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"I live here so I get used to the place whereas when guests
come they bring a fresh eye. A lot of the improvements I make are
based on guest comments and when many guests make the same comment
it's a case of where there's smoke there's fire, for example we've
increased the amount of privacy in the outdoor areas and infinity
pools in the villa suites – comments from guests alerted me
to this need."
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| Frangipani
flowers around the pool |
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"I'm very lucky that the owners trust me, they
let the GM do his business without interfering. The
heads of department and the employees know that it's
not necessary to talk to the owners because they'll
be referred back to me and when I ask for funds to
make changes they're very forthcoming."
The atmosphere around the resort is warm and friendly, largely
due to the staff. Finding and keeping good staff can be tough on
an island that has so many hotels, though, "I'm pleased with
the staff we have however, you could say that we have a lot - 117
staff for 48 suites in 23 villas spread over 10 rai (16,000 sqm),
although we do outsource the gardeners. Our turnover is 15-20% which
I'm pleased with. Often staff members leave for a better job which
is sad for us but I'm happy for them, what I don't like is that
there seems to be many unscrupulous companies poaching staff. The
last time that happened a member of my staff was told 'if you want
to join us you need to start in three days or we will offer the
job to someone else' which is very unethical, these companies are
not built on trust and loyalty."
"One standard rule at Ritz-Carlton is that in a conversation
with a guest you have to say their name at least three times. Here,
there's a cultural difference and English isn't the first language
so that's not going to happen but the guest care is excellent –
the staff here love to please our guests."
"Our maintenance team has 15 people, which is a lot but we
don't have to outsource much plus we can make sure that the rooms
are refurbished regularly. By next July every room will have been
refurbished since my arrival – then we will start the first
room again. This summer the hotel will undergo renovation of the
lobby to place more emphasis our Thai heritage, additionally there
will be an extension of Spice Poolside Café and renovation
of some of our infinity pools suites to become 2 bedroom villas."
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