focus_contributor.
BUSINESS
TAHSHI PAYNE
MINDS
with LAUREN MCALLISTER AND SIMON BANK FROM WEBSTUDIO
Y
ou have been appointed GM of the Mercure Hotel - congratulations! Can you share with us where you’ve come from and the incredible experience you bring to the table? Looking back, I’ve had some really diverse roles over the years! My background is predominantly in management and marketing in the corporate world. I have been fortunate for the last 15 years to work with some great companies, including eBay, FOXTEL and Macquarie Bank. These roles have all been great experiences and really helped me to develop my marketing and management skills! They have also allowed me to have exciting progression in my career. Did you always see yourself in a role like this? Does it fall into the career plan you had for yourself? At the start of my career, I taught snowboarding in Canada and worked in some fantastic hotels over there! This is where my love of hospitality and travelling began and it’s something I’ve always been drawn to. In terms of my ‘career plan’ - being a GM of a hotel wasn’t something I had thought much about! But I have always enjoyed this industry - it’s fast paced, there is never a dull moment. It also incorporates a number of my core skills and experience. I was already doing some consultancy work with Flower Hotels (and loving it!) so I knew hospitality was going to be a big part of my professional life. But I’ve definitely hit the ground running - there is a lot to be done, but there have already been
110 GREATER PORT MACQUARIE
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some amazing rewards. venue, as GM? What are your first big What do you think has been the most priority actions in this role? important driving force for your career, My key focus for this first month has been to get you where you are today. Was it ensuring we maintain our strong team and education? Experience? Networking? the right staff, to provide the best guest Timing? experience. We regularly receive wonderful I think a lot has come down to experience feedback from the guests who stay in the and networking. A component of my hotel about how friendly and helpful our staff marketing degree was that we had to are. undertake over 400 hours of work placement There is so much potential! We plan to throughout the course. renovate and update This was the perfect place - while continuing to to start as it allowed me provide a great place I have always to try a number of roles for people to stay, for admired the and it ultimately led both a holiday and for to me gaining my first business. A strong focus relationship that real marketing role for is connecting with the Alistair and the Flower Sutherland Shire Council. community, so they Hotels Group has with The people I have met are aware of what we the local community. over the years and the have to offer. We want relationships I have to provide them with developed have really excellent function spaces helped me progress over the years. Those long - as well as a hotel they can feel proud to term relationships bring me so much joy - and recommend to visiting family and friends. really, that’s why we do what we do! I know you are excited about the rooftop What is it about this role that you are level - any plans you can give us a sneaky most excited about? preview of? I have always admired the relationship that The rooftop is such a great element of Alistair and the Flower Hotels Group has with the hotel and something we are working on the local community. I am looking forward to renovating very soon. We have some exciting bringing and strengthening that community ideas and want it to be the place where locals element in this venue. The Mercure brand has can hold that really special function. We also a strong presence nationally under the Accor want it to look and feel like the beautiful brand. This will help us continue to appeal to beachside area we live in - light and bright. people - both nationally and internationally We will also be looking to host unique onewhen they visit this sensational region. off events - so everyone in the region gets a Can you tell us about your vision for the chance to experience it. Stay tuned!
