executive impact

The Peninsula Tokyo lifts the bar for service

4 Comments
By Chris Betros

One of the most vibrant high-class hotels in Tokyo is The Peninsula, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. Whether it is the famous scones for afternoon tea, fine dining, heavenly spa treatments, high-tech rooms or the iconic Rolls-Royces, the Peninsula has long been synonymous with style. In February, The Peninsula Tokyo was named a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel, one of only three in the capital to receive the ranking in the publisher’s annual announcement of the world’s finest properties. In addition, the hotel’s Peninsula Spa received Forbes Five-Star status for the second year in a row.

Located at the crossroads of Hibiya-dori and Harumi-dori, opposite the Imperial Palace and a few minutes’ walk from the Ginza shopping district, the 24-story Peninsula Tokyo also opens directly onto Naka-dori Avenue, a pedestrian-friendly street lined with top luxury boutiques.

Overseeing operations is Australian Sonja Vodusek, who was appointed general manager last December. Vodusek joined The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (holding company of The Peninsula Hotels) as hotel manager at The Peninsula New York in 2010. She relocated to Manila seven months later as general manager in 2011. A native of Yarrawonga in Victoria, Australia, she received separate diplomas in hotel and business management from the Blue Mountain International Hotel Management School (BMIHMS) in Sydney and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, respectively. Prior to joining The Peninsula Hotels, she had 16 years of experience holding various executive management positions in the luxury hospitality sector at Four Seasons hotels in the United States, Japan, Ireland, Australia and the Czech Republic.

Vodusek has applied her international experience across all disciplines – housekeeping, front office, reception, kitchens, food & beverage – as a volunteer instructor for underprivileged youth at the Sala Baï Hotel & Restaurant School in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her prior experience in Japan includes a six-month internship as room attendant for the Sheraton Grande in Tokyo, and 2 1/2 years as consulting director of rooms at the former Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so, where she oversaw a staff of 230 and was involved in the opening of the property’s spa.

Japan Today editor Chris Betros visits Vodusek at the hotel to hear more.

When you move from one country to another, do you find it easy to hit the ground running?

The Peninsula culture is very similar around the globe. But as a hotel GM, you have to be plug-and-play, so to speak. My diary was packed as soon as I walked in the door. I have a great staff and during the first few months, I have been getting to know everyone and building relationships.

How would you describe the Peninsula corporate culture?

Our DNA is really about the hotel family — I think of the staff as a family. We only have 10 hotels, so we are not a big group. In a way, the general managers are really the business owners who are accountable for the hotel. You can be as creative as you want and do whatever you feel is right for the market, meaning that we get a great deal of autonomy from head office. However, I always say we are growing — we are green and not ripe, so we have to be on the lookout for new and interesting things whether it is in technology, HR or customer touch points.

How has the hotel industry changed since you began your career?

Hotels may change in terms of technology but you still have to provide a comfortable bed, hot shower, hot coffee and an orange juice, wherever you are in the world. The high tech is changing the industry because guests are more technically savvy. For us as a brand, we are already known for our advances in terms of room technology but we are also known for our personal touch and it is important to maintain that. I make an effort to meet as many guests as possible, maybe for an hour throughout the day.

What’s your management style?

My style is more collaborative. I guess I would call myself a comprehensive communicator. In the hotel, we have eight divisions and each morning, we have a briefing at which we raise any issues that need to be discussed. I tend to be more involved in marketing, PR and enhancing the guest experience. We’ve just done our first executive leadership retreat, looked at where we are going, and have cascaded a lot of that info to the managers so that everyone has the same idea of the direction we are going in.

Did the hotel hire any new staff this year?

Yes, we hired 20-30 graduates this year. I told them to work hard, have fun and do what is right. One good thing about Peninsula is that our staff have many opportunities to work at Peninsula hotels abroad. For example, each year we have a reciprocal arrangement with the Peninsula Paris where 10 of their staff come here and 10 of our Japanese staff go there. We also send them to the Philippines. In addition, we have English and Chinese classes here, so there is lot of investment in learning and development for our staff.

With new hotels opening up in Japan, staff retention will be a challenge. We have been discussing strategies because we want to be the employer of choice. Of course, career changes are much more likely now than when I was starting out. The Internet has changed everything, especially for the millennial generation. I call them the microwave generation. Stick them in and “ping,” they want to be a hotel general manager after one minute.

How is room occupancy at The Peninsula Tokyo?

I can say we are happy with our results for the first quarter. During the week, about 80% of our guests are foreign, mainly because of the weaker yen, but we would really like to be closer to 60-40. We need to grow the domestic market, especially among women.

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics coming up, do you think Tokyo has enough hotel rooms?

Nearly 20 million tourists visited Japan in 2015 and the government has lifted the target to 40 million by 2020. There is no way that there will be enough hotel rooms by then, even though Tokyo may get another 1,000 rooms collectively. Right now, the demand is very high and all hotels are experiencing high occupancy rates. But we won’t have double the capacity by 2020. We recently met with JNTO on how we can work together to increase the inbound high-end traveller in the lead up to 2020.

Are online reservations increasing?

Yes, especially on mobile platforms. In Japan, there are still many people who make reservations the old-fashioned way by calling in.

What about groups?

We focus on high-end luxury travellers; the group segment is there but that is not our main bread and butter. Only 15% of our business comes from groups.

How about weddings?

The hotel has always been popular for weddings and the market is still strong. The vintage Rolls-Royce is a good drawcard. Currently, we are reviewing the whole business model because there is intense competition in the market with free-standing wedding centers, restaurant weddings and destination weddings abroad.

How do you generally get feedback from guests?

Usually from guest comment cards and word of mouth. Service is a journey not a destination and there will always be some complaints. It might be the bathtub is too high to step into, the shower screen door has a little gap or a complaint about the speed of things getting done. Actually, if we don’t receive any complaints, we get concerned. The staff are encouraged to report everything so we can fix it and recover before the guest leaves the property. Nowadays with social media, YouTube or TripAdvisor, word spreads fast, so we have to be on our game.

What is a typical day for you?

I show up between 7:30 and 8 a.m. I usually start off by going to the lobby, saying hello to the staff and meeting guests. Then I come back for morning meetings, after which I may have business lunches. I generally work 12 hours a day but time flies when you are having fun.

Do you work on weekends?

I try to stay away on weekends because we have a good team. For younger staff, it’s important that I be a role model in terms of balancing work and lifestyle. When I’m away from the hotel, I like to walk my dog, meet up with friends and go to pilate

© Japan Today

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4 Comments
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This article is very informative for me because I could come to understand what General manager in Peninsula Tokyo is thinking and their policy, style, current style and so on. Actually I am interested in Peninsula hotel but I have never stayed there even if I usually go to Hong kong and walk in front of that hotel at TST area. For me the room price is a little bit expensive If I book the hotel for business and private trip, whichever.

But I may go to a bar, cafe or just shopping and feel a nice atmosphere near future...... Looking forward!!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

We once celebrated a Jubilee at the "Peters" french restaurant there. Being a couple, we were given a table in a corner overseeing the building across the hotel, not some nice night cityscape, although there were similar empty tables with much better views available (strike one).

Food was excellent (as it should be at 18.000JPY per person), but the waiter insisted about 300 times that we order some wine with it, even after explaining him that my wife is pregnant and I am not drinking out of solidarity with her (strike two).

Behind us, some "highclass" escort Chinese lady (lowclass if you ask me) was trying hard and loud to make conversation with her client, an American from Texas. By the time we were to our desert, she was tipsy and reciting loudly: "why are you so shy, please touch my hand", continuously. I was steaming out of my ears...Strike three...

Errr, never again? We kept to food cooked at home or to simpler dates, in better places afterwards.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

But I may go to a bar, cafe or just shopping and feel a nice atmosphere near future...... Looking forward!!

wish you can get a discount coupon for your favorable comment :)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Like some of the other so-called 'high class' hotels in Tokyo, their staff seem to have developed the fine art of looking down on customers and making them feel inadequate, even when they are paying so much money to be there. A couple who have had a less than wonderful experience could mean that a future possible group booking goes elsewhere for a more enjoyable experience.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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