Youngest female GM in Yerevan helps us discover the new Golden Palace Hotel, as well as uncovers
the hardships of being a woman in a heavily male dominated hotelier sphere in Armenia.
Hi Theresa, please tell us
what is Golden Palace boutique
hotel and how is it different from
other luxury hotels in Yerevan?
olden Palace Boutique hotel is
the 3rd hotel opened by Golden
Palace Hotel LLC in Armenia. The
first hotel was opened on May 2005
located on 2/2 Azatutyan Avenue,
which is now operated under the
name “Radisson Blu Hotel”. On
March 2013 the company opened his
second hotel in Tsagkhadzor- Golden
Palace Hotel Resort & SPA. Golden
Palace Boutique hotel started to
accommodate his unique and luxury
clients at the end of 2017.
Among the finest five star hotels in
Yerevan, Golden Palace Boutique
Hotel is situated in the very city
center close to Republic Square with
the unparalleled views of the modern
and ancient Armenian streets. It
is just a footstep from luxurious
shops, restaurants and truly unique
sites. Our hotel offers an impressive
range of facilities and an unrivaled
standard of personal service and
sheer comfort.
G
What do you like the most
about the design of this hotel? What
would you highlight the most about
Golden Palace boutique hotel?
or us at Golden Palace, service is
a prime fundamental, we aim at
offering a perfect stay even for the
most demanding customers, thus
we commit ourselves to taking care
of every details to bring elegance,
comfort and sumptuousness to
their experience! The hotel’s design
is evident in the subdued colors,
discreet patterns and rich fabrics.
Complete with marble bathrooms
and classic Italian furnishings, the
soul of the Hotel lies in its charming
cultural decor. With just 36 guest-
rooms and suites, Golden Palace is an
unusual boutique hotel: a place where
your stay is crafted around your
individual needs. Slip into your plush
slippers and robe after a long day, and
experience the finest luxury the City
with almost three thousand years
of history it has to offer. Our guest
rooms and suites offer an inspiring
environment; the spacious windows
let the sunlight in and provide city
view of Yerevan.
And, by the way, we have changed
the name of the hotel. Now it is just
Golden Palace Hotel Yerevan.
F
How long have you been
holding the position of a GM in
this hotel? What difficulties did you
face as a GM? What was the biggest
challenge that you had to overcome,
or perhaps the challenge you faced
and are most proud of.
work at GP from pre-opening
time and the most difficult time
was during construction, as I was
not familiar with it. But at the same
time, it was great experience and
opportunity to know hotel from its
bones, how it is structured, and I
am grateful I was involved in those
processes as well as it helps me a
lot during my everyday work as a
GM. I have learned a lot of things
concerning the engineering and hotel
mandatory standards. In comparison
with other chain hotels, as a GM I
had to implement our standards and
build everything from 0.
I
Now let’s talk about how
you reached beyond the glass
ceiling (glass ceiling referring to
the difficulties women face when
trying to reach higher levels in their
career as opposed to men, who
don’t face the same difficulties just
because they are male). You are the
youngest female GM in Yerevan, is
it difficult to work and hold such
a high position in a dominantly
male hotelier environment in
Armenia? Do you face any kind
of discrimination based on your
gender?
he answer is simple, by hard work
and dedication. I always realize
that hotel business is 24/7 365 days a
year. So it demands lots of effort and
time and it always will. If you want
to do something good, it should be
difficult. The majorities of difficulties
I face are not so much due to my
gender, but rather my age. There is a
stereotype that young people are less
experienced and skillful.
T
What would you highlight
to be the hardest part of being a
female GM in Yerevan? What is the
relationship with the staff, do you
go along easily or you find there is
room for improvement?
eing a woman in any leadership
position isn’t easy, so one must
work harder and smarter. But I
love challenges. I do believe that
our industry is all about people.
So, the first thing was to have a
team who will love and care for GP
as much as I do and for this, I did
everything possible to make GP an
attractive place to work. To make
staff fill honored to work here and
to respect the rules and work ethic
standards that we implemented. I
put the hotel’s priorities in place by
hiring a team that Is professional
and willing to do something different
and making their own ordinary day
someone else’s extraordinary day. As
women, I believe that our maternal
instincts sometimes interfere too
often. On one hand, that makes us
great GMs, but we can also care too
much. It is difficult to make those
business decisions that negatively
affect people’s lives.
B
What do you think is the difference between the
way women and men run a hotel?
ost women naturally have a high emotional
intelligence, and this is important in the hotel
business where people serve people. Empathy helps you
anticipate guests’ needs – and also to get your team to
perform better in a work environment where you are “on
stage” most of the time.
M
How are you treated differently as a female GM?
f you do your job well, you will get your recognition,
but it will take a woman longer than it takes a man to
get to a top management level. Networking is important,
and it sometimes seems easier for women to help women
because there are so few of us. Too often, women are so
thrilled and thankful when they are offered a great position
that they don’t push back and negotiate like they should.
Men assume they will get the position, and salary is one of
the first things they fight for.
I
You have worked both in international chain
hotel and independent one. What kind of differences
you will highlight?
hese two types of hotels are two different realities.
Chain Hotels have a strict set of standards and
guidelines, giving staff a clear structure to follow. And
it is a great school. As for me, I am glad that my first
experience in this field was at Best Western Congress
Hotel. I was lucky to work under management of both
Italian and Armenian professionals and then to be part of
that team.
In independent hotels you should implement all
standards, procedures and regulations, as I did in Golden
Palace Hotel Yerevan. At the same time, there is this great
opportunity and freedom to create your own, you have
greater flexibility to change standards or policies when
necessary to smoothly adjust to the changing market
needs.
One of the biggest positives about working for an
independent boutique hotel is the smaller workforce, there
is a real family feel between staff members. Golden Palace
Hotel Yerevan is a place like this, where each member of
family does his/her best to make their own ordinary day
someone else’s extraordinary day.
T
Theresa Baghdasaryan, General
Manager of Golden Palace Hotel
After interview Theresa received an offer from Caucasus Hotel Complex to restart the hotel. Wishing her success
in such a challenging role.