lagniappe
Tony CosTa
general manager , mandarin Oriental , tOkyO
Growing up in Glasgow , Scotland , Tony Costa watched his father make a living in the hotel business . That example helped start him on a professional path that has spanned more than 20 years in hospitality and has included senior management positions at a number of hotels in Europe and Hong Kong . Costa was appointed to his current position in September 2012 , and although he loves the job , he wishes he had more time for golf and his two kids , ages 17 and 9 .
What is your hotel pet peeve ? Cold bathroom floors .
What is your favorite travel item ? It ’ s a toss-up between my Kindle and my James Perse sweatshirt .
What is one thing most people don ’ t know about you ? I am petrified of snakes .
What is on your nightstand ? I have taken an interest in Japanese literature . I am on my second novel by Jun ’ ichiro Tanizaki — “ Naomi .” His first novel I read was “ In Praise of Shadows ” — truly beautiful writing .
What celebrity would you most like to meet ? Dinner with Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres over pizza would be an evening to remember !
If you were not a hotelier , what would you be ? I would have loved to be an architect , but I was useless at art and drawing .
Who taught you your biggest lesson , and what was it ? I always remember my first boss , Dick Beach , saying to me , “ Son , people aren ’ t like tools . If you break them you can ’ t replace them .” I suppose I was young , enthusiastic and everything else that went with it at that time . His advice changed my entire approach from that moment on .
What was your most embarrassing moment on the job ? Oh , a real Mr . Bean moment ! I was a young manager in charge of a dinner for the Duke of Edinburgh . There were about 200 people in the room at the time , and we had just had a new lighting system put in . The speeches were taking forever , and as I was behind the top table I was getting tired and leaned back on the wall to take a little weight of my feet . I didn ’ t realize the new switch was behind me , and when I touched the panel the entire room fell to darkness , with only the light from the candelabra . There I was fumbling with the switch to try and get the light back . I just wanted the floor to swallow me .
What is your favorite hotel ( other than your own )? I love a ryokan in Izu , Japan , called Asaba . It is such a wonderful setting — so tranquil — there is great food and the people are just wonderful .
What is your best hotel memory ? When I worked at the Four Seasons Dublin we had the opening weekend of the 2003 Special Olympics . Everyone was in town — we had Muhammad Ali and Nelson Mandela and an array of stars . I recall sitting down at 3 a . m . and writing the hotel manager ’ s log . I wrote about how proud I was of the team ’ s hard work and passion , and I wrote , “ It ’ s days like these that make me so proud to be in this industry .”
72 HOTELS May 2014 www . hotelsmag . com