by Dr. Iain
Corness
The new general manager of the Amari Orchid Resort is a
young Swiss, Dominik Stamm. He began his working life as a chemistry
laboratory assistant and it would be hard to imagine a career path that
was much further removed from the hotel industry!
Dominik was born in a small village near Basel. His
father was an engineer and his mother a financial advisor, so neither
chemistry nor the hotel industry was prominent in his family.
He was a middle of the road student at school, “I was
trying to enjoy my life.” However, he was good at chemistry and physics,
so when his schooling finished he became an apprentice chemistry lab
assistant. “It looked interesting, so I applied.” This was not really
his lifetime dedication, and after his 3 years indentures were completed
he took three months off and went backpacking with a friend to Australia.
This produced a change in his career direction. “I
had time to think in the Australian outback.” He returned to Switzerland
and sought the help of a career advisor. After testing, he was advised to
do something which involved contact with people, rather than continuing
with inanimate objects, as was his life in the chemistry labs, which he
found so boring.
He applied to the International Tourism and Trade
Institution and commenced a course in hotel management. As part of this
was “in service” training and he began as a waiter in the F&B
business. He still recalls that the second room service order he carried
out was for the German national football team. Again as part of the
in-service training he spent some time at the Dolder Grand Hotel in
Zurich, one in which Pattaya restaurant icon Bruno Forrer also spent some
time (but many years ago).
During his training he began to formulate a personal
goal of working outside Switzerland. This was not se easy, as Switzerland
is not part of the European Union and there are many work permit problems
for young Swiss nationals. However, he did manage to spend twelve months
in the UK and then stepped up to assistant front office manager in a hotel
in Munich.
This work experience away from his native Switzerland
whetted his appetite for further overseas experience. “I wanted to get
further away, so you apply all over the world.” Seeing an advertisement
for the Amari Group in Thailand he applied and ended up three years ago
getting the position of executive assistant manager at the Amari Airport
in Bangkok, under Pierre-Andre Pelletier (a previous GM at the Amari
Orchid Resort, and another well-known name in Pattaya).
He was initially a little apprehensive. He had spent a
week in Bangkok as a tourist in 1990 and was not impressed. The traffic
problems making the nation’s capital an unattractive place from his
point of view; however, he found that he enjoyed the Amari Airport. “The
Airport was always fascinating with 500 staff - in Switzerland a hotel
usually has about 100 staff only.” While still at the Amari Airport he
was promoted to resident manager and acknowledges a debt to Pierre-Andre
Pelletier for all his teaching and help.
It was this year that he was then offered the GM post
in Pattaya. “It was a dream come true, to be able to implement your own
ideas in the hotel.” Dominik was quick to point out that his position as
GM was not the most important for the hotel’s success. “It is
teamwork. All hotels these days have pools, bars and the like. The key to
success is through the staff. Nowadays in the hotel business you can only
survive with full commitment.”
At 33 years old, he is young and he understands that
there is much in front of him. “I have achieved much success so far -
but now it is full commitment to the hotel.” Dominik Stamm divides
success into business perspective and his personal side. “In this
business, success is a hotel where guests are happy to come and don’t
want to leave. For myself, the hotel should be a landmark. I want it to be
the best four star hotel in Pattaya.” He continued, saying, “As long
as I am happy in what I am doing this is, in a way, personal success.”
He does not have much time for hobbies, but enjoys
music, and even used to play the drums and saxophone in the Carnival in
Switzerland. He is currently learning golf, though admits to not being too
good at it yet, and of course, his other hobby of snow skiing is a little
out of the question in tropical Pattaya! Like so many other hoteliers,
there are not enough hours in the day for time consuming hobbies. “I am
married to the hotel,” he said. (Interestingly, I remember Pierre-Andre
Pelletier using the exact phrase during an interview many years ago!)
Married to the hotel he may be, and his life now that
of a committed hotelier but behind the smiling face there does lie a
philosopher. I asked him about his ambitions and regrets and he came out
with, “I am striving, in a way, to enjoy my daily life. Every day that
passes by is gone. It is difficult in a hectic world and we have to learn
to cope with this. In life you should not regret too much because regrets
don’t work. You have to live with the consequences of your decisions. If
anything goes wrong, analyse and learn from it. Don’t work with
‘excuse’ management.”
Likewise, his advice to the younger hotel people showed
that depth of philosophical thought. “You can only achieve success if
you are fully committed and give yourself goals and focus on them. You
have to make your goals reasonable and attainable. Stick to it and you
will be successful. Try to do your best.”
So that is the newest recruit at the Amari Orchid Resort. Welcome to
Pattaya Dominik.
