Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/462634
14 | www.travelweekly-asia.com DESTINATION: THAILAND Siradej Donavanik is a third generation hotelier, bringing a different perspective to hospitality in Asia. The grandson of the founder of the Dusit Thani group, he now works as assistant director-project investment for Dusit International. Your grandmother Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui is credited with introducing Thai hospitality to the outside world. She opened her first hotel, Princess, in 1948 and then went on to open Dusit Thani in February 1970. I read an article where she said, "When I was digging alone, it was like digging the earth with my bare hands." What was it like growing up with such a legendary grandmother? My grandmother is an inspiration to all in the company and, to a certain extent, our industry in Thailand. For a lady to be starting a hotel business in an era when men dominated, it was something that was not only GRANDMA'S VALUES STILL DRIVING DUSIT'S NEW GENERATION challenging but also bold. Of course our industry moves so fast and is so dynamic but what we can always take away from my grandmother – and those will never change – are the values. It's about working hard and working with honesty. After all, she came from nothing and sold straw hats in the market. Your father Chanin Donavanik then stepped into the business and has really taken the group international. Did you have a choice over what you wanted to do? I actually started my career in finance. I was a broker, then I joined HSBC doing wealth management. But then I naturally wanted to try my hand in the family business – I think there's always the benefit of starting something when you're quite young. The industry grew on me as I love to travel and meet new people. After By Yeoh Siew Hoon difficult part is not about finding new solutions but it's really about departing from the old ones. But there's also a lot of positivity to it. I even think disagreements are healthy, they put us out of our comfort zone and make us question our approaches. So my father and I, we talk a lot. And I get to learn a lot from him and from our top level executives, in meetings and decision-making process, whom I wouldn't have access to if I were working in other organisations. Given the changing set of customers we're seeing, how is that influencing how your company approaches hotel design/development/ services? What are your plans for growth? As a developer you always look to develop something that'll last, and I'm very big on sustainability. The technology these days allows you to incorporate measures that can be socially responsible, provide you with an angle to reposition yourself, but also save costs in the long run. Dusit Thani Maldives is a good example where we invested a lot in green technology. Something that will never change will be the service though, but that gives you much more reason to invest and reinvest in your human capital and never go cheap when it comes to training. I think in the end, those who keep consistency in their software will always do well. It doesn't give an excuse not to reinvent yourself though. The other word on everyone's lips is Airbnb – especially your generation. What are your thoughts on it? I truly think this is an interesting concept, though I thought the whole couch surfing that it originated from in a way is much cooler. I think it depends where you're talking about Airbnb. I think in Asia it will be much slower and not as welcomed. Because here we have great and new hotel products and apart from Singapore, Hong Kong or Tokyo, the rates are still cheap (US$70 for a nice serviced apartment room in Bangkok), so there are a lot of options. Plus the culture here is different too, so people may not be as open to this kind of hospitality. Siradej Donavanik: "I actually want to diversify our business more." all, I grew up abroad with strangers nearly all my life. But now that I'm deeply involved in Dusit, I do feel the urge to venture out and so I started my own restaurant business and created a social enterprise in Thailand. I think it's so important to draw inspiration and experience from different areas, and it keeps my focus and life in balance. As your father is credited with building and spreading the Dusit Thani brand globally, what do you want to be credited with? What's your role and what are you learning on the job? I actually want to diversify our business more. Traditionally we've been focused on hospitality/hotel as investor and operator. However in 1994 my grandmother started our education division with Dusit Thani College, first as a way to train our staff and to give something back to society. That has grown solidly into over 15,000 students across six campuses in Thailand and Philippines under our direct curriculum. This is an area I am incredibly interested in developing, especially the social and economic transitions that are happening in today's world like the ASEAN Economic Community. I would really like to expand this area further, as well as grow our company in a responsible manner - not that we are not, but one can always do more, especially for the society and for environment. What's the biggest negative of working in a family business? And biggest positive? Working in the family business is challenging actually and the problem is that, no matter what, your dad is "always" right. Of course naturally there are a lot of disagreements because our approaches are different even if we have the same goals. So it takes a lot of patience as with family businesses, there are always myriads of "tradition". Some, like the values I mentioned, are valuable to this day but some we have to leave behind. The