B4 ACCOMMODATION refurbishment, I had to learn how to cope with massive upheaval and still make the property deliver. It was invaluable to find out how a bedroom was assembled from scratch and what needed to be taken into consideration to ensure that bedroom contributed once it was ready.” It is quite clear from talking to Andrew, that he sees every square foot of the property he is working in as an opportunity to drive income. At Malmaison, there has been an under-utilised gym in the basement for almost five years, and Andrew was quick to recognise that with a little imagination, this could be turned into a novelty suite which could add considerable value to his bottom line. It is this foresight and attention to detail which sets him apart from General Managers who are more concerned about accepting what they have rather than thinking laterally and getting more from their property. After six years in Edinburgh, Andrew’s chief source of inspiration, Robert Cook, had seen Andrew blossom into General Manager material. “Robert’s philosophy is that if you are good enough, you are old enough, and so he gave me the opportunity to go and take over Malmaison Leeds, my first General Manager’s role, in July 2006. As a Deputy
“It was a great endorsement for me, to be asked to launch a property, on Robert’s home turf, and really test what was his hotel, Malmaison Newcastle. I moved there in July 2008 and we opened in October. The opening was great, but before I knew it, I had been approached to come down to Oxford, which was very hard to say ‘no’ to. “Although I hadn’t had much to do with Oxford, it was where the Acorn Award Ceremony had been held, so already it held fond memories. That aside, the role is held with the highest regard in the group and that’s down to the uniqueness of the building itself and its history. So that raises the bar and makes this, quite easily, my biggest challenge. Expectations are high and the budgets and revenues are far superior to anything I’ve ever dealt with before.” Making an impression in Oxford is obviously high on Andrew’s agenda, and he is already making his mark. “One area we have under-utilised is the Visitor’s Room”, Malmaison’s impressive first floor bar area, ”and we are now targeting more functions to make it a stronger contributor. We have recently held events for sixty, and with a few changes here and there, I think we can make it an even more attractive function room. We need to try and give
previous customers keep returning.” It’s hard to see someone of Andrew Creese’s talents hanging around in one property for very long, and you wouldn’t bet against Robert Cook having another ‘project’ in mind for his ‘super sleuth’. “If Robert asked, I’d move on, but I am enjoying my time here and have a lot to do to get this hotel right, just the way I want it. I am gradually assembling my team, including Josh Watts who is my Brasserie Manager and the food and beverages ‘face’. Food and beverage is what Malmaison is all about, after all, Malmaison started as a small brasserie with twenty rooms. That was always the philosophy, to have food with some rooms, it’s just that the rooms have grown in proportion given the revenue they can generate.” This is a key factor which grates with Andrew, that potential customers see a hotel not a brasserie with rooms, and therefore assume they are not welcome. “The location in Oxford makes it doubly difficult for me to convince the uninitiated that we are open to everyone, especially as the brasserie is downstairs past the reception!” When you get there, Head Chef Russell Heeley is the one Andrew hopes will keep customers
“Making an impression in Oxford is obviously high on Andrew’s agenda”
“I knew I would make mistakes, but that’s the best way to learn. Leeds was great for introducing me to the importance of corporate networking, and as the UK’s second largest financial city, there was more than enough opportunity to perfect this aspect of my development.” Being a shopping Mecca, combined with (then) Premier League football and the circus which surrounded it, plus being a huge venue for international singers, Andrew became indoctrinated in the ways of celebrity. He was a huge success in his two years in Leeds, winning Yorkshire Hotel of the Year and also an Acorn Award, given every year to thirty individuals to watch out for in the catering business by The Caterer Magazine. Robert Cook then asked Andrew to open a new site, Hotel du Vin in Newcastle. Opening a new hotel for the group’s sister brand in a city which already boasted a successful Malmaison could have been perceived as an unfair challenge, but Andrew seized the opportunity, exercising his many talents to the full. He was also running alongside his guru, as Robert Cook, who, as a former General Manager of the local Malmaison, provided Andrew with the perfect link to get to know the scene in Newcastle.
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certain areas a lift, perhaps lighten up a few of the darker spaces and make a feature of some of the character aspects of the property. “I am also looking forward to hosting some big events here. With the experience of hosting Edinburgh’s 10th birthday party and Hotel du Vin Newcastle’s opening, I can’t wait to stage a three hundred plus party here for New Year’s Eve. We have also got to think about how we can make the site work for us in other ways, like putting glass sliding doors on some of the side rooms in the brasserie to attract smaller meetings and presentations to the hotel. “Jail House Rock kicks off in October and the thinking behind this is to have live bands in the Visitor’s Room, which will showcase the space to people who have never seen it before, and who will, hopefully, come back. I want to put the fun and naughtiness back into the hotel and inject a bit of Rock ‘n Roll. We have also launched a Visitors Pass for residents, who get two for one cocktails in The Visitors Room – it’s a cheeky slant on what every bar in the city is doing, but we are working on the origins of this place and trying not to devalue the product. “This is an incredible blank canvass for me, and with a bit of thought, we can turn this into Oxford’s hot spot. We need people to make that happen, and I want a Visitors Room host to connect with visitors and make them feel part of Malmaison Oxford. People will spend money if valued, a host and the bar team are the ones that will ensure
coming back. “Russell has been here since the hotel opened and is a major factor behind Malmaison Oxford’s success. Elaine Boddison in Housekeeping has also been here since day one, and Darren Sibbald, our property and maintenance manager, has been with the group for a long time and knows how the hotel works. Nicola Cooper is our new reservations manager from Hotel du Vin, Henley, and Giles Hammond is my right hand man who has developed through the ranks having spent time in Liverpool and Birmingham. Finally, Caroline Hopkin, who joins the team from Hotel Du Vin Henley, is our financial controller and keeps a tight rein on the finances, which is essential. The core team is therefore vital, and once I have appointed a bar manager, it will be complete. “I have got to be looking at making this team work for me, but to also have one eye on developing them as individuals, giving them the opportunities that I have been given and spotting which roles I can grow them into.” Andrew is nowhere near arrogant, but talks with the confidence and conviction of a management consultant who has just spent the last twelve years assessing how the hotel business is put together, preparing himself for the top job. Having met him and witnessed his single-mindedness, it would be a brave man to suggest the General Manager’s position at Oxford is anywhere near the role which Andrew is, ultimately, destined for. But while he’s here, expect him to make an impression. www.malmaison.com 41
Photography: www.studio-8.co.uk
Manager, you always have the General Manager to fall back on, but everything stopped with me in my new role, and I had more responsibility than I had ever had before. It was terrifying and exhilarating, all at once!