Meet Thomas Mayrhofer, an Austrian professional hospitality industry with an experience of 30 years and an avid golfer.
Thomas Mayrhofer
Where are you and when did you move to Indonesia?
I Salzburg, Austria. However, I have not lived abroad for many years. For the last 3.5 years, I worked in Jakarta, which is my first experience living in Indonesia. Before Jakarta, I am based in Bangkok, Thailand.
How do you like Jakarta?
While Jakarta may take a little more time to become familiar with a few other cities, I think it is an amazing city and has much to offer for expatriates and visitors. Naturally, the traffic is much worse than my hometown, but I like Indonesian hospitality, sincerity and smiles all Indonesians seem to be born with. I guess the biggest difference is that my hometown Jakarta proposes only two seasons while my hometown has four. I miss the skiing, but certainly I do not miss shoveling snow from my driveway!
On your free time, what do you do in Jakarta?
Golf, golf and more golf! Oh, did I forget to mention golf? As soon as I arrived in Jakarta I committed a day of golf. Jakarta offers a wonderful variety of golf courses and I'm always amazed at how all these courses continue to meet every weekend. Aside from golf, I am also active in the Jakarta's business community and attend many networking functions of the room where my wife Jade happily joined my side.
What is your favorite golf course in Indonesia and why?
It is unfair to say that I am a favorite golf course because there are some really world class golf courses in Indonesia. During late 2012 and early 2013, I had the opportunity to help our sister property in Bali during the transition two CEOs; it gave me the opportunity to supervise Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort, which includes one of the largest of Indonesia golf courses Nirwana Bali. It was truly a pleasure and a privilege. Currently I am a member at Emeralda Golf, but I also like to play great courses such as Royal Jakarta, Jagorawi and Rainbow Hills.
Have you ever participated in golf tournaments?
As an active golfer I compete in many golf tournaments and play in both tournaments and serious charity. Last year, I was invited to participate in the tournament of the European Ryder Cup Jakarta to Cengkareng Golf Course which I consider one of the highlights of my golf.
As general manager of the Hotel Sari Pan Pacific Jakarta, which constitutes the major part of your job?
I share my heart's workload into three distinct areas. The first area is that a hotel can not function without the full support of a team. In this role, I have to inspire my immediate team and lead by example strong. A happy team which can depend on their leader will be the best team to provide excellent customer service. Next is to our customers; make an emotional connection with our customers is the best way to achieve long-term relationships, which in turn leads to loyal customers who support us for years to come. As CEO I have to show my team's commitment to our customers and I have to prove I'm still the time to meet and greet our guests. Finally, to build a strong and trusting relationship with our company owner so they have confidence in the financial support that we ask them.
Does your background in hospitality?
I touch almost 30 years in hospitality and can honestly say that hospitality is my life. My parents immigrated to Canada when I was 16 and as such my studies occurred in Canada. In 2008, I graduated with an MBA from the University of Guelph, the only university that offers an MBA focused on hospitality.
What was your career like to come to this position now?
I started in the kitchen and in 1989 I went to Canada to become the executive chef at New World Hotel in Xian, China. After six months, I transferred to Beijing with the same company where I spent 18 months. Taking advantage of the many educational opportunities offered by my employer, I regularly advanced my career and moved out of the kitchen. My first opportunity as CEO came in 2005 in Vancouver, Canada. In 2009, I joined Pan Pacific Hotel Group as Vice President of Restaurants, Bars and events based in Singapore. One of my passions remains to build strong relationships and liaison teams, which is more difficult to achieve in a business role that travel combined with short visits is required. Therefore, I asked to return at the property and that is how I found myself at Sari Pan Pacific Hotel.
What are the challenges that hoteliers face today in Indonesia?
We live strong growth that puts a burden on our human capital. It seems to be more difficult to fill key roles with qualified and experienced personnel as some of our employees pursue their dreams. A strong leadership combined with the "real" for our development partners are critical at these times. Apart from this, the Indonesian tourism continues to exceed GDP, which basically means this is a great time to be in the hotel business in Indonesia.
Have you participated in organizations or companies in Jakarta?
I am very active in many social events and I think if you are active, you must also give back, meaning to volunteer some of your time on various boards of administration. Recently, I was elected as vice chairman of the Jakarta International Hotel Association, which represents some 50 hotels within Jakarta. I am also a member of the Board of SKAL Jakarta where my position is Director of Public and International Relations.
What motivates you?
I like people and that is why the hotel industry is a perfect fit. Of course, I would not be as successful with my career without the ongoing support of my wife and our two boys to motivate both. As far as passion is concerned, I must say that Jakarta has certainly cemented golf as one of my greatest passions and I will never forget the beautiful golf courses that I have had the privilege of playing and great people I have met.
Within five years, what kind of Jakarta would you like to see?
It is difficult not to include improved circulation, but five years may not be enough time to fix the infrastructure of the city. I also hope that Jakarta will be able to improve the overall cleanliness. I am very disappointed every time I see a river in Jakarta that most banks of the river are littered with too much garbage. Each person in Jakarta should do their best to educate and lead by example in rivers many cities are really valuable and often become a local tourist attraction. The rivers are so important to our ecosystem and can usually recover quickly, but they can not recover when everyone participates. This is a small personal wish of mine.