This will have been the longest run any actor can get, and the pay has been good, too, says retiring GM of The Peninsula Tokyo, Malcolm Thompson.
“When I leave on December 15 to hand over to Sonja Vodusek, I will go with so many memories,” Thompson said of his leadership roll of the 314-room hotel that opened September 1, 2007.
In its short history, the hotel has had to survive the global financial crisis and the effects of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Now, with the revitalization of Japan under current Prime Minister Abe and the optimism of the forthcoming 2020 Olympics, the city is on a roll. Attracted by a weak yen, tourists are flooding in with August 2015 year-to-date occupancy at 82%, of which 80% was international. RevPAR was up 14% over 2014.
Malcolm Thompson was born in Yorkshire, England, and while studying drama at The Royal Academy of Music, London, he got a part-time job dishwashing at The Carlton Tower. Later, he was visiting a friend in Sydney and became a temporary kitchen steward at the then-Hyatt Kingsgate under legendary GM Brian Deeson.
Inspired by the next GM, John Wallis, he switched full-time to hotels, working his way up through the Hyatt chain. As GM of Park Hyatt Los Angeles Century City (now InterContinental), he met up with Peter Borer, whom he knew from his days as GM of the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Borer asked him if he would like to come back to that city. Mrs Thompson immediately urged him to accept – but he still had to undergo three months’ Peninsula orientation in Hong Kong.
Half of Thompson’s 700-strong team has worked at the hotel since opening. “My management style is about us rather than me,” said Thompson, with his eyes wide open as always.
Ideas have evolved. Since his own philosophy always includes an element of dramatic fun, someone thought it would be entertaining to partner with one of the virtual characters for which Japan is renowned. An exclusive joint venture with Pokémon, the children’s game and cartoon company, means that hotel guests of all ages can take part in a journey around the hotel to 10 fixed touch-point screens with questions to be answered before proceeding. Guests finish in a real subterranean room with flashing lights.
There are touch points everywhere. “Our lobby restaurant is busy from 7 a.m., and the afternoon tea lines begin around 1 p.m.,” Thompson said. “From the start we deliberately made our 24th floor rooftop restaurant, Peter, into a fantasy experience. Designed by Yabu Pushelberg, you enter via a catwalk with a constantly-changing LED wall behind.”
If Chef Adam Mathis knows a returning guest particularly commented on a dish, a bespoke video might be made, showing how it was prepared. When the weather allows, a stationary food truck parked to the rear of the hotel sells bento boxes to local office workers.
“Peninsula is luxury with a sense of fun,” Thompson explained. Its transport fleet, all characteristic dark green (Peninsula Green), includes Rolls-Royces and Mini Coopers. The latest addition is a unique three-wheeled bicycle invented by a local Tokyo woman. “She showed up, to demonstrate it, in short skirt and high heels. I envisage getting several of these so guests can take tours around the adjacent Imperial Palace gardens, escorted by a white-clad Peninsula page boy of course,” said Thompson, showing his ubiquitous flair for effect.
All of this activity involves a noteworthy respect for the community. After the tsunami, to save energy, air conditioning back-of-the-house was kept to a minimum (even now, all summer long all staff replace formal uniforms with white polo shirts).