Exclusive Interview | Yolande Hu , Meliá Koh Samui’s Director of Food and Beverage
/“Hospitality is a people industry; our guests and our staff are equally important to us. We must do whatever it takes to keep our guests happy and create an environment that beckons them to return. We also need to be dedicated to our staff to ensure they can continuously learn and grow”
Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
I have been fascinated with the world of travel since I was a kid. As my native country, Taiwan is an island, travel during the late 80s was a bit of a challenge for me. Thus, I aspired to work in the hotel industry so I could travel, meet people from around the world, experience cultural diversity, and learn more about different traditions. After completing my Bachelor Degree in Applied Science of Living in Taiwan I went to Switzerland for further education before my hotel career took me to historic Europe, the booming Middle East, and back to my home continent Asia.
Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
As a hotelier, I strongly believe success comes when we are goal-oriented, hardworking, results-driven, very much eager to learn, and hands-on with our work every day, no matter how busy the day will be. Hospitality is a people industry; our guests and our staff are equally important to us. We must do whatever it takes to keep our guests happy and create an environment that beckons them to return. We also need to be dedicated to our staff to ensure they can continuously learn and grow. The hospitality industry requires people who are committed, organized, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, have leadership potential, and most importantly, are team players.
Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring? If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?
Stability: Turnover is always very costly for a hotel. Given the investment in training new employees, businesses do not want to hire someone who does not have potential as a long-term hire.
Passion and Enthusiasm: Candidates must be enthusiastic and passionate about what they do and our industry. Their achievements should shine through during the interview and beyond.
Proficiency: Candidates must be self-motivated, thrilled at the prospect of being an active participant in the company’s efforts, and keen to put in the extra effort to achieve success in the business.
A Team Player: In many instances, you will have to work closely with co-workers on a venture. Even if a job requires that most tasks be accomplished alone, there will be times when you will have to work together with others to bring about success for the company.
Desire: This is great quality. While hiring, the motivated and driven candidates who will go above and beyond what is asked of them appeal to me most. Motivated staff work hard to do the best they can in their position, often think of ways to improve their work, and tend to be more competent.
Editor: What according to you can trainees do while they are training at hotels to make it a win-win for them & the hotel/unit?
Trainees should be punctual, keep their training logbook up-to-date, be attentive, keen to learn, and, overall, be careful with their work and maintain high standards. Trainees need to interact positively with the other hotel employees and be honest and loyal towards their training and ultimately the hotel. They should get appraisals signed regularly by their head of department or training manager to keep track of their performance.
Gain as much as you can from the training given to you, to equip yourself with plenty of practical knowledge and skills. Working in a hotel can be demanding and trainees need to approach this environment as positive as possible despite the challenges. Take the initiative to do the work as training makes for the foundation for your career and guides your future success.
Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting Training & Learning in the hospitality industry?
As high turnover is costly, and hotels invest a lot of money in training and learning, it’s very important to retain staff. To stay competitive in the market, hotels need to keep intellectuals and trained staff. To achieve this, you need to ensure they are properly trained, especially at the entry-level. Therefore, hands-on training or on-the-job training is even more prominent nowadays.
As training sometimes overlaps daily operations, it is difficult for the companies to measure how much they spend on training for the staff versus how much makes for a return on investment. However, training and learning have always been instrumental to the hotel industry, and always will be there, so it’s fundamental hotels substantially invest in their employees.
