The general manager of the Regent Chiang Mai
Resort and Spa, a Four Seasons Resort, to give him his full
title, is Michael Kemp, an Englishman with twinkling eyes and a
keenly developed sense of humour. He is a man who characterizes
his own description of a hotelier, “The right person with the
right character.”
Michael was born in the UK, near Manchester,
which could hardly be described as the Chiang Mai of England.
His father was middle management in a chemical factory, which
could also not be described as being part of the hospitality
industry; however, his mother ran a small family bakery and
young Michael had to take his turns at helping light the coke
fired ovens and do deliveries after school and at weekends, with
his elder brother and sister.
School was not his passion in life. “I
didn’t seem to fit,” he said with another twinkle, “I went
to A levels, but I didn’t get any!” So after secondary
school, where could he go? With the Bakery business at home, and
his elder brother headed in that direction, the family idea was
that Michael should head in that direction as well. Brochures
from the Blackpool College of Bakery were given to him to study,
but Michael spotted that this college also had courses in Hotel
Management. This looked better to the young man. “You didn’t
have to get up early as you had to do as a baker!” So for
those noble reasons, he commenced his three year training in
Hotel Management, completing his training with good grades and a
wish to travel the world.
During the time at Blackpool he had also done
vacation work in a steak house chain, and contacts made there
got him a position as the assistant manager in a small hotel. He
was also 21 years old. The assistantship lasted six weeks at
which time the manager left and six weeks out from college, he
was suddenly a manager and stayed there for two and a half
years.
Having been to Europe on holidays he still
had this burning desire to work overseas, but his next posting
was only over Hadrian’s Wall. Up to Scotland where he spent
the next three and a half years hiking in the heather, rather
than the ski slopes of St. Moritz.
However, the owner of the hotel bought two
properties in Jamaica, and Michael was off and running to the
warmer climes. His owner wished to develop hotels and Michael
was caught up with the enthusiasm. With his scant knowledge of
hotel development, Michael described his initial foray as being
“like jumping off a cliff.”
He survived the jump and many more after it,
spending fifteen years in Jamaica, running exclusive hotels for
the rich and famous, mentioning Noel Coward and Sir Paul
McCartney as a couple of his regular stay guests.
During this time, he also met up with the
personal assistant to the head of the Regent Group, a young
American lady named Karen. They were both busy people, but would
meet up every year. From this annual get-together, they decided
that perhaps they should get further together and eventually
they were married in 1988.
The relationship with the Regent Group was
further enhanced with the post of GM of the Regent of Fiji being
offered that year as well. This was after one of the coups, in
which Fiji began to rival Thailand of the post war period, and
it was a struggle to get consumer confidence back to restart the
tourist economy.
Michael stayed with the Regent of Fiji for
eight years and enjoyed the climate and locale immensely.
However, even island paradises have to come to an end one day,
and for Michael it was when the owners of the hotel decided to
sell out, and that meant everything. This was the opportunity
for Michael and Karen to regroup and decide where their next
move would be. In the interim, they took six months off and went
to America.
America was a real holiday, including driving
from northern Idaho to Key West in Florida, doing the
sightseeing and things that all holidaymakers do. However, like
all holidays, it does become necessary to return to the land of
the workers!
For Michael and Karen, that was a return to
the Regent name, coming here for the opening of the Regent in
Chiang Mai in January 1997. It is probably unfair to ask a GM to
compare his hotel with previous ones, but for Michael he was
forthright in his answer, “All places are very different, but
this (Regent Chiang Mai) is the place with the most
advantages.”
Part of the attraction of living and working
here in the hospitality industry comes from working with the
Thai people themselves, according to Michael. “Thais are so
concerned that people enjoy themselves. This is very special,”
said Michael.
He and Karen have no children, “We were a
bit past it by the time we got married. When you’re running
hotels it’s like having an enormous family. It’s not
something you can switch off when you lock the door of the
office.”
That concept of not leaving the worries
behind when you lock the office door extends into Michael’s
private life as well, leaving little or no time for hobbies. His
spare time goes into just keeping in touch with friends all over
the world.
He firmly believes that to be a hotelier you
have to be completely committed. He does perceive a shift in the
industry from ‘service’ to ‘profit’, though he was quick
to point out that service is still the number one priority in
his resort. “It’s a time consuming business,” he says, but
he also believes that, “For the right person, with the right
character, you can only enjoy it.”
Michael has enjoyed his life, and is thinking about
retirement in the not too distant future, however, I cannot see
him away from hotels for too long!
