Claire Randall is general manager of The Idle Rocks, a Relais & Châteaux property in Cornwall, England. Some of her most important work experiences, though, came when she wasn’t working at a hotel company.
HOTELS: Both your current and previous roles have been with luxury properties. What is it about luxury?
Claire Randall: It was always about luxury! After graduating, I was very clear in my career plan, which I have followed over the last 35 years. Operating in this sector provides opportunities to pursue true excellence and real attention to detail, which is deliverable due to the high levels of staffing. I have always loved being surrounded by beautiful things of top quality and I was clear this was the environment I wished to specialize in. It offers the opportunity for an ordinary person such as myself to be in an extraordinary world, far beyond my own more modest pocket.
H: For six years, you worked as an inspector for the Michelin Guide in Great Britain and Ireland (which ultimately led to your GM role at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa in 1999).
CR: Michelin was always a part of my plan as I felt it would provide me with the opportunity to develop a very objective view in a very subjective operating environment. It would certainly develop my eye for detail. After gaining experience in world-class large hotels in the U.K. and Hong Kong, and with the ultimate aim of running luxurious small properties, Michelin was the necessary part in between to develop quite different skills, knowledge and experience. It was an amazing job, but you are away from home continually, traveling alone. It took me to all parts of the U.K., from Shetland to the Scilly Isles and everywhere in between, and getting to know one’s own country was a very enjoyable benefit.
H: Describe a typical day on property.
CR: There is never a typical day other than it being busy and long. The variety is one of the things I have always loved. You never know who is going to walk through your doors. As luxury properties are often special-occasion places, I have always felt privileged to be a part of people’s landmark moments in their lives.
H: What would you say the industry is ignoring at its peril?
CR: Truly embracing a work-life balance… Balancing the ever-increasing staff cost with the continual market pressure of better rates creates a very tight squeeze on profit. Therefore, it is harder to balance both what the business needs and what the workforce considers reasonable. I feel what we need to do is continue to look at ways to improve the working conditions, be smarter in some of our practices.
H: Where do you find inspiration?
CR: I strongly believe life is all about making a difference, and I try to embrace that in all that I do. “Pride of performance” is my mantra and I instill this wherever I have worked, and the levels of success speak for themselves.