Garry Friend, GM Grand Hyatt Muscat Oman
Since this interview was written, Garry has moved to head up the Park Hyatt Zanzibar.
It is really not easy to do justice to a character like Garry, with such a fabulous wealth of experience of life and the hospitality industry. Those familiar with this website will know we have met some great hoteliers in the past few years including up and coming stars like Monique Dekker, Olivier Lenoir, Michelle Ford and Pierre Lang to name but a few. I always feel very humble, privileged and a little sad to reflect on the talent that is close to retirement. Who on earth could fill the shoes of Michael Gray, John Beveridge, Jaques Morand or Garry Friend? These people have been working their socks off to look after everyone from presidents and royal families to tourists and the travelling hacks of every commercial operation in the world all their lives. I also slightly envy the richness and variety of their lives. Garry is a great example to anyone striking out to forge their path in life.
Although the usual "bios" of Garry list all his jobs in hospitality as though it is all one long, smooth, carefully planned pathway, he actually happened into the industry almost by mistake. He had a rather dull job, working for the Australian government counting seeds for the ministry of agriculture (his Dad was also his boss!) and was filling his spare time by waiting tables at The Queensland Ballet, then got into organising events and house parties for well-to-do Brisbanites. He found he enjoyed it and was good at it. Happily, it also looked like it might pay more in the long run so he went to get a qualification from The Australian School of Tourism and Hotel Management. He studied Business Management, so came into his career with an understanding of finance as well as hands-on experience of F&B.
As he talks about his "tours of duty" in far-flung places and disparate cultures, such as Guatemala, Jordan, Greece, South Africa and Egypt, names like Clinton and Mubarak float past and he seems genuinely bemused that his life brought him into contact with such movers and shakers. He becomes misty-eyed though when recounting tales of the Arab stallions he's ridden. A passion for horses is a constant in his slightly nomadic life. He looks really sad when I remark that he had to leave his horses behind when he moved from Cairo to Jo'burg. Lucky then, that he made the acquaintance of other equestrian enthusiasts and had the extraordinary good fortune to ride stealthily up to giraffes and see rhinos, all in the wild during his time in South Africa.
Garry's managed some big enterprises in his time, including Grand Hyatt Cairo (which, including residences, was over 1,000 rooms) and opened the Grand Hyatt Doha (to which he is clearly still attached) in a career with Hyatt spanning 25 years. He gives the impression of having taken it all in his stride. For the past 18 months he has been GM of Grand Hyatt Muscat. The hotel is thriving both as a provider of accommodation and as a centre of business, cultural and political influence. Barely a day goes by without a high-level visitor. Oman is the Switzerland of Arabia - Sultan Qaboos has carefully ploughed a furrow of neutrality allowing Oman to have friendly relations with the USA and UK as well as Iran and the other GCC states. As a result, Omanis are often intermediaries between "The West" and Iran. Garry is equally comfortable providing hospitality to diplomats and royalty as well as us tourists.
The clock is ticking though and we touched on the issue of life in "retirement". He is an antipodean and as he looks to the future and the inevitable, eventual end of his first career in hospitality, it is back to his native south that his plans lead. I find it hard to imagine someone of Garry's energy and lust for life actually retiring. So, of course, he has plans for another venture. I'll be sorry to see Garry go, whenever he does but we hope he enjoys every success on Norfolk Island, making cheese or whatever he does. I'm sure it'll be pretty good cheese. Like all successful hoteliers, he pays attention to details and believes that getting the small things right for every guest is the most important thing. He has Hyatt DNA - look after the staff and they will look after the guests. Sounds simple? If only.
It is really not easy to do justice to a character like Garry, with such a fabulous wealth of experience of life and the hospitality industry. Those familiar with this website will know we have met some great hoteliers in the past few years including up and coming stars like Monique Dekker, Olivier Lenoir, Michelle Ford and Pierre Lang to name but a few. I always feel very humble, privileged and a little sad to reflect on the talent that is close to retirement. Who on earth could fill the shoes of Michael Gray, John Beveridge, Jaques Morand or Garry Friend? These people have been working their socks off to look after everyone from presidents and royal families to tourists and the travelling hacks of every commercial operation in the world all their lives. I also slightly envy the richness and variety of their lives. Garry is a great example to anyone striking out to forge their path in life.
Although the usual "bios" of Garry list all his jobs in hospitality as though it is all one long, smooth, carefully planned pathway, he actually happened into the industry almost by mistake. He had a rather dull job, working for the Australian government counting seeds for the ministry of agriculture (his Dad was also his boss!) and was filling his spare time by waiting tables at The Queensland Ballet, then got into organising events and house parties for well-to-do Brisbanites. He found he enjoyed it and was good at it. Happily, it also looked like it might pay more in the long run so he went to get a qualification from The Australian School of Tourism and Hotel Management. He studied Business Management, so came into his career with an understanding of finance as well as hands-on experience of F&B.
As he talks about his "tours of duty" in far-flung places and disparate cultures, such as Guatemala, Jordan, Greece, South Africa and Egypt, names like Clinton and Mubarak float past and he seems genuinely bemused that his life brought him into contact with such movers and shakers. He becomes misty-eyed though when recounting tales of the Arab stallions he's ridden. A passion for horses is a constant in his slightly nomadic life. He looks really sad when I remark that he had to leave his horses behind when he moved from Cairo to Jo'burg. Lucky then, that he made the acquaintance of other equestrian enthusiasts and had the extraordinary good fortune to ride stealthily up to giraffes and see rhinos, all in the wild during his time in South Africa.
Garry's managed some big enterprises in his time, including Grand Hyatt Cairo (which, including residences, was over 1,000 rooms) and opened the Grand Hyatt Doha (to which he is clearly still attached) in a career with Hyatt spanning 25 years. He gives the impression of having taken it all in his stride. For the past 18 months he has been GM of Grand Hyatt Muscat. The hotel is thriving both as a provider of accommodation and as a centre of business, cultural and political influence. Barely a day goes by without a high-level visitor. Oman is the Switzerland of Arabia - Sultan Qaboos has carefully ploughed a furrow of neutrality allowing Oman to have friendly relations with the USA and UK as well as Iran and the other GCC states. As a result, Omanis are often intermediaries between "The West" and Iran. Garry is equally comfortable providing hospitality to diplomats and royalty as well as us tourists.
The clock is ticking though and we touched on the issue of life in "retirement". He is an antipodean and as he looks to the future and the inevitable, eventual end of his first career in hospitality, it is back to his native south that his plans lead. I find it hard to imagine someone of Garry's energy and lust for life actually retiring. So, of course, he has plans for another venture. I'll be sorry to see Garry go, whenever he does but we hope he enjoys every success on Norfolk Island, making cheese or whatever he does. I'm sure it'll be pretty good cheese. Like all successful hoteliers, he pays attention to details and believes that getting the small things right for every guest is the most important thing. He has Hyatt DNA - look after the staff and they will look after the guests. Sounds simple? If only.