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Gostelow Report: Shifting gears at Rosewood Hotel Georgia

“I wanted to be a professional cyclist but my parents thankfully diverted me into hospitality,” explains Philip Meyer, managing director of the 156-room Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver, British Columbia.

“My father, back in Beckenham Kent, England, worked for the Conservative party and did not really understand sport. When I was 17 my parents found me a part-time job at a hotel.  I turned up the first day and I was asked which department I was going into. I explained I liked the idea of being a chef but I was told to be a busboy,” he recalled.

Philip Meyer in front of his favorite artwork in Rosewood Hotel Georgia, "Jaune,” a detailed Nickalas Blades painting of the yellow 1974 Cinelli bike that Greg LeMond raced from 1976-77
Philip Meyer in front of his favorite artwork in Rosewood Hotel Georgia, “Jaune,” a detailed Nickalas Blades painting of the yellow 1974 Cinelli bike that Greg LeMond raced from 1976-77

Everything in his professional life has been a valuable experience, however. He rose up the serving ranks and went to sea, as a serving steward on Cunard’s QEII cruise ship. Sharing a cabin with three others, all diehard sailors, instilled discipline and living with others. After three years, he returned to dry land to head F&B at a small country house hotel in Sussex, England. “It was owned by Canadian investors who pulled out but asked me if I would like to work in Canada. That was one of life’s lucky chances,” he admitted.  He spent seven years running the 40-bedroom Sherwood Inn, in Port Carling, Ontario, before moving west to the bright lights of Vancouver, and The Wedgewood, a 17-room Relais & Chateaux property founded by its owner, Greek-born Eleni Skalbania.

“We had 130 employees as we were extremely strong in F&B. I learned such a lot during that time. It was not so much that Eleni Skalbania was always in the hotel – she gave me my own space – but when I saw her she always taught me more about life, and charm and elegance. I picked up how to differentiate, from a business point of view, what is important and what is not. Tragically, she succumbed to cancer in 2013 – I was a pallbearer at her funeral – and it was time to look for something new,” he said.

He was contacted by Victoria Young, regional HR for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, who was looking for a passionate hotelier to take over Rosewood Georgia – which, coincidentally, Eleni Skalbania had once owned. Meyer met with the company’s president, Radha Arora, and the two clicked immediately.

“I moved across town April 2015, straight into bargaining with the union and new associates for a lapsed collective agreement. Four days, later I flew to Beijing, China, for the corporate gathering. It was what they call a baptism of fire,” he admitted.

Hotel Georgia, which originally opened in May 1927 as the first Western International property outside the USA, is city-center, opposite Vancouver Art Gallery.  After a US$120 million renovation and expansion, it re-opened in July 2011 under Rosewood management. Meyer heads a team of 350, which is complemented by those running the street-set, all-day restaurant and café, both leased out to local restaurateur David Hawksworth. “The hotel handles room service, and, when the weather allows, the outdoor Garden Terrace, on the fourth floor, which can add C$20,000 (just under US$15,000) a day to bottom line when the sun shines.”

Hotel guests, who stay an average of 2.75 nights, are strong on North America, with both Mexico and the U.K. rising nicely. Because of increased competition and appalling weather earlier in the year, 2017 occupancy will probably close at 81%, the same as last year. About 60% of business is related to some kind of commerce, including entertainment – many movies and television series are shot in Vancouver. Groups include wedding parties, and pre- and post-cruise.

The hotel partners with Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, Tofino, when leisure guests want to go on to Vancouver Island, or with a couple of resorts if skiing in Whistler is the draw.

But it is cycling that is the MD’s main extracurricular activity. “We have about 30 local men and women who are part of Team Georgia, and we cycle together regularly. We all have our own bikes – mine is a Colnago C59 – and we have so far raised over C$2.5 million (US$1.9 million) for the B.C. Cancer Foundation,” he said proudly.

Meyer is often asked what was the biggest challenge in moving here from a boutique hotel. “I had fortunately already learned to think of myself as CEO of the hotel, developing my team. Now, together, we are taking this further towards my goal, which is to make Rosewood Hotel Georgia not only the best in Vancouver but the leading hotel in Canada,” he promised.

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