From housekeeper to GM

Naowarat Arunkong started as a housekeeper but through constant hard work and initiative rose to become the first Thai woman general manager at Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas, a hospitality unit of Minor Group, serving as an inspiring example for women in an industry where executive levels are male-dominated.

Naowarat has been general manager since 2011 of two of the Minor Group’s hotel properties – Anantara Hua Hin Resort and Spa, and Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa. But, interestingly, she did not even complete her college education. She is a single mother, who takes care of her only son, while also pursuing her career in the hotel industry. In earlier days, sometimes she had to pick up her child from a nursery in the evening and place him in a basket alongside her while she worked at the Hilton Park Nai Lert Hotel.

After finishing high school, Naowarat took a one-year hotel certificate course at a hospitality training institute, sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Bangsaen, Chon Buri. She was also on internship at the housekeeper division of the Hilton Park Nai Lert in Bangkok, now known as the Park Nai Lert Raffles International Hotel.  

“Normally, they would choose good-looking people to work at the front [desk] and the rest were sent to other divisions. I was sent to the housekeeper division,” said Naowarat, laughing.

After finished the three-month internship, Naowarat commenced her career as housekeeper at the Hilton hotel. 

“M family did not know what I was doing. They probably thought I was doing a public relations job,” she said, with a grin.

However, Naowarat said she was fortunate to have the experience of a housekeeper at the Hilton Park Nai Lert during that time because there she could learn a lot from the late Thanphuying Lersak Sombatsiri, the owner of the hotel, who was famous for her refined and flawless eye for detail. 

While working as a cleaner in day time, Naowarat asked if she could also help out the reservation division in the evening. Fortunately for her, after working at the housekeeper unit for a few months, there was a vacancy in the reservation section and thus she landed the job. While working at the reservation division, Naowarat also took her time to assist with the work of the front office, which was situated nearby.

“I felt, the front office got a higher salary and the work was more comfortable,” Naowarat said.

Although 44 and belonging to Generation-X, Naowarat said she possessed a “baby-boomer” attitude of working hard without asking ‘What’s in it for me?’ She has always “looked up” towards her career future and did more than she was assigned or was responsible for.

When the front office manager’s position became vacant, the GM of Park Nai Lert decided to promote Naowarat to take on the job as she had always gone the extra mile for the hotel. She not only just did her back-office job but also went around to talk to the guests. However, the proposal was turned down by Thanphuying Lersak who did not want to lose Naowarat from the housekeeper division. 

“Immediately, I quit, even before applying for any job,” she said. Fortunately, on the following day, Naowarat went to visit her friend who was working at the Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resorts where she accidentally ran into the hotel’s resident manager at the lobby.

“He asked if I would be interested to be the FOM [front office manager] there?

He was impressed that I had greeted him first without being aware that he was the resident manager at the hotel.” 

After nine years with Nai Lert, Naowarat joined Minor group in 1999 where she took less than three years to get a promotion as the head of rooms division responsible for front office and housekeeping units at the busy city resort. As the company grew and there were many rotations and opportunities opening up, Naowarat was promoted to operations director at the 219-room Hua Hin Marriott, and moved to the Southern resort town in October 2007. Less than two years later, she was promoted to hotel manager and then general manager in January 2011. Naowarat was also appointed the GM of Anantara Hua Hin Resort and Spa in October the same year. She will hold the twin GM posts until her group ends its contract with Hua Hin Marriott this July. 

The 187-room, 5-star-plus Anantara Hua Hin Resort is the first Anantara hotel, with Bill Bensley-designed landscaped gardens and lagoon pools. She is the first Thai woman GM at Anantara, which currently has 17 properties under its management. The Minor Group also runs many other hotel brands, including Four Seasons. Titiya Chooto has been appointed the GM at the Four Seasons Resorts Chiang Mai and Four Seasons Tented Camp, Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai since August 2010, becoming the first woman GM for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in the Asia-Pacific.

Naowarat said she had risen to become GM – a position she had never even dreamt of – because she had been readied to do all the GM jobs even before she was promoted to the post.

“I was also lucky that the GM gave me the chance to work on his behalf and make mistakes,” she said. 

Marketing has been one of Naowarat’s strengths that landed her the GM job.  Throughout her years at Hua Hin, Naowarat has built up connections with VIP guests, organisers and the local communities and assisted Anantara to enter new markets while sustaining guest loyalty.  

Naowarat said practical and leadership training courses provided by Marriott and Anantara during the past many years has given her more than any college degree could have offered while working from the ground up in nearly every hotel division gained her insightful experience.

Being the GM of a hotel continues to be a tough job for women as many of them do not want to sacrifice their family lives, she said.

“But for me, I don’t feel that way. I’m happy and enjoy the work,” Naowarat said.

 

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