The implementation of technology, the mastery of e-commerce and the adoption of a third language are some of the shortcomings that, according to Paul Ingebretsen, the hotel market in Latin America has. The hotel and restaurant manager is the Professional of the month of this edition in HOTEL MANAGEMENT. by: María Cecilia Hernández
That part-time job that Paul Howard Ingebretsen got when he was just 17 years old and doing his high school, was the one that marked the plot line of his life and defined the north towards which he was going to direct the rest of his way.
The Holiday Inn Hotel, in Buffalo, New York, United States, opened its doors to a young boy who was looking for a job that offered him flexible hours and that would allow him to continue studying. As a part-time dishwasher in that establishment, Paul held the first of many important positions that would come later in that young man's life.
The renowned hotel manager Paul Howard Ingebretsen is present in this edition of HOTEL MANAGEMENT, and in the Professional of the Month section he narrates parts of his professional life and provides a personal vision of the hospitality industry in Latin America, where he has developed most of his work. Now, he has been invited to manage the first Westin hotel in South America, which will be located in Lima, Peru and will open its doors in 2011. This will be his first experience in this part of the continent.
The dream of eating the best
Initially, in that first work experience, he had motivations quite different from those that today move him to tilt his academic and work life towards the world of hospitality. "I was always very aware of the General Manager of the hotel, I could notice that in addition to the great responsibilities he has on top and to need various skills to get his company, his customers and his employees on the right track, he also has certain exclusive advantages, which, at that age, I found attractive: the food and drinks he consumed were the best! I thought then that in the future I wanted to be like this,'" the manager recalls gracefully.
Despite this, he always had in mind to be a professional bowler, he even says that he does it very well: "I have had three perfect games, of 300 points, I practiced it quite seriously as a young man, but then the intensity decreased and my average fell below 200. Now I only practice it as a hobby with my daughters and friends."
Ingebretsen was born in Jacksonville, a city located in Duval County, Florida, United States. Later he moved to Washington and there began that path he dreamed of when he observed his boss at the Holiday Inn, he entered Washington State University to study In Hotel and Restaurant Management. His life as a professional undertook the ascent.
From the classroom to real life
Going from being the teenage dishwasher of a hotel to occupying the position of general manager of another recognition establishment, is a path that is only traveled along the path of leadership. "I have always considered that, more than a manager, I am a good leader. It is not the same, the two concepts are very different, a manager is responsible for giving orders; in contrast, a leader is a person who inspires others," the administrator argues.
Perhaps for that very reason Paul devotes much of his free time to academic activity. More than training, he enjoys inspiring young people to understand the management of the hotel world. He likes to show them, in effect, how different hotel management is in actual management, compared to the world of literature, "theory vs. practice." His experience and his extensive experience in the sector, make him possess the authority to give his students the best advice that in this industry can be offered to those who are just starting out: "Patience is the best virtue that a person who hopes to advance in this market can have".
Ingebretsen has taught at the Universidad del Valle de México in conjunction with Glion, and at other institutes in the same country, as well as in Guatemala at the Rafael Landivar University, and hopes that now that he has moved to Peru, he can do the same in the country of the Incas. "I love this work and I hope to have the possibility to continue doing it," he says, although his schedule is not easy, after work or before his workday are the spaces he invests in teaching the new generations the arduous task of managing, leading and positioning a hotel. "Recently I received, from one of the generations of students, a mention as the best teacher of the career. I think I owe it to my qualities as a speaker and speaker and for teaching reality in the classroom," admits Ingebretsen.
Thanks to the total and unconditional support he always had from his mother, his dedication and great love for this profession, Paul has had under his management five-star hotels in Latin America, beach and city, as important as the Casa de Campo Hotel in the Dominican Republic, the Intercontinental in Monterrey and Cancun, Mexico, the Hilton in Guadalajara, Mexico and the Quinta Real in Guatemala.
Currently, the manager will try his luck in South America, as he was summoned to manage the Westin Hotel in Lima, a project that is under construction. "It is designed as an avant-garde hotel, it will be the tallest building in the country, it will have a very corporate and convention approach," explains Ingebretsen.
Sacrifices and advantages
His two teenage daughters, one with 17 years and the second with 13, have had to be very understanding to understand the professional dynamics of their father, "I travel once every three months to visit them, the rest of the time we communicate through instant messaging, Black Berry, Skype and calls constantly. I am committed to them, I am their father," he says.
But his sacrifices are rewarded, he now lives as he dreamed since he met his first boss and does what he enjoys most, and even has time to read a good business book, his favorite subject; to enjoy a game of golf, strengthen your favorite football team: Chivas de México, and relax with one of the many great albums that resulted in the 70's.
"Of the countries that I have been able to know and in which I have had the opportunity to work, I can say that I love Mexico, its beaches and its gastronomy. I also liked Peru, it's dazzling," says Paul.
Another "gift" that the manager receives in this work is the recognition he has garnered throughout his experience. "I love to return after a few years to a hotel where I managed because the reception is very nice and very motivating."
To achieve that effect on people who have gone through this professional's life, it is necessary to do good management, he says: "Giving the best of me every day, remembering that managing well is making money and keeping in mind that human capital is the most valuable asset that a hotel can have, are elements that make a good manager. You have to create growth opportunities for employees, offer them a decent workplace where they can meet their needs and those of their loved ones. You have to think first of them, then of the guests and finally of the owners."
Likewise, he believes that there are other factors that must be taken into account when positioning and consolidating a hotel project: "Implementing information technologies, guaranteeing the privacy and security of all audiences and training employees are some of those elements that must be taken into account."
In that sense, Ingebretsen affirms that Latin America has aspects in which it must work hard, especially in what has to do with the implementation of technology, mastering the e-commerce business and the adoption of a third language to support the expansion of the market and warns about the danger posed to Latin American hotel dynamics by the oversupply of rooms and its consequent reduction in prices per room for guarantee occupancy.
Another dream to fulfill
Throughout his career, the administrator has had the opportunity to host in the hotels he has managed more than 100 heads of state, presidents and personalities from around the world, whom he takes the trouble to know so well that he could define each one with a single word: "George W. Bush, friendly; Barack Obama, kind; Margaret Thatcher, serious; Vicente Fox, sense of humor; Álvaro Uribe, treatable; Kings of Spain, humble".
With the experience gained Paul Ingebretsen has confirmed that he chose the right path and now bets his hopes for one more dream, "I would like to become the director of operations of a hotel chain or a hotel organization in this same region of the world. That's the next dream."
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