Sammy Carolus - General Manager, Hyatt Regency Hua Hin (and The Barai)
As Sammy speaks, in his soothing, calm and measured way, I am trying to imagine the alter ego. MC Sammy from his student days at Jakarta University, where he and his close circle of friends took The University radio to a new and greater level, leaving a legacy in terms of a massively expanded repertoire of music (all on tape in those days, he admits with slight embarrassment) but also in terms of the many many children who were helped into education by the group's charity work. I think they also had a lot of fun.
So how did this funky muso student of economics who originated in Singapore from an Indonesian family come to be managing such a challenging property as HR Hua Hin in Thailand? Well, although he intended a career in investment banking, he was bitten by the hospitality bug whilst working part-time to support himself and his charity work at University in Jakarta. Unsurprisingly, his first exposure to the hotel trade was in a Hyatt. Although he did ultimately spend two years as an investment banker, he could feel the pull of that other world. He rejoined Hyatt when they came offering him training and has never regretted it.
Being a graduate in Economics, it is no surprise that Sammy came into the trade through Sales and Marketing. On signing up with Hyatt, he was dispatched to Bali (The Bali Hyatt) where his two children were born. Sammy spent 11 years in all in Bali, moving there in 1992. Four years later, promotion took him across the island to Nusa Dua before moving back again as Director Sales & Marketing after another four years. The Bali nightclub bombing hit the hotel trade hard in 2002 and in 2003 Sammy came to Thailand for the first time. He has happily made his home here since. Initially, Sammy was DSM at Hua Hin but after 18 months he moved round the Gulf to be DSM at Erawan under the capable leadership of Richard Greaves. After another promotion in 2009 to Executive Assistant Manager, he returned to Hua Hin as General Manager. With 20 unbroken years of service with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Sammy is a shining example of the Hyatt way of doing things.
On the surface, he seems like a very mild-mannered man but he is a stickler for details. Sammy regularly sleeps in the guest rooms at his hotel to ensure that everything looks good and works as it should from a guest perspective. That goes some way to explaining why the staff here are so incredibly attentive. He was alarmed to hear that we had a wobbly electric wall socket in our suite; it was fixed within 3 hours (it would have been less but we were using the room). The GM Hua Hin appreciates that most of his guests are spending their own money rather than benefiting from corporate expense accounts, so considers the guest experience to be hugely important from a human perspective. They will come again if it is good. Not that business travellers are any less valued, it's just a question of understanding the guest's motivation and trying to ensure high levels of personal service. From my experience at HR Hua Hin, his staff have got the message. Staff retention rates are also high on his agenda as he knows how important this is to consistency of service culture. Happily, thanks to the Hyatt way of staff development and support, this is working. Almost all the therapy staff present at the opening of The Barai 5 years ago are still here. I can tell you they are the best I have found and I've been to a lot of spas.
I like Sammy, but then it's hard not to like someone who works so tirelessly for my comfort. We'll be coming back for years to come and I hope he stays. Knowing the way of the world, I expect he'll be stolen away to manage another project. If so, we wish him well.
So how did this funky muso student of economics who originated in Singapore from an Indonesian family come to be managing such a challenging property as HR Hua Hin in Thailand? Well, although he intended a career in investment banking, he was bitten by the hospitality bug whilst working part-time to support himself and his charity work at University in Jakarta. Unsurprisingly, his first exposure to the hotel trade was in a Hyatt. Although he did ultimately spend two years as an investment banker, he could feel the pull of that other world. He rejoined Hyatt when they came offering him training and has never regretted it.
Being a graduate in Economics, it is no surprise that Sammy came into the trade through Sales and Marketing. On signing up with Hyatt, he was dispatched to Bali (The Bali Hyatt) where his two children were born. Sammy spent 11 years in all in Bali, moving there in 1992. Four years later, promotion took him across the island to Nusa Dua before moving back again as Director Sales & Marketing after another four years. The Bali nightclub bombing hit the hotel trade hard in 2002 and in 2003 Sammy came to Thailand for the first time. He has happily made his home here since. Initially, Sammy was DSM at Hua Hin but after 18 months he moved round the Gulf to be DSM at Erawan under the capable leadership of Richard Greaves. After another promotion in 2009 to Executive Assistant Manager, he returned to Hua Hin as General Manager. With 20 unbroken years of service with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Sammy is a shining example of the Hyatt way of doing things.
On the surface, he seems like a very mild-mannered man but he is a stickler for details. Sammy regularly sleeps in the guest rooms at his hotel to ensure that everything looks good and works as it should from a guest perspective. That goes some way to explaining why the staff here are so incredibly attentive. He was alarmed to hear that we had a wobbly electric wall socket in our suite; it was fixed within 3 hours (it would have been less but we were using the room). The GM Hua Hin appreciates that most of his guests are spending their own money rather than benefiting from corporate expense accounts, so considers the guest experience to be hugely important from a human perspective. They will come again if it is good. Not that business travellers are any less valued, it's just a question of understanding the guest's motivation and trying to ensure high levels of personal service. From my experience at HR Hua Hin, his staff have got the message. Staff retention rates are also high on his agenda as he knows how important this is to consistency of service culture. Happily, thanks to the Hyatt way of staff development and support, this is working. Almost all the therapy staff present at the opening of The Barai 5 years ago are still here. I can tell you they are the best I have found and I've been to a lot of spas.
I like Sammy, but then it's hard not to like someone who works so tirelessly for my comfort. We'll be coming back for years to come and I hope he stays. Knowing the way of the world, I expect he'll be stolen away to manage another project. If so, we wish him well.