By Alain St. Ange
It is hard to believe, that some 30 years have already elapsed since I first met Paul van Frank, at the time, when he was the General Manager of The Plantation Club Resort & Casino (later rebranded as the Kempinski Seychelles Resort located on the island of Mahe). Paul can best be described, as an “Old School Hotelier”, who values principles such as “honesty, integrity, fairness and loyalty”. He is a seasoned, multi-lingual and undoubtedly, accomplished Hotelier, with a proven track record in Operations as well as an in-depth expertise in all aspects of Sales Marketing.
Paul is very “guest centric” with an extraordinary eye for detail, who will go to great length to achieve optimal guest satisfaction. Having many times watched Paul in action so to speak, he adopts a “hands-on approach” and is clearly an inspirational leader, who believes in working closely with his team, to deliver the highest standards and achieve the desired financial results. Paul has sound business acumen with a deep understanding of the need to be very “bottom-line driven”. What I have always admired in Paul being his passion for developing young talent leading to be baled to create a bond with his team.
I start this way to speak about a Team Member of the Hospitality Fraternity because too often it is forgotten that behind every successful hotel and resort sits a dedicated hospitality professional amassing a wealth of experience and knowledge. Who benefits from these years of knowledge at the end? Is the question many continue to ask?
Paul van Frank, the hotelier, is a typical Belgian with an infectious sense of humour and a true love for the Culinary Art. By the same token Paul has equally demonstrated time and time over his competence and proficiency with “pre-openings “, as well as the “rebranding” and “repositioning” of 5-star Hotels.
Paul is a passionate and truly committed professional, who has acquired a reputation for “getting the job done” even when facing challenging and complex situations demanding a high level of diplomacy, flexibility and sensitivity.
In all honesty, over the course of the past 3 decades, I must applaud Paul for his tenacity and unwavering determination to persevere in the adversity, having survived the ‘tsunami” in Thailand, the bombing in Bali, serious earth quakes in Istanbul, multiple hurricanes and cyclones in the Indian ocean, yet somehow always able to remain calm, collect and still able to maintain a positive attitude, whilst overcoming such unexpected serious incidents.
Paul can only be qualified as an expert in having successfully run a series of 5 star ‘luxury” Resorts in a variety of tropical destinations, such as Como Shambhala Estate (formerly known as “Begawan Giri Estate” in Bali), the highly acclaimed Fregate Island Private in the Seychelles, the no 1 Destination Spa in the World, being the multi-award winning Ananda in the Himalayas in India, as well as Le Jadis Beach Resort & Wellness Mauritius (part of the portfolio of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts).
As Paul and I keep sporadically meeting at different international travel trade fairs, in all sincerity, I hope that Paul van Frank will continue his pursuit of excellence around the world for many years to come.
Hospitality and Tourism builds strong and competent professionals and as an industry, it needs many more years of the likes of Paul van Frank.
