then I worked in the Finance Department. Then, since I had this amazing dream of being a pilot before, I said I was going to leave the Hilton and I almost left – I was a week away from leaving because I had done my solo flying – when I was suddenly asked to meet the Vice President for Human Resources for Hilton, who challenged me and said maybe I should sit for the entrance exam to be a corporate Hilton trainee.
We had a fast-track Hilton program called Elevator and she said ‘I don’t think you’ll pass’ and when she said that, I basically thought I was going to pass it somehow. The first exam was in Singapore and then in Australia and then I entered the Hilton’s fast-track program to become a general manager. My first stop was in Australia, followed by Singapore; then I was Revenue Manager in Vietnam, followed by appointments as Director Operations in Malaysia and Thailand; and then I was Director Operations of this hotel in 2007.
Next I was promoted as General Manager in 2008 to the Hilton Residence and I was there for five years. In those five years we’ve done a lot of things over there and changed it basically from a residence almost to a hotel. Now here I am. I started off work last month at the Hilton with CHOGM – apart from hosting Heads of State, the Hilton also handled the CHOGM opening at Nelum Pokuna, the State banquet and the spouses’ lunch.
Q: What were your first impressions of the Hilton Colombo and how have things changed now?
A: Then Hilton Colombo was the number one hotel in the city because we had a pretty sexy and crispy product and we were at the top position. At the moment, due to various issues with ownership and so on, where there was a confused bunch of people, we have not refurbished the product. Thanks to the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilised Assets Act, this organisation was taken over by the Government and all the loans were converted into equity. For the first time, the owners are now ready to invest money back in the product and they are going to invest US$ 35 million to uplift it to face the oncoming competition from all the global names that are coming in.
Q: Plans to close the hotel during renovation have now been discarded and renovation will continue while the hotel functions. How will this operation take place and what are the phases of development?
A: We thought it would be more sensible to do it while the hotel operates. We have our own customer base and they had been very upset that we were going to close and that was one reason. Secondly, it makes financial sense that we operate while renovating. We will do the rooms batch by batch; then we will do the restaurants batch by batch; then the lobby and the banquet hall.
Q: How much has been budgeted for renovation and what is the timeframe?
A: The budget is US$ 35 million and I think it will take around one-and-a-half years.
Q: This is the first major renovation since the hotel commenced operations over 25 years ago. Post-renovation, what can guests expect in terms of new additions and changes?
"Then Hilton Colombo was the number one hotel in the city because we had a pretty sexy and crispy product and we were at the top position. At the moment, due to various issues with ownership and so on, where there was a confused bunch of people, we have not refurbished the product. Thanks to the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilised Assets Act, this organisation was taken over by the Government and all the loans were converted into equity. For the first time, the owners are now ready to invest money back in the product and they are going to invest US$ 35 million to uplift it to face the oncoming competition from all the global names that are coming in
CHOGM was fantastic because it was a flawless, zero-defect delivery. There wasn’t a single complaint. If you look at the guest feedback, it was totally overwhelming and positive. We had the Sultan of Brunei, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the President of Tanzania… basically we had 16 Heads of State and eight others who were heads of delegations. We had 24 different delegations. We did the CHOGM opening at Nelum Pokuna for 1,400 pax; then we did the spouses’ lunch which was amazing; and we also did the grand finale State Banquet – five courses for 400 pax – with precision delivery and the feedback was phenomenal. I think we made Sri Lanka proud
The Hilton Colombo is second to none. We are a very stylish and classical hotel which will be made modern interior-wise. It’s a non-ageing design by Japanese architect Dr. Shibata Yozo. This is a premier hotel in the country and it will be a premier hotel in Asia as well now that we have now solved all the ownership issues. We are clear to move forward"
A: Post-renovation, they can expect a world class product. This property was not refurbished for 27 years and post-renovation, it will be on par with whoever is going to come in. The hotel will be ready to lift the profile of Sri Lanka as well.
Q: The Hilton was a host hotel for CHOGM 2013; how did everything go, who were the key people who stayed here and what does the Hilton consider as highlights of CHOGM 2013 in relation to the hotel?
A: CHOGM was fantastic because it was a flawless, zero-defect delivery. There wasn’t a single complaint. If you look at the guest feedback, it was totally overwhelming and positive. We had the Sultan of Brunei, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the President of Tanzania… basically we had 16 Heads of State and eight others who were heads of delegations. We had 24 different delegations.
We did the CHOGM opening at Nelum Pokuna for 1,400 pax; then we did the spouses’ lunch which was amazing; and we also did the grand finale State Banquet – five courses for 400 pax – with precision delivery and the feedback was phenomenal. I think we made Sri Lanka proud.
Q: When you took over as GM, what were the main things you wanted to focus on and what are your plans for the future?
A: I’ve just taken over and I’ve not been here for a month yet. For me the most important thing is the team; we work with people in the hospitality industry so the most important thing is the people. The rest of it, with refurbishments and everything, we will do it – that’s about money and planning. But the most important asset we have is people.
My immediate plans would be to up the service, short-term uplift some of the product until the full refurbishment is done and market the hotel in markets which have future potential for Sri Lanka. Instead of just trying to go after existing business I think we need to create new markets, so that is our key goal. We want to go into places like China, India and the Middle East and explore business opportunities.
Q: Your views on Sri Lanka’s potential as a tourism product?
A: I’ve lived in Africa, I’ve lived in Europe, I’ve worked around Asia… I’ve properly lived in at least 10 countries – going to school or working – and I can tell you, we are on par with any of the top tourism destinations with our own strengths to be a unique destination.
Q: How would you describe the Hilton’s offerings and potential?
A: The Hilton Colombo is second to none. We are a very stylish and classical hotel which will be made modern interior-wise. It’s a non-ageing design. It was designed by Japanese architect Dr. Shibata Yozo, who also designed the Shangri-La in Kuala Lumpur and Shangri-La in Singapore. This is a premier hotel in the country and it will be a premier hotel in Asia as well now that we have now solved all the ownership issues. We are clear to move forward.
Q: What are your thoughts on the hotel industry and emerging trends globally?
A: My main concern is about promoting Sri Lanka abroad in the major potential markets because in two to three years’ time, there will be so many hotel rooms and brand new products coming up and if we don’t it now, we will end up with a serious issue in about two years’ time – there will be many hotels but there won’t be enough guests coming in.
Things don’t happen automatically; there are other countries around which are competing frantically. If you take Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, they all have their own tourism strategies and we are all competing against each other. We need to get at least our fair share and make sure there are enough arrivals to sustain the industry and make it grow; otherwise we will end up in a situation where we have invested a lot of money in infrastructure and hotel product but we don’t get enough profit, which will have a negative impact on the economy. If you don’t make profit, in the end someone has to pay for it.
Q: Could you outline the hotel’s plans for the Christmas and New Year season?
A: It will be a sparkling Christmas with loads of festivities at the Hilton Colombo, including Christmas goodies to Christmas luncheons and dinners. To start off, ‘Choro Calibre’ will sing carols at the Thorana Lounge from 20 to 24 December from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. while children can enjoy Santa’s company daily from 20 to 25 December from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The old traditional Christmas High Tea will take place at the Thorana Lounge also from 20 to 25 December with Christmas treats.
On Christmas Eve, Christmas day and Christmas night, Spices, Spoons, Curry Leaf, Emperor’s Wok and Il Ponte will prepare Christmas favourites to suit all taste-buds. Newly-appointed Executive Chef Daniel Leah together with his team has carefully prepared the menus. The Fine Things pastry shop will offer a limited range of Christmas goodies – Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, traditional mince pies, Yule log, breudher, stollen, love cake, assorted chocolates and cookies from 1 to 29 December.
Guests can also enjoy New Year’s Eve at the Hilton Colombo where all the restaurants will dish out festive menus. There will be an extensive buffet at Spices, an extravagant set menu at Spoons, seafood and curry buffet at the Sri Lankan restaurant Curry Leaf and Thorana Lounge will feature live entertainment.
Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe
