Hospitality is a people business – that’s the mantra of the man who runs Dundee city centre’s prestigious boutique hotel, the Malmaison.
General manager Brett Ingle said: “It’s about giving our guests the best possible experience so that they will want to come back here again and again.
“It is also about giving our team members – our staff – the best possible experience at their work.
“That is to train them to deliver and enjoy delivering the best possible service to our guests.
“It is also about allowing them to develop as team members so that they can have fulfilling careers.
“One way or another, this business is all about people.”
The 41-year-old Yorkshireman was taking stock after a year in charge of the hotel whose arrival in Dundee sent a signal to the world of the city’s economic regeneration.
It was hoped that ambitious plans for the £1 billion Dundee waterfront redevelopment crowned by the V&A Museum of Design would trigger significant inward investment.
Malmaison was the first serious investor to step forward with a £15 million scheme to transform the former crumbling Tay Centre Hotel into a showpiece boutique establishment.
Its move was evidence that the business world was not only taking notice of Dundee, but was prepared to back its interest with hard cash.
It also paved with way for others hotel groups like Hilton, Apex and Sleeperz to work or plan for their own major projects in the city.
His journey to the Malmaison began as a kitchen porter while he was still at school in his native Bridlington.
A degree in hospitality management at Leeds Metropolitan University followed, and then Macdonald Hotels beckoned.
Over the next 14 years his career took him to posts throughout England, Wales and Scotland.
He continued: “The opportunity then came up to move to Malmaison, which was a different, luxury lifestyle hotel group and a new challenge.
“I remember travelling through Dundee heading for St Andrews and seeing this place all boarded up with the Malmaison sign outside.
“I said to my parents who were with me that this looks like it is going to be a fantastic property, and it would be great to run it.
“I also saw the works taking place around the hotel and thought this was a city that looked like it was really taking off.”
He became general manager last year, a year after the hotel’s opening, and made his top priority the training and development of the 106-strong staff team.
Brett said business at the Malmaison reflects the improving Dundee visitor economy.
As more visitors have been discovering Dundee, more guests have come to stay in the Malmaison’s 91 bedrooms and dine in its restaurants.
He added: “With the opening of the V&A we are expecting many more visitors to come to the city, and this will be good for the whole of Dundee and all its shops, restaurants – and hotels.
“More growth through tourism in Dundee will attract more businesses, and that will be good for the whole economy.”
