HOTELIER OF THE WORLD AWARDS
changed my life as many have , he spread it everywhere . I was very lucky , I thank him for being my mentor , my friend , a second father .”
JOCHEM ’ S BOOK Like many hoteliers who have followed a traditional European career arc , Jochem started out in food and beverage . After an entry-level catering position with Eurest Nestle in France , in 1985 he moved to London to take on his first hotel post , as food and beverage director at the Hyatt , Carlton Tower , Park Hyatt . From there , he transferred to The Regent in Bangkok , where he joined a team that renovated and repositioned the F & B outlets and created new ones , including banquet facilities .
By 1990 , Jochem moved to Hong Kong to help open the Island Shangri-La ; after that experience he made the leap to operations , taking on the resident manager spot at Le Saint Geran Hotel in Mauritius . His next stop was another big step : the Peninsula Group ’ s Palace Hotel in Beijing , where he was hotel manager for four years . There , he managed a staff of 1,700 , oversaw a renovation of half the hotel and development of a retail and shopping arcade . From there he moved to The Oberoi in New Delhi , followed by The Pierre , Four Seasons in New York , also as hotel manager .
Jochem took on his biggest challenge yet in 2002 : the complete renovation and repositioning of the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi . The seven-year project elevated him to general manager , then vice president . By the end of the work , annual profits at the hotel had grown from US $ 1.5 million in 2002 to US $ 27 million .
“ It was a beautiful property that had really fallen to sleep and had not been properly managed for 30 to 40 years ,” Jochem recalls . The owners gave him free rein to do what needed to be done with the property and its 1,000-person team —“ renovate , reposition , relaunch and
RENOVATE , REPOSITION , RELAUNCH AND RETRAIN — A TO Z IN TERMS OF PEOPLE , PRODUCT AND PROFITS . I COULD WRITE A BOOK .
– PIERRE JOCHEM ON HIS STINT AND COMPLETE REPOSITIONING OF THE IMPERIAL IN NEW DELHI
22 hotelsmag . com July / August 2021