Local Personalities

Erwann Mahe

by Dr. Iain Corness

The new GM at the Mercure Hotel in Pattaya is a supremely confident young, 31 year old, Erwann Mahe. To state that he has an old head on young shoulders is not far from the truth. In fact it is difficult to imagine that he is quite so young. “I know my strengths and my weaknesses,” he said simply.
Erwann was born in France, in Brittany, the only son of two teachers. It was an academic family, but it was obvious very early that teaching and academia was not for him. “My reports said ‘Has a lot of potential but always does the minimum’. I was lazy but good!”
Being in a family of teachers did have certain advantages, however. Holidays. Lots of them. The family used to travel, and so at an early age Erwann was exposed to different cultures in destinations such as other European countries, the West Indies and Africa. When I asked what it was that he liked from these holidays he replied, “I was fascinated by the people working in the hotels.”
After finishing his secondary schooling, which gave him a good grounding in economics, as well as an ability to speak English and German as well as his native French, he knew what he wanted to do. “I always enjoyed communicating with people,” so he went to hotel management school for the next three years. “The only other alternative was to be a policeman, but my parents were happy I didn’t choose that.”
After graduation his first job was as a manager of a Pizza Hut outlet in Paris. “It was good experience. There were 40 staff, but I soon realized this was not what I wanted.”
The next foray into the world of hospitality was to work as a busboy on a cruise liner, based in Puerto Rico. “You always have to start as a busboy,” said Erwann, “but I finished after 12 months as head waiter.” Cruise ships are not quite as romantic a posting as you might imagine. Especially when you are fairly well at the bottom of the pecking order. He would get one afternoon off per cruise and worked 14-16 hours a day. The alleyway from the dining salon to the crew quarters was even known as the ‘corridor of death’!
Despite this, Erwann did comment that you do get to see the world, and you can make good money from the tips. He also said that life on a cruise ship is for many, like a drug. “It can be difficult to get out of it, and they are really different people. Some are avoiding military service.”
However, Erwann was not one of those. After his unreal adventures on the cruise liner he returned to France to do his compulsory national service of 10 months, which he completed as a military policeman. This 10 month stint was enough to reassure him that he really wanted to be in the hotel business, and so he joined the 1,000 room Concorde La Fayette in Paris. There he was one of the eight banquet managers, working with their convention center.
It was here that he found the advantages that can come from youthful enthusiasm. During his management training he had spent some time in a hotel on Martinique, and his superior there contacted him with an offer of a position with the Accor group. This was the opportunity to become the F&B (food and beverage) manager in the Novotel in Paris. He, naturally enough, took it. Erwann became quite philosophical at this point, saying, “Management training is really a test. You pass it, or you don’t.” Yet how many young men really understand this? Not so many!
And so he went to the Novotel in Paris, where he was to spend the next three years, but travel was in his blood, ever since the days of family holidays, and he requested Accor to post him somewhere overseas. “I never intended to stay in France. I wanted to move and work abroad.”
This next posting was to Houston, Texas, to the Sofitel, and he ended up as an F&B director and spent three years in the USA. There he learned the importance of numbers. “The job is all related to numbers. You have to adapt. If you do well, they trust you.”
They did, and when he asked for a transfer to Asia he was put in contact with Accor in Bangkok and in turn with the Sofitel in Khao Lak. There he was to be the executive assistant manager. It was 2004 and the unthinkable was about to happen. “The tsunami ended my job,” said Erwann, quietly.
He returned to Bangkok but was then sent to the Novotel Panwa Phuket to be a GM. “It was just a small hotel and we were re-branding. Only 80 rooms.” However, he was still very young at 30 years of age to be a GM. This is where Erwann showed his maturity, despite his youth. “Everyone talks about age. But you are bringing energy, new eyes, new trends, but you lack experience and patience. But a good team helps you balance those things.” He continued, “I know my strengths and weaknesses. I read a lot about personal analysis.”
He is also a goal setter. “I do set personal goals, I’m very goal oriented. I have a five year plan. Everything is written until I am 35.” (He is currently 31 years old.)
After his 18 months in Phuket, he has now taken on the much larger Mercure in Pattaya, and he is enjoying the challenge. “In Asia, you have full control of your property, not like Europe which has central control.” Erwann is certainly an independent character, and so fits well in the Asian hospitality scene.
He also enjoys Muay Thai and a Kawasaki Ninja 900 motorcycle. His hobbies also include diving, golf and good food, as you would expect a Frenchman to do! Erwann Mahe will fit in here very well.