Salutions Publications | People
Leading from the back Michael Lavizani, General Manager of QHotels’ Mottram Hall He was subsequently fast-tracked into management, although Lavizani says: “I only saw it as a stepping stone until I got a ‘proper’ job in banking.” Truth be told, he was a rising star; quickly gaining promotion and personally accepting that his people skills, inherent as a young Iranian, coupled with his analytical training, would serve him well as the business progressed into the computer era. Joining Michael Purtill at Principal Hotels would be the start of a successful business relationship that has continued for over 26 years. Today, Purtill is still Lavizani’s boss, as he presides over the group of 26 QHotels. In 2013, Purtill sent him to their ailing Telford hotel, which was struggling post the recession and many businesses in the area were closing down. Following Purtill’s mantra of keeping people at all costs, Lavizani set out to turn around the hotel’s fortunes using the existing staff. Having restored their belief and family spirit, the hotel rose to become ‘Hotel of the Year’ in 2014. Lavizani is very proud of his legacy and brings this same ethos to his management style at Mottram Hall.
Photography: Mike Browne
Michael Lavizani’s route into hotel management was far from the traditional journey taken by most. Having left Tehran, he attended Sacred Heart school in Hertford before graduating from the London School of Economics with an economics degree. Listen to Lavizani’s story, and it’s evident that his Iranian family values and financial background have played a major part in his successful career. Like many undergraduates, Michael needed extra cash, which he earned as a hotel night porter. This brought him into contact with Thistle Hotels, then owned by Scottish & Newcastle breweries. At the time of his graduation in 1985, the market was struggling, but things took a fortunate turn thanks to the hotel’s Personnel and Training Manager who spotted Lavizani’s potential and offered him a place on their management training course.
His predecessor James Stewart had served Mottram Hall (formerly De Vere) well, before handing over the reins of Cheshire’s finest golf and leisure resort. Lavizani has since pushed the business even further, possibly helped by some free advertising from TV’s ‘The Real Housewives of Cheshire’ and a stream of footballing celebrities enjoying the good life. He has taken Mottram Hall to the highest occupancy levels in the business, triggering further development of the hotel. Meeting Lavizani, one realises just why he has such a positive effect on his staff and, ultimately, the customer. His softly-spoken politeness draws you into the conversation and he is selfdeprecating about his successes. He maintains that he has led from the back, nudging the team forward. It’s a skill that continues to serve him well. Family life for Lavizani is somewhat fragmented at the moment; his German wife Sylvia and 15-year-old rugby-mad son Lawrence live outside of Glasgow, while his daughter Lavinia studies Classics at Cambridge. Without fail, he makes the long drive back to Scotland every weekend and, once his son’s GCSEs are over, he hopes that family life will be fully restored in Cheshire and that “a place in The King’s School rugby team” awaits young Lawrence. By David Wilkinson
August/September 2016 | salutions.co.uk
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