Features
Capitalizing on the Sun, Sea, and Sand
Part Sixteen PASSIONS OF A GLOBAL HOTELIER
Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
Beach Parties
During my seven years at beach resorts along Sri Lanka’s west coast—spanning Beruwala, Aluthgama, Bentota, Ambalangoda, and Matara—I discovered that informal events, like beach parties, can create a refreshingly relaxed atmosphere for both guests and staff. While hotels typically operate in a formal setting, occasional events with a casual ambiance can be incredibly popular and add a welcome variety. This realisation influenced my approach to event planning throughout my career as a hotelier. The process of conceptualizing, planning, organising, choreographing, and promoting events is one of the most exciting and enjoyable aspects of the hospitality business. Crafting the right ambience is essential.
Soon after I took over the management of Mount Lavinia Hotel (MLH) in 1990, as its General manager, my senior management team informed me of a monthly beach party scheduled during my second week at the hotel. I was thrilled but disappointed by how the management team operated at the party. The entire team wore full suits while supervising employees on the beach on an extremely hot and humid afternoon. At the end of the party, I told them, “Let’s not hold our morning meeting tomorrow in my office. Instead, please meet me at the Beach Bar at 9:00 am, appropriately dressed.”
The next morning, all of them arrived in their usual office attire and were surprised to see me in casual wear. After discussing the beach party, I instructed that, in future, all managers, including myself, were to dress in t-shirts and sarongs for beach parties. Additionally, we were to be barefoot and participate in fun competitions like beach tug-of-war, pillow fights, and games to make the monthly beach event more entertaining.
The employees were highly motivated, seeing managers lead by example and engage in these activities. Within a few months, we had doubled the popularity and profits of MLH beach parties.
Neighbouring Fishing Village
Unlike most west coast resorts, MLH maintained excellent relations with the neighbouring fishing village communities, particularly Wedikanda Village adjoining the south end of the MLH grounds. Wedikanda was a small, impoverished village of around 50 families living in semi-permanent houses between the railway track and the Indian Ocean. Depending on the severity of the waves and high tides during the monsoon season, many of these houses were frequently destroyed. MLH employees contributed 1% of their service charge to a fund used to rebuild the village after each natural disaster.
In addition, MLH ran classes for the village children at the local temple and undertook various community development projects. Enhancing the village upgrade project and initiating a beach clean-up project were among the 39 employee suggestions included in the 1991 business plan. As a result, I paid special attention to this and walked the beach to Wedikanda most evenings, where I spoke with the villagers and developed a connection with the village leader and the strongman, Reminges. My casual morning walks with him were pleasant, but evening conversations could be challenging, as at sundown he was often under the influence of illicit liquor.
One evening, during my walk, I noticed that Wedikanda lacked sufficient toilets. Since the MLH village fund had a surplus, I advised Reminges, “Tomorrow, I’ll send the hotel’s Director of Engineering and his team to plan the construction of public toilets within the village.” His reaction was unexpected. “Sir, that would be a total waste of your funds! We don’t need toilets. With that money, please build us two volleyball courts!” He was serious. “Our men and children don’t need toilets. We’re happy to use the God-given facilities—the beach and the waves!” Despite his dissatisfaction, we proceeded with the toilet building project.
At a beach party at Mount Lavinia Hotel in 1991
No Sex on the Beach!
I had one more disagreement with Reminges. After noticing that the average family in Wedikanda had around seven children, I proposed to the MLH staff welfare society that we organise a series of family planning sessions for the villagers. The team overwhelmingly supported my suggestion, and we collaborated with the Government Family Health Bureau and the Family Planning Association (FPA Sri Lanka) to roll out a detailed programme in Wedikanda.
During one of my evening beach walks, I noticed that Reminges was particularly angry and aggressive. He was a good man who cared deeply for the village community, who, in turn, hero-worshipped him. However, due to his lack of education and excessive alcohol consumption, he sometimes misunderstood our good intentions. In his drunkenness, he somewhat shouted at me, “Look here, sir! Let me explain something to you very clearly! We are poor people. We have no money, no TV, no electricity. We have only one activity for fun. Please don’t take it away from us!” he pleaded.
After clarifying the situation with him the next morning when he was sober, I realised he had misunderstood family planning as involuntary castration! After that episode, I tried to improve our mutual understanding through more detailed dialogue, when he was sober. Reminges continued to be an ardent supporter of MLH.
European Travel Agents
In the early 1990s, unlike today, Sri Lanka’s hotel industry largely depended on back-to-back tour group business from major European tour operators. These companies used chartered flights and sent their employees as resident managers, tour leaders, and tourist guides to spend the entire tourist season in Sri Lanka. Hoteliers provided them with complimentary board and lodging and treated them like royalty. Any complaints from them often resulted in lower prices during the next year’s room booking contract negotiations. At that time, MLH usually signed annual contracts with 17 different tour operators from Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, The UK, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Towards the end of each winter tourist season (April), these tour operators would use the gradually decreasing demand for “already paid for” seats on chartered flights and board and lodging at hotels, for promotional efforts for the next season. They would arrange for travel agents selling tour packages in Europe to visit Sri Lanka on “Familiarisation (Fam) Trips”. Each Fam group spent a week in Sri Lanka, touring and testing seven hotel offerings. I observed that many Sri Lankan hotels did not give these Fam groups the VIP treatment they deserved, as their stay was complimentary.
Under Promise and Over Deliver
Typically, Fam groups of around 20 agents would arrive at a hotel and be met by a Sales Executive, who would entertain them and show them around the facilities. Often due to their busy schedules, senior managers did not allocate any time for Fam groups. Recognising the importance of this crucial distribution channel, we at MLH approached it differently and innovatively. We treated Fam groups—usually young women in junior sales roles at travel agencies across Europe—like royalty, and this strategy worked tremendously in our favour.
When an Fam group arrived at MLH, we would stop their tour coach at the entrance to the Hotel Road. The MLH Front Office Manager would meet and greet them on the coach and invite them to disembark and get on top of elephants, which we had arranged to transport them to the hotel entrance. We even hired a videographer to capture the entire process. As the thrilled travel agents entered the hotel, they were greeted by a troop of Kandyan dancers and drummers.
While the drumming continued, I would warmly welcome each agent and guide them to light the traditional oil lamp specially decorated with flowers and placed in the middle of the hotel lobby. One glance at these young women smiling in excitement, and we knew we had struck a winning PR tactic. I, along with two other MLH managers, would usually host them for lunch and a hotel tour. I would then announce a surprise dinner on the famous Paradise Beach, advising them to wear something casual for the informal evening.
Around 7:00 pm, we would meet in the hotel courtyard and lead the group to Paradise Beach via the historic wing of the hotel. From that point, the surprises would include a red carpet leading to the beach dinner table,
The next morning, I would meet the group upon departure to individually present each of them with an orchid flower and a video titled, “My Memorable 24 Hours at the Famous Mount Lavinia Hotel, Sri Lanka (established in 1806)”.
In hospitality marketing and PR, it’s all about creating magic and producing everlasting memories.