backBjorn Richardson
General Manager, Oakwood Residence Sukhumvit 24 Bangkok
A great time with a lot of insight into the hotel world. A most valuable hands-on learning experience.
Bjorn Richardson, a native of Sweden, has spent most of his professional career working in Thailand. He is currently the General Manager of the Oakwood Residence in Bangkok. He is also an IHTTI graduate.
« After graduating from IHTTI I took a position as a management trainee in the Food & Beverage Department of the Amari Watergate hotel in Bangkok, a 4-star city hotel with 575 rooms and 10 F&B outlets,» explains Bjorn. « After that, things moved quickly. I was hired as Operations Analyst for the Amari Hotels & Resorts group, with assignments in 8 different hotels and resort properties with a total of 2600 rooms ! »
Bjorn was then hired at a new 5-star beach resort as F&B Manager, before joining the Marriott group as Executive Assistant Manager at the Royal Garden Riverside Hotel, in charge of the Rooms Division. He later moved to the Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa, another 5-star resort, as Resident Manager. More recently, Bjorn took part in the take over and re-branding of another 5-star resort hotel in Thailand, before becoming the General Manager of the Oakwood Residence Sukhumvit 24 Bangkok.
« In this industry, » Bjorn says, « the three most important parts are people, people, and people, i.e. guests, employees and colleagues. My advice to future IHTTI students is to work hard, have fun, and try to get a mentor in the business ; this person will give you valuable advice, and hopefully you will not have to learn from your own mistakes, but from others. »