4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Customer service manager's focus
New Ascot Hotel executive manager Oytun Cevik at the hotel. PHOTO: TONI MCDONALD
Ascot Hotel's new executive manager Oytun Cevik is no stranger to making beds or carrying luggage.
However, the industry was much more than making beds, he said.
Developing a great customer experience should be the industry's end goal.
"You have to put yourself in the guest's shoes."
Being greeted with a smile and staff building a rapport with customers as soon as they walked through the door was key.
The diversity of hospitality required flexibility to its demands, Mr Cevik said.
Besides the nation's attractive scenery, he believed New Zealand had a unique hospitality culture that was attractive to international visitors.
"I think Kiwi hospitality is something that you really need to come and experience ... It's definitely down to earth. Friendliness and welcoming, that's what brings people back."
Capturing repeat business was core to the industry's survival, he said.
After graduating in Turkey with honours in tourism and management, he moved to the United States to work in the housekeeping department at the 1415ha, 300-room Chateau Elan Winery and Resort in Georgia.
His New Zealand industry experience started in Queenstown where he met his future wife, Southland-born Emma.
Industry doors continued to open to the couple and their two daughters, Ruby, 9, and Scarlet, 12 — offering new opportunities on the hospitality management ladder which led to his Ascot Park Hotel executive manager role.
He always believed a move back to the South Island would be part of their future where they would be closer to family, he said.
He had done the hard yards in housekeeping, front office, food and beverage service and accounts.
"You don't become a GM [general manager] for a hotel overnight — you have to start from scratch."
While he was no micro-manager, he was still happy to pitch in and make beds and clean bathrooms if it was required.
'Being a GM is not something that you always do from behind the desk. You have to be really ready with multiple hats throughout the day ... you have to be really flexible with what you do around the hotel.
"It's hospitality — wherever it's required, you need to step in and do it with the team."
Meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds was a part of the industry he particularly enjoyed.
"It's embedded into Ascot Hotel ... that's what I love about coming to work every day and sharing things with my team and what they're achieving every day."
Invercargill Licensing Trust (ILT) chief executive Chris Ramsay said Mr Cevik's record of success across all his previous positions had the ILT executive team excited for the future of the Ascot Park Hotel.
The role was a highly contested position which attracted international interest from a range of highly skilled and experienced hotel managers, he said.
"Oytun stood out throughout the process, having built a career in hotels that started in America at the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort Atlanta and has included major hotel brands across New Zealand."
- By Toni McDonald
