Fairmont GM says 2019 a year of hope

GENERAL Manager of the Fairmont Royal Pavilion, Jean-Christophe Martinez has reported that the last quarter of 2018 was more difficult than expected, but he says 2019 is a year of hope.

He was speaking briefly on Saturday evening during the hotel’s exquisite awards ceremony held in its Palm Terrace Restaurant, where he said the focus now is not on the past, but on celebrating the staff and the future of the hotel.

He said there are several goals to be attained in the coming year, including financial and guest satisfaction, but first and foremost efforts will be made to continue building the team on the basis of trust, respect, values, recognition, patience and fun.

Featured speaker during the ceremony was veteran broadcaster Vic Fernandes, who gave the staff a snapshot of his life story, which he noted did not start easily.

The BBC-trained broadcaster, who read his first television newscast at the age of 17, recalled that while he knew he wanted to be a broadcaster from the age of ten, by the age of 16 he was forced to make the decision to leave school or pay his own way through school. He found his way on a shrimp crawler where he worked for three months, which he said was back-breaking work and would make a grown man cry. Fernandes said while he lost 45 pounds during that time, he gained knowledge and learned about leadership, which he said kept him in good stead in his older years.

The youngest media manager at the time at the age of 27, he told the staff that anyone can be a leader. “Leadership is not about who has the university degree. It is about believing in yourself and remaining resolute in the pursuit of those goals. It is a gift.”

“I never set out to be a leader. Fate and luck played key roles. To be a leader you have to set goals, dare to dream, dream big, taste disappointments and set-backs, have perseverance and determination. Set high standards and goals for yourself … I always say disappointment in life is inevitable. However feeling sorry for yourself is a choice that you make.”

Fernandes, who stressed that he knows the many hardships of life, said oftentimes persons see the end product but seldom understand the journey.

With respect to working in the hospitality field, he noted the importance of good service, reminding that a simple greeting could set the tone for a guest’s experience. He encouraged the staff to put themselves in the role of the customer and as he does, see the customer as part of one’s meal plan. “I eat because they spend their money with me. If I don’t give them what they are looking for then someone else will, because as you know nature abhors a vacuum.”

He challenged the awardees to take on those things that make them uncomfortable. “Get out of your comfort zone,” he encouraged. (JH)