PERSONALITIES
“ I DON ’ T THINK I COULD WORK IN A PLACE WITHOUT A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR . WE ’ RE NOT BRAIN SURGEONS HERE , YOU KNOW . IT ’ S OK TO MAKE A MISTAKE .” — GINNY TOO
differentiator is our culture . And the key to promoting our culture and to sustaining it is to make sure we hire the right people . As Bill [ Kimpton ] would say , hire the right people and then get out of their way and trust them . Let them do their thing , what they ’ re good at .
H : You received your undergraduate in psychology and a master ’ s in counseling . How did you transition into hospitality ? GT : I ’ ve always loved the industry , and that ’ s because when I was young , my parents owned a laundry business that catered to hotels , restaurants and bars . I ’ ve always been around those properties and loved it . If you think about it , a hotel is a place where people from all backgrounds , from all regions and all perspectives kind of converge . It ’ s such a great environment . That ’ s when I first started to really be interested . Of course , after I graduated from university , I did not go right into hospitality . Actually , I started off as a social worker and went on to work for General Motors and Delco Automotive in HR . When I was in Asia , an opportunity came up , and I was offered an opportunity to work for IHG , leading the Asia region based in Singapore .
H : What was one of your biggest learns in this industry ?
GT : When was at IHG , I had a really great mentor who was an executive level in HR , and what she taught me was – if we don ’ t love our people , how do we expect our people to love our guests ?
Actually , I do have one rule in my department that I make sure people follow . It ’ s called the 15-minute rule . When we make a mistake or when something goes wrong , we ’ re allowed 15 minutes to feel as bad as we want to , and beyond that , any minute is to be spent on fixing the problem and learning from it . H : That ’ s a good lesson across life . GT : Yes , that ’ s right . I do that for my personal life , too . H : How important is having a sense of humor in the hotel workplace ?
GT : I don ’ t think I could work in a place without a great sense of humor . We ’ re not brain surgeons here , you know .
In April , Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants made number one on Fortune ’ s list of the 25 best workplaces in the San Francisco Bay Area , 2017 .
It ’ s OK to make a mistake . The other thing I think is important about humor is that it connects people , and it creates a bond that shortens the distance between two people wherever they are in life .
You know , you asked me what do I enjoy about being in the hotel industry , and it ’ s to be able to see people grow . I would describe myself as a talent addict . It ’ s wonderful to be able to bring people in , groom them , develop them , see them succeed and just give them all they need , mentor them , teach them , train them , and sit back and watch the magic happen . That ’ s the most rewarding feeling that anybody could have , in my mind .
18 hotelsmag . com November 2017