by Dr. Iain
Corness
Mark Rummery is a young man with two regrets. Firstly
that he never played rugby for his country (although he is unsure of which
country that is), and secondly that he never saw the group Queen in
concert. However, he is certainly in the "Rock" industry here,
being the executive assistant manager of the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya.
Mark, who has one older sister, a twin sister and two
younger brothers, was born in Birmingham, "But I never really lived
there." He certainly has a British accent, but not the "Brummy"
whine. His genetic background is interesting too, with his mother being a
Berliner German, while his father is English. Mother is the outgoing party
type, while father is the more traditional English tea and muffins and
wave the Union Jack style. This division of parental loyalties has made it
such that in sporting contests when England plays Germany, he is unsure of
whom to barrack for.
He was a middle of the road student and enjoyed the
sciences and psychology, even studying this up to "A" levels.
"I wanted to understand people," he explained. However, the
years between "O" levels and "A" levels were more of
what Mark described as a "breathing space", rather than
following a decided career path. In fact, his venture into the hospitality
industry was prompted by his mother, but not in the way she had planned.
Mrs Rummery felt he should join the army and young Mark
agreed, hoping that he could get into the Army Air Corps, but after being
told that the only way he could get into an army aeroplane was to jump out
of the tail of it with a parachute on his back, he turned down the offer.
By that stage, he wanted to leave home, but needed full
board. Where does a young man get this? Working in a hotel, that’s
where, so he looked at the hospitality industry, taking a position with a
large UK chain.
It was then he realised that hospitality is a
"people" industry and the study of people was his ongoing
interest. By chance he had found his niche, having hitched his wagon to
the hospitality star. The right move for all the wrong reasons!
So, like everyone, he started at the bottom and began
his time as a waiter and in the kitchen as a chef. "I always had an
interest in food and drink. It seemed the way to go." He also added,
"We ex-waiters feel that academic qualifications (alone) may not be
the right way." However, he did later take training courses as well,
graduating finally from the Hotel and Catering Institute of Management,
but he still describes himself as a ‘hands-on’ manager. "I’m
not afraid of carrying plates," he added.
Small hotels he found were not his forte, so he moved
to London to expand his borders. He enjoyed the vibrant life of the big
city, but also enjoyed the tranquillity of Hartley Wintney, on the Old
London Road. The "village" life had an appeal and at one stage
he was the county high jump champion. For a while it looked as if he had
settled, but only for a while.
"London wasn’t big enough, so I went to
Asia," his first appointment being in Macau, at the famed Lisboa
Casino. From there, like most people in the hotel industry, especially
those with an eye to the way up, a rapid succession of jobs is the norm.
He has worked, in addition to Macau, in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and
now Thailand.
One of the groups he had always wished to be working
for was with the Hard Rock Hotels. Being offered the EAM post here this
was eagerly seized. "It was a dream come true." He continued,
"I have always believed that if you think about something long
enough, then it will happen." This example of PMA (positive mental
attitude) is something that Mark believes in, having read the major works
since Dale Carnegie. "Management books are necessary. They’re
great." He has also been a great believer in self education within
the industry. "I have used the industry as my own learning
experience, and have found that common sense goes a long way." He
describes himself as a self starter and a self believer, but says,
"Everyone needs guidelines."
His concept of success was not the usual ‘get to the
top of my tree’ response. "Success is not necessarily achievable.
There are little achievements on the way, like hurdles you get over, but I
have no aspirations of being a rich guy on the top of the hill. You just
need enough money and material possessions to be comfortable."
His hobbies include reading and staying abreast of
current affairs, something which he considers important in his job. He
plays chess and the piano and has been a good rugby footballer, though he
now describes himself as being "at the edge of my rugby career."
He may not have played for England (or Germany!) but was the captain of
the Asia renowned "Spotted Dog" team, which has played here in
Pattaya. He is being inveigled to join the Pattaya Panthers, but is a
little worried that at his age (37) he may be tempting fate. (He has
obviously not seen all the Panthers!)
He does have the ambition to be a GM. "I would
like to run a property just to show myself that I can do it," but it
was also obvious that Mark Rummery just enjoys working in the industry,
and the stated goal was just one of perhaps many, and not the sole burning
desire.
A family man, he is here with his Chinese wife Jan and two young sons,
Samuel and Trystan, and is the latest addition to the Hard Rock Hotel’s
line up. At 6’2" he has the weight to throw around if he needs to,
but his smiling personality will get him the results without it.
