The highly anticipated one and only Park Hyatt Bangkok has confirmed the imminent opening of its doors on the 12th of May, becoming a game changer for the luxury market in the city.
When Bangkok finally joins the select group of global gateway cities to offer the elegance and discretion of a Park Hyatt property, this particular project will have taken full advantage of its design and construction delays to ensure that the brand standards of Park Hyatt can be implemented in every detail. General Manager Michael Golden explained exactly how recruitment and design are the keys to accomplishing this in Bangkok.
“We won’t just be looking for bodies to fill the hotel staff roster – we have to find people who truly understand the brand. However, our team has never been to a Park Hyatt so it takes time to show employees what it’s like and to instil those standards.”
The kind of service Michael is describing is based on reading guests and meeting their expectations in the moment. “Language ability is one thing, while etiquette is also important; the right body language, understanding the guests, and knowing the boundaries. We need people who understand the brand and can deliver it in their own way.”
“The importance of language is that we want our staff to be able to engage with guests. For example, it took us quite a while to find a chef whose English skills matched his cooking abilities, but we are insistent on this because we want the communication between staff and guests to be there. When you get the right people with the right profile, these people will attract others with similar skills. The old traditional guideline of setting a high staff/guests ratio isn’t enough to guarantee good service.”
Apart from recruiting a team who will become well versed in the Park Hyatt culture and can deliver the service by heart, design is another element for which Michael has significant input, and for which Park Hyatt is particularly well-known.
“We can’t afford to have any mistakes in the designs,” said Michael. “This building is not just a regular building, it’s a complex structure that needs details and this is why it’s better to be running late but done right than the other way around.”
Another benefit that the Park Hyatt will be bringing to Bangkok is its potential to offer a new culinary hot spot for Bangkok residents. The new property offers a Food & Beverage Penthouse with 5 venues across the top three floors looking out over the Bangkok skyline: a Grill Restaurant, Cocktail Lounge, Speakeasy Bar, VIP Lounge, and Rooftop Bar. Michael explained that one key concept behind this penthouse layout is to get more locals into the Park Hyatt – and with five different options and local pricing this should quickly establish the hotel as the “it place” once the hotel is opened.
So, yes, the opening has been pushed back – but it’s all going to be worth the wait.
Source: http://hotelintel.co/2017/02/22/park-hyatt-bangkok-wait/