The most important thing is that we give them a taste of our service.
Hotel Management the Bergvall Way Claes Bergvall feels he is a part of a huge caring family at The Peony Hotel in Hua Hin. The owners, his own Thai family by the way, the staff, and the tenants all take care of each other while they share the task taking care of the guest. By Bjarne Wildau
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laes Bergvall, the Swedish manager of The Peony Hotel in Hua Hin, knows it all as far as hotel business goes. Managing The Peony Hotel together with his family, he speaks of his experience getting into the time old business of hotels and resorts. When Bergvall first arrived Thailand in 1999 he had already worked with hospitality back in Sweden. But it did not take him long to realize that he was ready to move here for good and contribute to this country the best he can. “I was here during the winter season and I was hooked right away. Thailand became the place for me. Besides, I was 55 and I felt my life simply had to change.” In 2001, Bergvall settled down in his first house in Hua Hin. A few years later, in 2003, he went on to buy a piece of land, which he quickly sold off to some other enthusiastic Swedish buyers.
Seven years with The Peony It was during this time that Bergvall met his current wife, Nin, who at 18 ScandAsia.Thailand • August 2011
that time managed The Peony Hotel, together with her brother and her former husband. After some arrangements and time, Nin offered the hotel daily managements to Claes which he accepted and has been heading for the past seven years. Not long after he had taken over the management, he began to discover the potential of the hotel. He pointed out the possible usages of all the 36 unused rooms in the hotel, which were in fact in one of the best locations in Hua Hin. Slowly but surely he made use of the rooms by establishing attractive facilities such as a Thai and Swedish massage parlor, a restaurant, a beauty salon, a bar and more. These were a huge success. The restaurant is just taken over by the experienced Finnish Chef Sipi and hiss Thai wife. The two of them has been running a restaurant in Helsinki for more than 17 years. “My way was not to hire lots of people and then fight with the staff on a daily basis,” he said explaining that he had instead sourced out all the facilities.
Trip arrangements Now, Bergvall has expanded his services to making trip arrangements for those interested in visiting the golf course. He would arrange their trip to a golf course of their choice and back to their hotel of their choice, even if it was not Peony. “The most important thing is that we give them a taste of our service,” said Bergvall who personally plays golf at least five times a week. Despite his busy schedule, Bergvall has found time to develop the Peony Resort fitted with 20 apartments and he is building six houses for sale. At this point, four of the six houses are sold.
Soft selling approach Bergvall is not much for pumped up sales talks. He enjoys his daily relaxed and easy conversations with his potential guests or buyers. When guests talk about the resort and its privileges to their friends, it is a healthy advantage for the resort. “We talk with our guest, they talk to each other and all of a sudden, some houses and apartments are sold,” he said.