by Dr. Iain
Corness
The director of food and beverage (F&B) at the
Cholchan Pattaya Resort is an affable Thai, Prayoon Chaitosa. Prayoon is
an ambitious man who believes in hard work and admits that his dedicated
work ethic may partly come from his 25% Chinese genetic background, but
there can be no getting away from the fact that he has got to where he is
today through personal effort. And loads of it.
He was born in Bangkok, the fourth child in a family of
five. His father was an office worker and mother stayed at home with the
most onerous task of all - that of being a housewife. His schooling was
also in Bangkok and his dedication showed early with excellent scholastic
results, where he was top of his class every year.
However, when he finished school it was necessary for
him to join the workforce and as he had no firm career path, he became a
salesman. However, he very quickly realised that this was not for him, and
when his elder brother suggested he join him in the hotel when a vacancy
came up for a waiter, he jumped at it.
This was much more to his liking and he rose very
quickly through the ranks, to captain, restaurant manager, catering
manager and then F&B manager. He admitted that he was picked very
early on for advancement and puts it down to the fact that when he was a
waiter he looked at the manager and decided he could do that job too. His
plan was simple, “I would study to see what the next stage (of
advancement) needed to know, what knowledge was needed in that job and
then I would attend seminars and training classes to get that
knowledge.”
He quickly knew that English language was going to be
necessary and put himself through a one year part-time course at Thammasat
University to accomplish this. If there were no hotel-sponsored courses,
then he was quite prepared to pay for his own education, he believed in
this concept so inherently.
During this advancement through the F&B ranks he
studied Political Science through Ramkamhaeng Open University. I felt that
was quite a departure from the hotel industry, but Prayoon felt otherwise.
“I need to know social movement, as that concerns business. For example,
the Bush administration in America and the Iraq confrontation affects
hotel occupancies by people from the UK and Europe, as the people do not
wish to travel.”
While continuing his career, moving around through
various five star hotels, he continued his studies, including courses from
the famous Cornell University, taking advantage of the Cornell
lecturer’s placement in Bangkok for a period of time.
Ambition drove him on, but he said, “I have a
realistic dream, not an impossible dream. When you study, just because you
might get a Batchelor’s or a Master’s, you should not stop. If there
is an opportunity, you must take it. Never stand still.”
That never standing still saw him moving through the
hierarchy of the F&B business and he acknowledges one GM, Walter
Jaermann, previously an F&B manager who taught him very well.
“Farangs and Thais have very different management styles. The farangs
are very tough. Easy bosses are easy to work for, but you learn very
little. The tough bosses give you discipline, and discipline is very
necessary.”
That ‘toughness’ worked, as Prayoon continued to
learn and continued to advance, even becoming the president of the
Beverage Association of Thailand. That continued advancement did mean that
Prayoon returned to single status. “If you have family problems you
cannot give 100% attention to the job.” You get the feeling that “the
job” gets top priority, so his single status comes as no surprise.
This is Prayoon’s second stint in Pattaya, having
previously worked for some of our five star hotels during the ’90s, but
his return to Pattaya to be the F&B director at the Cholchan Resort
did take some soul searching. “I didn’t want to leave Bangkok as I was
afraid that my name would disappear, but this hotel presents a great
challenge.” And challenges are something that Prayoon enjoys. “After I
found the hotel business as a career, I found I loved the challenges.
It’s not boring. Day by day you see different kinds of guests, there are
problems every day and it is a challenge to find the right solutions.”
Hobbies are also something of the past. He used to like
to play many sports but the time factor precludes him from most sports. He
does try to go to the hotel’s fitness centre for a few morning sessions
every week, but you can see that the work will always come first. “I
used to play the guitar when I was younger - but now I have no time,” he
said somewhat wistfully.
He has remained in Thailand as his career unfolds, yet
would like to work overseas one day - but the right position has to
present itself first. “I have had some offers, but I turned them down.
They were not at the right time.”
His advice for young people starting on the bottom rung
of the ladder, just as he did some years ago, was again directed at the
work ethic. “You must do as good as you can. If you do this, the next
day will automatically be better. Just continue to do your best.” This
he applies to himself as well. “My next challenge is to make this hotel
(Cholchan Resort) as good as I can. I will try my best.”
So that is Pattaya’s ‘newest’ F&B director, a man who has had
an eye to the future at all times, and has been prepared to work hard to
educate himself to elevate himself in his professional life. So where will
he end up? He does not know himself, but wherever it is, it will not be
through want of trying!
