Ferdinand Wortelboer, Aman’s global managing director of operations, believes many hotels today are losing focus on that priceless human touch.
“Think back to traditional hotels of times past when legendary GMs seemed always to be in the lobby spending time with guests,” said Wortelboer, speaking in the company’s only city hotel, Aman Tokyo. “Today, administration and a lot of meetings take away from the basis of hospitality — although our GMs still manage more-than-usual lobby time.”
Wortelboer became a hotelier simply because he loves people, not paperwork. He studied chemistry in his native Netherlands and then had to undergo compulsory military service. That, he said, convinced him that a scientific career would not be right.
Wortelboer knew nothing about hotels, but a good friend was at SITC Tête-de-Ran hotel school in Switzerland, so he thought he might just as well join him. “You either like this business or you do not, and you must have passion,” he said, pointing out that he particularly loves guest contact.
But now, Wortelboer has given up running a hotel to become Aman’s global MD of operations, looking after all 28 properties.
Aman has always been a bit quirky, and that suits Wortelboer just fine. He is based in Singapore, where his noticeably compact global team is really only him, as both his F&B support, Enzo Cassini, and the head of spas, Greg Paine, are based in Europe.
With Tokyo officially open this past March 17, he has at least three more openings, all rural resorts, still to come during 2015.
“On any project, I come in at the beginning and deal with technical services and finance,” he said. “And as soon as a hotel is up and running I spend as much time as I can in its lobby. I suppose I am a traditional hotelier.”