Every Anantara Hotels & Resorts venue is the promise of a luxurious haven of serenity nestled in exceptional settings. Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort stands out in the sumptuous catalogue as a small jewel in the heart of the jungle, on the border of three countries. What better daily experience for a traveller than being offered the possibility to admire, directly from a hotel window, the mountainous areas of a region with such a rich culture and generous nature? Aware of its rare heritage to protect, Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort offers its guests an exceptional experience in perfect osmosis with a fragile balanced environment. This week, its general manager, Gaudéric Harang, backed with a career that took him in all parts of the world, presents us this Thai paradise.
Vendom.jobs – What led you to become GM in luxury hospitality?
Gaudéric HARANG – My family does not come from a hospitality background. I studied finance and, as most young people, I had no idea at the time of what I wanted to be or where I wanted to go. But my upbringing taught me from a very young age to work to get what I want. At the age of 16, I started working in restaurants and hotels to pay for my hobbies. At 18, I was still studying and I had been working in many restaurants – an experience that gave me the chance to discover very nice venues and pushed me even more toward this sector. When I finally came to terms with the fact that I did not want to constantly work on a computer and sit behind a desk, I entirely reoriented my path towards hospitality. From the moment I set foot into hotels to work, GMs made a strong impression on me and I immediately knew what I wanted to do one day: to be a leader, work closely with amazing teams, take care of and meet fantastic guests... I have not looked back since, and I trust that in our modern world, finding a job you can get so passionate about is very rare.
V. J. – Why did you decide to settle down in Thailand? What are your best memories there?
G. H. – This is my second work experience in Thailand after a couple of years in Phuket. Opportunities brought me to Thailand. Getting to penetrate the Southeast Asian working environment is rather difficult and I was very happy to come back again, especially in such a particular and fantastic resort. Some of my best memories are the experiences I get to live with elephants: they are truly special, smart, generous and sensitive animals… The team and I get to spend an extensive amount of truly enriching and educational time with them. One of my very best memories is the first night I spent in our new Jungle Bubble, located right outside our elephants’ natural environment, from which you get to observe them all night long under the stars. This is an extremely special experience, particularly after conceptualizing the project for about a year. It is always satisfying to see something you have worked so hard come to fruition!
V. J. – In your opinion, are recruitment issues different in Asia? If so, in what ways?
G. H. – There is no short answer to this, but I would say yes and no. No, in the sense that, especially in the luxury industry, I believe in recruiting people on attitude, personality, charisma, and according to what a person can do and deliver, and not so much on a past experience. In our sector, perception is everything. Someone with the right attitude and a good common sense will be able to learn the codes of luxury accommodation. Southeast Asia, and particularly Thailand, is recognized as an area with a strong service culture. This means that most team members have a good attitude.
Yes, in the sense that education differs from Europe, even though the gap is getting smaller over the years (MINOR is actually opening an Asian Institute of Hospitality Management in Bangkok this year, in partnership with Les Roches). Training is therefore an essential part of our operations on site, and that oversight is important.
Also, because of the rapid growth of the industry in the area, opportunities are numerous. This means that in order to create and ensure consistent loyalty, a strong employer image needs to be built. Attracting the best and the right talents is essential!
V. J. – How would you describe the values of Anantara Hotels & Resorts?
G. H. – The brand Anantara Hotels and Resorts was founded with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a mission to achieve the highest possible guest satisfaction in luxury hospitality by creating truly amazing and memorable experiences. Our mojo is “Life is a Journey”, which I believe is something that speaks to the most and that also reflects the orientation of luxury industry today, less “product” oriented (though still important), more experience-based, creating unique service touch points, reflecting authenticity in the place you represent, showcasing the best of the culture, being a story-teller and delivering long-lasting or forever lasting memories to guests.
V. J. – Luxury hotels and groups are increasingly concerned with the environment and wildlife conservation. You probably live in one of the most amazing locations in the world, how is Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort committed on a daily basis regarding these issues?
G. H. – On the purely operational side of the resort, due to our fairly small size if compared to some of the largest hotels, we are committed to act in our community and local environment with the aim of having a maximal impact on environmental change. This is rendered possible by the great latitude given to GMs, as business leaders (remember the entrepreneurial spirit I was mentioning earlier), to make reasonable decisions for their resorts. We are pretty much 100% single-use plastic free in the front of house and are working to eliminate any kind of plastic (not only single-use) in guest-facing areas. As plastic is not a luxurious or warm material, it should be a concern for all luxury properties. The hard work still has to be done in the back of house, where teams are often trained to overuse plastic (kitchen anyone?). We are progressing fast and are on track for being single-use plastic free for back of house by the end of 2020. 80% of our food is locally based, both to reflect local taste and to ensure less transportation. Our suppliers deliver food in reusable containers.
Of course, the “elephant in the room” of our wildlife conservation efforts is our rescue elephant camps. Currently, 21 pachyderms live on site, who have all been through hard times in their lives and cannot take care of themselves, so we do, as well as of their mahouts (caretakers) and mahouts’ families. Our guests are invited to partake in this rescue journey by joining carefully crafted activities to interact and observe the elephants in conditions that you cannot find anywhere else. Our guests alone get the privilege to approach elephants on site. The exclusivity, the privacy and the emotional charge of these experiences are maximal. You can learn more about what we do on our foundation website: https://www.helpingelephants.org/
V. J. – What is your greatest achievement as a GM?
G. H. – It is not so much my own achievement, it is more of a team achievement: scoring all top spots in all guest satisfaction scores in our brand last year. The team really delivered amazing stories for our guests all year long with consistency, and we jumped quite a few spots to come first.
I am also glad to see that the resort’s “pulse”, that seemed a little weaker when I started, is now getting really healthier with the entire team’s strong focus and energy toward delivering exceptional experiences to our guests.
V. J. – Can you tell us more about your customers’ expectations and wishes?
G. H. – Nowadays, our guests are seeking a truly luxury experience, delivering on 4 fronts:
- be memorable: the experience has to remain with the guest, if not forever, for the foreseeable future
- be sustainable: it can be reproduced in the future and causes minimal impact on the environment
- be enriching/educating: it makes hosts grow as persons/families/couples and teaches culture, nature, conservation, history,… the list is not exhaustive
- give back: guests know that they participate in something bigger
V. J. – What are your favourite moments at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort?
G. H. – Living in the resort, waking up to the sound of trumpeting elephants in the morning is certainly one of the best. Also, on a normal afternoon in the office, stopping whatever I am doing, realizing that a couple of elephants have been trumpeting to each other for over half an hour. They sure enjoy a little talk and it never gets old.
V. J. – What is your own luxury ?
G. H. – Travelling and spending time with friends and family, being healthy and finding time to do Muay Thai with my trainer here!
