He grew up experiencing and relishing “wow” moments with his family during some of their more memorable hotel stays the world over. Now that he is one of the key people at the helm of The Bellevue Hotel and Resorts, he wants to offer guests his idea of “wow experiences” that linger in their hearts and minds for years if not decades to come.
By MAAN D’ASIS PAMARAN
It was one of those trips that ultimately sparked a dream. For the then young and impressionable John Patrick Chan, now managing director of The Bellevue Hotel and Resorts, that trip included a memorable hotel stay with his family in Hawaii.
“Growing up, we used to travel a lot with my dad’s friends and their families. When I was around 12 or 13, we checked into a hotel that had a monorail and a river cruise. That was a wow experience for me. It was during that trip when I became aware that there was something special about the hospitality industry, particularly running hotels,” he says.
That experience inspired him to eventually create “wow experiences” for their guests across all The Bellevue Hotel and Resorts properties: The Bellevue Manila, B Hotel Alabang, B Hotel Quezon City and The Bellevue Resort Bohol, a five-star resort-hotel on Panglao Island.
He also shares with no small amount of pride that “I’m Bellevue’s employee Number One.” By the time the Alabang property opened in 2003, he was already a Business Administration graduate who first worked as a management trainee under the hotel’s first general manager. “Pre-opening, I was selecting furniture and materials such as chinaware and flatware, mostly procurement work,” he says.
These days, as managing director of The Bellevue Hotels and Resorts, he oversees, with the help of his general managers, the properties’ day-to-day operations, as well as develops and implements the company’s strategic and marketing plans.
He didn’t assume his current roles unprepared. To realize his dream, he earlier embarked on additional short but intensive courses after college. He took up, for instance, an Entrepreneurial Leadership course at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Canada and is an alumnus of the Cornell-Nanyang University’s General Managers Program in Singapore. He has likewise accomplished the Professional Development Programs of Cornell-Nanyang University, Institute of Hospitality Management on Strategic Hospitality Management, Hotel Revenue Management and Fundamentals of Hotel Investment and Financing Decision.
Hospitality from the heart
It was during his days as a student in Singapore that he experienced his next “wow” moment. “I had a memorable hotel stay at a property, which lasted for about three weeks. It was a long stay, but every day brought me a new experience with excellent service from the staff who were mostly Filipinos. I checked into the hotel again recently with my family, and what impressed me the most is that the experience has remained consistent even after 20 years.”
Inspired by this, he makes sure that the same quality of service and hospitality from the heart can be enjoyed in their Bellevue properties. “For me, it should be innate in our people to exude hospitality. You simply can’t fake it. It should come naturally. As an example, for fine dining, there are service standards, but sometimes it comes off as too ‘choreographed’. This is where natural hospitality comes in, so that it does not feel fake or intimidating, but instead feels like genuine service.”
That’s why the hallmark of any stay at a Bellevue property is the promise that each would deliver the Filipino brand of family-oriented service.
Family dynamics
Making each Bellevue stay memorable takes teamwork, and Patrick works closely with his brothers Ryan and Dustin, under the leadership of their father Johnny, who sits as the company’s chairman.
“While my brothers are managing directors of their respective properties, on the development side we are all helping each other. I am focused on projects and construction, so I deal with the architects and engineers, together with my father. Each of us has our strengths, and we come together as a solid team. We complement each other well.”
To ensure that everyone is on board and updated, they stay connected through daily breakfast and lunch meetings. “Even on weekends, we talk about work. It is ingrained in us,” he says with a smile. The feeling of dealing with family extends to their staff, as Patrick’s management style is to lead by example. “We have a family-oriented atmosphere where everyone, from our managers to our staff, can come and speak to us. We spend time with them and listen,” he says.
When it comes to his own family, bonding time consists of traveling with his wife Denice and their three sons, John Gabriel, John Raphael and John Sebastian. Outside of work, he has a passion for cars.
“I race and restore cars as a hobby. I try to get my kids to join me on track days and to teach them as early as possible through go-karting,” he shares. He finds that car restoration is somewhat like maintaining hotels. “There are a lot of parallels in what I do, and I apply the knowledge that I get from car restoration to my work.”
He also feels strongly for the environment. Bellevue’s sustainability initiative, for instance, is a pet project of his. It was a personal endeavor to implement the use of refillable bottles instead of single-use plastics, along with handing out wooden key cards to guests. “We are looking into zero waste, as it substantially saves money over time and is better for the environment in general,” he explains.
As a board member of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association and the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines, Patrick also shares his thoughts on sustainability and the industry. “I think there should be a better implementation of development guidelines to protect our environment when putting up hotel and resort facilities, and this must be a standard nationwide and not just per municipality or barangay.”
His vision for Bellevue is for its continued growth. “Since the pandemic, we took a pause, and a long review of how we want to move forward. We have restarted our developments, not just for Bellevue as a brand, but also for our other divisions such as retail and residential. We really want to be more diversified in our projects such as investments in fast food, retail and condominiums. The future of Bellevue and the rest of the family’s businesses is a diversified portfolio that retains our expertise in offering high-quality service to ensure guests’ memorable moments,” he concludes.
Photography by DIX PEREZ
Art direction by DEXTER FRANCIS DE VERA
Grooming by KLENG TOTANES
Shot on location at THE BELLEVUE MANILA HOTEL
