Oakwood brand gets second chance...
call centers. He hopes to extend its reach to Rockwell Grove and Eastwood.
Erdos began his career as a night manager in Inter-continental Hotel in Sydney. Then he worked at the Mayfair Inter-continental Hotel as assistant manager. He served the Radisson group for 20 years.
His experiences as general manager of Radisson's fivestar properties were memorable to him.
Erdos was on top of the deluxe Radisson Plaza Hotel in Sydney. He recalled how, following the Sydney Olympics in 2000, the city experienced a glut of hotels.
“After the Olympics, most cities have too much supply but not much demand. That was a business experience,” he says.
As general manager of the five-star Radisson Hotel Pudong Century Park in Shanghai, Erdos was challenged by the cultural differences.
“It was an interesting exercise, but I enjoyed my stay. Shanghai is progressive,” he says.
His last post was the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel Residence and Spa Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The hotel has 100 Filipino staffers from middle management to rankand-file.
“They exude a positive attitude towards their colleagues and guests. Filipinos have a can-do approach,” Erdos says.
Although he enjoyed the Westernized lifestyle of Bahrain, the subprime crisis compelled him to return to Australia. With his new posting in Manila under the Oakwood brand, he is enjoying the Filipino service-oriented culture first-hand.
When asked how Oakwood differed from all the establishments he used to work with, Erdos replied: “All hotel companies have the same vision—they pride themselves in service, and their strong reputation, but every company does it differently.”
He underscores Oakwood’s strategy of consolidating the hotel and apartment business models.
On his management style, Erdos says he lives by transparency.
“I was raised to be honest with myself. I like to share my ideas. I like to ensure that communication is two-way, not one-way. I want to invoke a listening culture because people don’t listen very well. Let people be heard. There’s also room for improvement because we make mistakes. The best people don’t make the same mistake twice. [They] acknowledge the weakness and turn weakness into opportunity.
“My philosophy as a general manager is that we are one team. I’m very hands-on, but I’ve never stood apart from anybody else.all the staff has to be on the same page. It’s an integrated approach.”