Successfully Yours: Nick Bauer

by Dr. Iain Corness

The new resident manager of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s Royal Wing and Spa is Nick Bauer, an interesting mix which has produced a strong minded and remarkably capable young man.

A “Luk Krung”, Nick was born in Bangkok, his mother being Thai and his father a German chemical engineer. When he was four years old they moved to Germany where young Nick went to school for the next 10 years. He was interested in his studies but found life was not easy. “It was a difficult time because I didn’t look German.” This perceived intolerance ended when he was finally enrolled in an “international” school.

With his father being transferred to Hong Kong, the international schooling continued, where Nick found the open minded approach of different people, different races and opinions in life very appealing.

After completing his secondary education he was unsure of a career so took on part-time teaching positions, doing some tennis coaching and fashion modelling. At this he was successful and even ended up in some Chinese movies. This prompted an interest in fashion designing, but after finding out that Karl Lagerfeld was forced to live in a garret for his first 10 years, this did not look like a fun option.

Around this time his father began to suggest that Nick should study “something with substance” and follow his lead into chemical engineering. However, Nick, a gregarious chap, had young friends who were in the hospitality industry who suggested that being a hotelier would be more to his liking.

So Nick took himself to Europe to do a Kitchen and Service course where he learned the basics of being a cook and waiting on tables. This did not please his father, nor did his next move, to the accredited hotel management school, the Centre International de Glion in Switzerland. He emerged from there with a degree in Hotel Administration but opted not to follow on to Cornell in the USA. “I wanted to start work and earn some money!” He also wanted to know the quick way to the top, asking of various GM’s from which direction had they come. F&B (Food and Beverage) was the common answer.

It did not take him long to enter the F&B workforce, being snapped up by a Hong Kong group joining as a management trainee. Very quickly he was put in charge of training the trainees, because he had experience in silver service and cooking. However, he was a typically brash young lad and was capable of ruffling feathers, so it was decided that he should be sent to Xian in China as part of the pre-opening team. This knocked off some of the rougher edges and he was then sent to Shanghai as part of the re-opening team at the Hilton.

His position was that of restaurant manager and he was 24 years old. He was given 30 days to get the restaurant up and running. Purchasing cookbooks he would practice himself at night and then teach his new skills the next day. It was tight, but it opened on time. “I survived,” Nick said and laughed.

After that, he visited his parents who were holidaying in Thailand and was immediately attracted to the Kingdom. “What am I doing in China?” was his question. He knew Rene Pisters (now the GM at the Thai Garden Resort) who put him in touch with the GM of a family owned resort in Phuket and he joined to become a real department manager.

That in turn led to an appointment as a resident manager at another property in Phuket and then later to join another large group and was posted to Koh Samui. There he gained experience in the Rooms Division - a real hands-on posting as he found it was at least 20% understaffed and he had to fill in where required! However, after a while island life was a little restrictive. “I’ve got to get off this island - I’m starting to look like a coconut.”

Now aged 31 years he moved to Bangkok to a Thai owned group as an F&B Director. “I found out what it was like to be a hotelier exposed to Thai ‘society’ people.” From there it was a similar position in Chiang Mai, but was then attracted back to Phuket to rise to a challenge in sales and marketing. He rose, very successfully, only to find that the events of September 11th last year and the subsequent tourist downturn were to end up making him redundant.

Going to the International Tourism Bourse in Germany this year, he met Panga Vathanakul, the owner of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and he was interviewed for the resident manager’s position at the Royal Wing and Spa. When offered the job at the interview in Pattaya, he took it immediately.

I asked him during a lull in the conversation what nationality he was. “German” was the immediate answer, but he went on to say, “It’s a complete nightmare. I am a ‘Luk Krung’ but I don’t work according to Thai patterns. (For me) there’s black and white - no greys.”

For this young man on the way up, success is, “To be able to walk through a business I manage and see customers and staff smile at me. A genuine smile where they are happy with the service provided by the business.”

He is obviously a gregarious and ‘driven’ person, but he also likes his solitude. “It’s good for you, both physical and mental. Gives you a chance to think about what you want.” That can be seen in his hobbies of motorcycle riding and marathon running, where he can plan his next move on the run.

And the next move is to gain that coveted post as a GM in around five years. “You need to be old enough to have credibility with the customers, staff and owners.” With his talents and European efficiency he will certainly do it. I have no doubts. Welcome to Pattaya, Nick.