robert mayer and the mantra samui resort

Robert MayerCreating the Mantra Samui Resort Cheeky, with Love!

Since October 2010 I have been working on the biggest professional challenge of my life. I was responsible for creating a sustainably profitable 5 star resort.

My challenges and constraints were:

• Budget limitations• Secondary location• Building and training a large team of 140 people• Overcoming employee turnover issues on an

island where demand exceeds supply and employee turnover is 156%

• Achieve positive cash flow and operating profit from the first day – unheard of in the hospitality industry

• Have a positive impact on the community we joined.

I enjoyed the challenge because these constraints fostered creativity and ingenuity.

The slides will show how we transformed a

piece of the jungle…

…into the Mantra Samui

Resort

After selecting the land with the

perfect view the journey continued

with the construction…

…and building the foundation

of a strong culture based on

the following values:

Starting with Khun Wooddy, there are 140

Members in the Mantra Family

now.

Regular team challenges -where

guests compete hand in hand with our

colleagues- helped to create emotional

attachment

Hosting a blood drive

solidified our place in the community

I have a firm belief that only a happy Team

can create amazing

experiences

Providing the skills to

communicate. The owners of the

slippers are at a language course held by my wife

Proud owner of new

knowledge: preparing a

perfect ravioli.

Making yoga classes

available to all our colleagues

shows them that we care.

The cooks’ uniform says it

all.

Ready to welcome guests.

Introducing the hand-made Funky dog, an

iconic figure that represents the

luxurious playfulness of Mantra.

Rooms have unusual names.

This is the WOW.

The COZY

The Good Life Suite

The LOVE

Every surface is an opportunity

to create emotional

attachment

Even a Yoga studio can be innovative by

using Himalayan salt bricks to build

its walls

A Cheeky fitness center

That is how we work (out)

An upside-down children play room to

WOW the little guests.

Turning a mundane hand

wash into an experience

Instead of Bibles we suggest “Poke the

Box” from Seth Godin.

And those little birds are the keys to

the rooms.

Only a very Cheeky 5 star

hotel can have a vintage van in the middle of the reception.

Each department was asked to express what “Show LOVE”

(our first value) means

Watermelon Love from the

kitchen

Artwork from Housekeeping

Edible art from the bakery

Signaling the importance of

guest reviews…

Every day new reviews are

framed and a different colleague

chooses where to hang it

Wall of F(r)ame

Introducing a new Mantra

Tradition:Birthday-Cake for Breakfast

Turning adversity into

fun

Our Badge of Honor

During all this we did not forget to…

…Celebrate birthdays

….go on Mantra

Family Trips

…. to have fun

…. to celebrate

...to keep being active

in the community

…. to make life interesting

by holding weekly

competitions

…. to start building a school

for the Samui School of LOVE for

mentally Ill Children

…. to be amazed by

nature

…. to do more with less

…. to let Thailand

teach us……

…. Creativity and

…. That everything is

possibleif we can coexist…..

After spending two years as the

head of the Mantra Family I became a real

father.

Results:

• The Mantra Samui Resort is profitable from the first day of operation

•The hotel has an Employee Turnover of 26% compared to the market average of 156%

•The EBIT Margin of the hotel is 38% considerably higher than the industry average.

•Guests Satisfaction is over 91%.

•The hotel is in the top 20 of TripAdvisor on Koh Samui.

•The hotel was built from 200% less money than the average competing hotel – due to the secondary location yet through branding, positioning and word of mouth recommendation it achieves the same level or Revenue.

Cheeky, with Love!