Hotels

Hotel Corner

Shane Pateman, Managing Director of Cordis, Hong Kong

Shane Pateman, Managing Director of Cordis, Hong Kong, opens up about his hotel and the hospitality industry

I started my career at ground level, washing up in a local hotel restaurant as a teenager. My passion for food and my working for Mövenpick in Switzerland while still young helped cement my love for the industry. I was always wanting to learn new things and gain new experience; working in hotels was a logical step.

My favourite part of the job is to see people excel and improve. This is an industry where people can still build careers from the bottom up and helping them to improve and develop is as big a reward as we can get.

The key to being a good general manager is giving a clear sense of direction, being decisive and making sure people are clear on where you are going. You need to stay close to them, talk to them and listen back to help them believe in and share your vision or direction. A general manager is nothing without a great team moving in the same direction with the same passion.

For our hotel, which was just rebranded in 2015, our location is our number one strength. Mongkok offers visitors a taste of the real Hong Kong, fascinating local markets, and great connectivity to the rest of the city. And we have all the facilities that one could ask for, including wow-factor views. The compliment we receive most though, of which I am very proud, is the level of care our staff put in going about their work; our guests are always stunned that we are a 600-room hotel as they receive time and attention from our staff that they only expect from a small hotel.

Hong Kong has changed much over the years. As a tourist attraction, the city offers new and old along side each other, the modern and the traditional, and a cool factor that makes the city interesting to explore – and it’s as safe as ever! Serving international visitors is in people’s blood here - Hong Kong has one of the longest traditions of welcoming international visitors in Asia.

What I love about Hong Kong is the contrast it offers between the hustle and bustle of the city and the great outdoors of the New Territories. I live in the New Territories and work in Mongkok, so I get to see the best of both sides. And it’s how accessible these areas are that makes Hong Kong so special.

My recommendation for tourists in Hong Kong? 1) Hong Kong is a foodie’s paradise and a strong food culture is in our DNA. Eat in a Michelin-starred restaurant and a Cha Chaan Teng, to see the wealth and breadth of our food culture in this city. 2) Explore some of the hiking trails in Hong Kong’s country parks where the scenery is even more stunning than the city’s skyline. 3) You are in a very safe city; don’t restrict yourself to the typical tourist hotspots, explore the local districts such as Sham Shui Po where the real Hong Kong lives and breathes every day.

(Edited on 5 Jun 2017)