The executive assistant manager of the Dusit Resort in
Pattaya is a young German national, Ingo Rauber. He, in common with many
of his race, is precise, efficient and punctual. I had agreed to meet him
at 1 p.m. in the foyer and promptly at 1 p.m. he appeared. That in itself
is so refreshing in this country.
Ingo was born in Detmold in central Germany, one of two
sons to a pharmaceutical company employee and his wife. The boys’
grandparents owned a hotel, and it was they who stimulated their interest
in the hospitality industry, with Ingo’s brother now the assistant
general manager at a hotel in Frankfurt.
His initial schooling was also in Detmold and he
entered school when he was 4 years old. “I didn’t like
kindergarten,” said Ingo. His school was also notable as it had
previously been an all girls school and Ingo was one of the first two boys
enrolled. He related that they even had to be escorted to the toilet, as
there was initially no dedicated “boys” toilet.
He
described himself as a “lazy student” but it was in the hotel where he
really worked. “Even when I was only 6 or 7 years old I was helping out
in the restaurant.” By the time he was 16 he knew that his future lay in
the hospitality industry and he began two apprenticeships (restaurant and
hotel) back to back. Both of these were supposed to be 3 year courses, but
he completed the first in two and a half years and the second in 18
months. This was a feat that had never been done before and he ended up
with an award for the achievement from the president of Germany.
He had received an offer to go to America, which he
then seized and went to Boston as a management trainee in the Westin Hotel
for 12 months. After this he returned to Germany to join the famous
Bayerischerhof in Munich. When I asked did he know why they singled him
out he replied that he was actually hired over the phone while he was in
America. “I don’t know why they picked me - maybe I was good on the
telephone.”
After a year there as the chief steward he was promoted
to assistant F&B manager. This made him the youngest F&B manager
in Germany, “...and certainly for my age the highest paid one!” Ingo
said and laughed.
However, after stints in the Atlantik Kempinski and the
Berlin Esplanade hotels, where he was the director of F&B, Ingo made a
decision that was to change his life’s career direction. He decided to
leave his homeland. “I found I didn’t like Germany any more. It had
become too much profit oriented. They were cost cutting and providing less
value for the people. The attitudes of the German people were not good
either.”
He contacted a friend of his, Ingo Peters, who had been
his boss in America and was at that time the GM of the Phuket Yacht Club,
to see if there were any openings in Thailand. Peters’ advice was not to
stay in Germany and send applications, but to rather come here and apply
in person. That he did, and landed a position with the Bangkok Hilton
almost immediately.
Doors then began to open for this energetic young man,
and he went to Vietnam where for 14 months, as the director of F&B, he
began to set up the Grand Hanoi Lakeview for its opening. Unfortunately,
one month before opening the company went bankrupt, but Ingo literally
walked across the road where they were building the Meritus Westlake to be
their director of F&B for their opening, three years later.
After the opening he was snapped up by the Dusit group
and he was placed in Manila. The F&B section of the hotel was barely
profitable at 5%. In two years he took the F&B profitability to 25%
and that was enough to take his career one step further up the ladder,
becoming the executive assistant manager in January 2000.
With his experience in hotel openings, the Dusit then
sent him to Dubai for the opening of the Dusit there, and this was then
followed up with a transfer back to Thailand and the post of executive
assistant manager, Dusit Resort, Pattaya.
His advice to those about to commence in this field
mirrors his own experiences. “Grab as much knowledge as possible. Get
experience in different hotels. If you stay too long in one hotel you
become blind - you eventually don’t see what is happening around you.”
He has managed to avoid the matrimonial trap thus far,
but with his lifestyle of early rising (6 a.m.) and finishing when the
hotel quietens down around 10 p.m. does not leave much time for romantic
interludes. He does admit to a couple of close calls, once in Vietnam and
once with Miss Philippine Universe, but at this stage he is currently
unattached.
Ingo’s definition of success is not surprisingly,
“Having happy people around you at the end of the day. Guests,
shareholders and your boss!” After all, the man is in the business of
ensuring that everyone is happy in Pattaya!
For hobbies, Ingo looks for fun and relaxation. “A
few beers, or even a disco. Everything we do at work has a deadline
attached to it, so I need to be able to switch off.”
There is no doubt about Ingo Rauber’s dedication to
his craft. He is a professional, and during the interview he received a
call from his boss. Ingo’s response was “I’ll do it right away.”
You just know that he will. I asked him if his efficiency was the Teutonic
one from his heritage. He replied, “It is my Teutonic efficiency
combined with being a Virgo,” and he smilingly finished our interview.
Ingo Rauber is a name to watch. He has a great future.
