New Hotel Manager Darshana to take Cinnamon Grand to greater heights

Cinnamon Grand Colombo has welcomed Darshana Gallage as the new Hotel Manager. Commanding a 25-year career in the hospitality industry, Darshana has played a critical part in pre-opening luxury hotels, resorts and iconic theme parks and attractions in the United Arab Emirates, an international tourism and leisure hub. Emphasising that tourism is such an important sector for the country, Darshana is very excited to take Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts to new and greater heights. In this interview with the Daily FT, Darshana shares some of his primary focus in his new role.

Q:   What is your experience so far being a part of the team at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo?

A: I can say that it is a humbling experience.  I have been away from Sri Lanka for almost 25 years, and it has disconnected me from my Sri Lankan roots. I am delighted to have been granted this opportunity

to be a part of the team here at Cinnamon Grand Colombo. This is not only a chance to work with exceptionally talented people, but also to reconnect with our Sri Lankan cultures and values. 

Q: What are your plans as the new Hotel Manager and how do you plan to implement them?

A: I am working hard to achieve even higher levels of hospitality for Cinnamon Grand Colombo. My vision is for the entire team to be delivering the high-quality experience, only a guest visiting Cinnamon Grand can have an experience and then in turn build an enduring love for our hotel.  The hotel will continue to provide guests with memorable moments and uphold the traditions of which Cinnamon Grand Colombo is so proud of, while striving to further enhance service quality and brand value into the future.  My primary focus is on the following:

• Elevating the level of engagement/satisfaction of associates as I am a believer that happy and satisfied associates create happier and more satisfied guests. I intend on revitalising the work environment, looking into the team’s compensation, benefits, rewards and recognition, their learning and development with the help of the entire leadership team

• Uplifting the reputation of the Cinnamon Grand Colombo brand by working on the valuable insights that we get from our guests’ feedback - From messages, post stay surveys etc. for continuous improvement and to showcase all our work, changes, and enhancements to travellers worldwide

• Increasing profitability and revenue by implementing a strong strategy, overseeing operations, and identifying areas where we can optimise revenue and accomplish improvements and hopefully maximise hotel’s commercial performance

• Giving back to the community and giving back to the country in terms of sustainability and corporate responsibility initiatives

I am looking forward to Cinnamon Grand being known and recognised as a globally renowned brand with my contributions to leadership. I also want Cinnamon Grand Colombo to be further known for our commitment to excellence in the hospitality industry. 

Q: What are your perspectives on the potential of tourism in Sri Lanka?

A: I will say that we still have a long way to go and there are lots of areas of opportunities.  After being affected by the pandemic for two years, I am hopeful about the resurgence of tourism into Sri Lanka.  We can revive and welcome back life and colour to the tourism industry and its value chain, and we can do so much more, beyond the hotels and resorts.  We also have much more to offer in terms of culture, taste, and experience of Sri Lanka.  Tourism is such an important sector for the country.  For the hotels and in terms of hospitality, we can promote the offerings of the ultimate experience and great service to customers from all over the world, but in a wider perspective. It really “takes a village” – We certainly need the support and synergy with government sectors and the progressive step towards enhancing the tourist experience in our country. 

Q: How do you plan to develop the “Cinnamon Grand Colombo” brand and take it higher in an international setting?

A: To reiterate my previous point, pertaining to my plans for Cinnamon Grand Colombo – I want to achieve higher levels of hospitality, deliver unique, unmatchable experiences to our guests that can only be offered by Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, elevate the service delivery standards and in return convert it to loyalty and love from our guests and uphold to our brand. “Grand” means we don’t, and we won’t settle for good, it needs to be Grand. Hopefully this will be split into all our properties, locally and internationally. 

Q: What words of wisdom do you have for future, aspiring hoteliers?

A: For aspiring hoteliers, I resonate with Maya Angelou’s quote: “I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Gone are the times where the core purpose of hotels seemed straightforward, which was to provide a place for travellers to sleep - Now it’s so much more!  We have had to rise to the occasion, not becoming homes away from home, but also offices, restaurants, gyms, and spas for busy travellers. However, with the stiff competition amongst a huge number of hotels to choose from, we need to go above and beyond competing in terms of hotel's location, price, neighbourhood, proximity to attractions and amenities.  We need to strengthen that one crucial element, that is truly significant to earn repeat business, loyalty, and love from our guests – It’s the people, it’s you the hotel associates with the service excellence. So, it goes without saying that guests need to feel welcome and, to a certain extent, pampered.  It is essential for hoteliers to acknowledge that with service excellence, matched with amenities, comfort, cleanliness and maintenance, plus now, sustainability – you’ll never go wrong.

Q: What are the key milestones in your career?

A: In my 25-year career in the hospitality, hotel and even theme park industry, I have imparted my extensive knowledge, skills, know-hows and experience of luxury and exceptional customer/guest service to the organisations I have worked with. 

I am extremely fortunate to be a critical part of not only pre-opening luxury hotels, resorts and iconic theme parks and attractions in United Arab Emirates - I am proud to have been part of those organisations in UAE that offer an impressive range of destinations and attractions that enhanced the appeal and competitiveness of Abu Dhabi and Dubai as an international tourism and leisure hub. Successful openings and operations of those properties is not a walk in the park. I also consider it as a milestone to be part of the core senior leaders - We built the entire team by developing, involving, and recognising each and every one of them from the time they were onboarded, and of course training them to establish the company culture, the operating standards and systems and then to deliver the brand hearted service to the guests, and maximise revenue generation – so, it is a never-ending process, and therefore also a never ending milestones.

I am grateful to the team here at Cinnamon Grand Colombo for their never-ending support and I am very excited to take Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts to new and greater heights.