New GM Paton to turn Galle Face Hotel into “best hotel in Colombo”

Sri Lanka’s iconic 150-year-old Galle Face Hotel will be unveiled as a deluxe heritage property on 1 March 2015, upon completion of its ongoing restoration program.
The property already has a new General Manager at the helm, Antony G. Paton, who pledges GFH will be the “best hotel in Colombo” once it’s reopened.
In an interview with the Daily FT yesterday, Paton asserted: “Post-restoration, it will still be the Galle Face Hotel you know – it’s going to be sparkling new, but with all the old features. It’s still going to be a grand old dame of a building.”
A key differentiator at the historic hotel, however, will be the international service levels that Paton will introduce across the board: “We’re going to offer service that you haven’t seen in Sri Lanka before. Although you’ve got some great hotels here, you don’t have the international service here yet and that’s what I am here for,” he emphasised.
Following are excerpts of the interview:

GFH General Manager Antony G. Paton – Pic by Lasantha Kumara

By Marianne David
Q: You took up your current position as GM of Galle Face Hotel just over two weeks ago. What were your first impressions of the property?
A: Yes I did, but I’ve known the Galle Face Hotel for many years. I was contacted by the owner two years ago to have a chat about coming here, but then things didn’t work out for various reasons. But obviously I did a lot of research on the hotel and then I was in the Maldives so I used to come to Sri Lanka and I knew the place. The hotel is beautiful, it’s a real iconic property, ideal for an old-fashioned person like me to come to and manage because it’s perfect.

 
Q: When did you first visit Sri Lanka and what were your immediate impressions of the country?
A: I first visited two years ago and I stayed with some friends who live in Galle so I didn’t really see Colombo – I went from the airport straight through Colombo and then to Galle. I loved it.
The two things that struck me this time about being here and living here is how friendly the people are and how clean the city is, amazingly clean; I’ve lived in India and it’s nothing like India.

 
Q: How did you first enter the hospitality industry and what kind of experience do you bring to the table?
A: It was 40 years ago. I went to college to do a hotel management course and then I joined a group of hotels as a trainee manager. I did my training for three years with that group of hotels in each department, each time in a different hotel, moving around every six months. Then I got my first management job in a big hotel in London and I spent some years in London going up the ladder.
My first General Manager’s job was working for King Hussein of Jordan, managing his palace. After Jordan I travelled a lot – I lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Thailand, etc. My 40 years of experience is entirely in hotels.

 
Q: How would you describe Galle Face Hotel’s offerings and potential?
A: The property is iconic, historic and beautiful. What it’s going to offer – apart from the restaurants and bars and so on – is amazing service. We’re going to offer service that you haven’t seen in Sri Lanka before. Although you’ve got some great hotels here, you don’t have the international service here yet and that’s what I am here for.

 
Q: Now that you’re at the helm at GFH, what are your plans for the hotel?
A: I think once I get my hands on all the staff, you will see that they will have a very different attitude. They’re a friendly bunch of staff but we need to do a lot of training, for which I am hiring training people from outside.
My plans are people. We’ve got a great team here, they are lovely people; we’re going to make them very professional and train them in things they haven’t been trained in before. I hope we’ll be a lesson for all the other hotels.
We’ve implemented the GFH human resources employee engagement and relations program P.R.I.D.E., which stands for Positive Relationships with Integrity, Dignity and Engagement. It’s an innovative and unique human resources program which allows employees to continuously evolve and develop their skills across different disciplines. Aside from the official training, GFH employees are also encouraged to create ‘GFH Moments’ – thoughtful personal gestures to make a guest feel extra special, valued and welcome.
Working with GFH is more than just coming to work – a team that is engaged in P.R.I.D.E. evokes feelings of excitement and has the passion to work hard and build and maintain a foundation of a truly great place to work.

 
Q: The hotel, which turns 150 years old this year, is currently undergoing a restoration program. What can guests expect in terms of facilities when the entire property is unveiled once again?
A: It will be the best hotel in Colombo once it’s reopened and we’ve scheduled a soft opening for 1 March 2015.
In terms of facilities, we’re going to reopen the Verandah Restaurant, which was very popular. We’ve extended the restaurant so it’s going to be bigger with another layer – still the great views but with more space. We’ll have a fantastic new bar with a humidor room for cigars.
Then we have the Sea Spray restaurant, which is coming back, but that’s going to be amazing. We’re working on the concept of menus now. I’m hiring an international chef because I want a chef who has worked in Asia, the Caribbean and Europe who has all those different experiences so that we can give lots of different food offerings. The famous Checkerboard will be there too. We are also refurbishing the pool and the pool bar.
We’re not sure what we’re going to do with the 1864 restaurant. I’d like to get visiting chefs to come for three weeks to a month at a time and they can do a menu for that restaurant so that it changes every month with a different chef – it will be rather fun, wouldn’t it?
We could do Italian pizzas and pastas; we could have a famous chef from London coming in and doing European cuisine, fine dining; we could so all sorts of things! Japanese – I know a great Japanese chef who does modern Japanese food and it’s out of this world.
Post-restoration, it will be the Galle Face Hotel you know, but with new furnishings, beautiful wall coverings and so on. I believe it was pretty run down; but when it’s ready again, it’s going to be sparkling new, with all the old features. It’s still going to be a grand old dame of a building.

 
Q: How will the Galle Face Hotel differentiate from the competition, especially in the backdrop of the global chains setting up operations here?
A: The hotel will differentiate in terms of service, team attitude and food – all this is going to be different. Furthermore, if you look at the building itself, all our rooms are huge – they’ve got high ceilings and plenty of space. This is different to any other property, which enables us to stand out straight away. Post-restoration, the rooms will retain their Sri Lankan-ness, with a modern twist.

 
Q: How do you plan on remaining competitive in terms of pricing given that you have to compete not only with super luxury properties but also lean/budget hotels?
A: Being competitive is always a concern, but at the same time, we are going to be quality and people have to pay for quality. I’ve always been an advocate of giving great value for money, which the Galle Face Hotel will provide, along with a great product.

 
Q: How has the Galle Face Hotel fared in the last few years and how does the hotel plan to grow its market share amidst stiff competition?
A: It’s done very, very well because of its uniqueness and its iconic nature.
In terms of growing our market share, I’ve been getting out there and meeting people and in the last two-and-a-half weeks, I’ve made 10 sales calls so far. I’m involved in sales as well because I want to get to know all our clients and have that relationship with them so they know they can call me if they need something.
It’s not just the local market; we are such an iconic property that we need to be out in the international arena too. I have many contacts with travel agents in America, Europe and Asia and I’ve given all those contacts to our sales team. We’re working on them.

Q: To wrap up, how do you view Sri Lanka’s potential as a tourism product?
A: I think it has enormous potential. In terms of the business we’re doing now, even with half of the hotel closed, we’re still doing very well. I think now that Sri Lanka is stable, there are a lot of people around the world – particularly Americans and Europeans – who want to come and see a country they’ve never been in before. I think the potential is huge.
People everywhere around the world are looking for new experiences. It’s not about travelling on an airplane and going to a hotel anymore. It’s about the destination and experiencing something new. People want to come and see Sri Lanka because it’s a new place to explore and experience.