WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME AND AGE?
My Name is Jean-Marc Mocellin. As for my age, I am mature enough yet, not too old to manage the challenges involved in my position
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT JOB POSITION?
I am the General Manager of the most glamourous resort in Hua Hin
HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN HUA HIN OR BEEN COMING TO HUA HIN?
I arrived in Hua Hin on July 1st and visited twice before moving here
WHAT DID YOU KNOW ABOUT HUA HIN BEFORE YOU MOVED HERE?
I started to get interested in Hua Hin 8 years ago when IHG (Intercontinental Hotel Group) offered me the job of opening the… Intercontinental Hua Hin resort !
I was very tempted by this very elegant and sophisticated resort but I eventually declined the offer at that time due to the size of the operations, considering I was running a much bigger resort in Tahiti (French Polynesia)
Since, the resort has matured well, our owners have engaged exiting enhancements such as a new Club Lounge Beach Villa for our Intercontinental Club guests and a very trendy new Azure Beach Roof Bar opening mid November. Most of all, Intercontinental Hua Hin Resort is now completing 40 additional luxury rooms and suites in the new “Bluport wing”providing exclusive indoor and outdoor banqueting facilities, an additional restaurant Le Colonial, a Lounge Bar named Saraan for Jazz lovers and a spectacular swimming pool. The Bluport wing can be totally privatized and is a ideal for a large event such as weddings etc.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION?
I chose this profession and decided to become a General Manager of luxury hotels at the age of 16 y.o, fascinated by what evolves around the profession such as travel, luxury, elegance, sophistication, service, refinement, meeting stars… I was probably influenced after watching many movies such as the James Bonds or Mort a Venise, etc. where I admired Palaces and legendary hotels of Europe and America.
Today and after so many years in operations, what I love most in my job is the variety of activities and responsibility a hotel GM has to assume. In a day I am not only dealing with accommodation or food & beverage matters but I am also very involved different fields such as maintenance, IT, Human resources, legal, yield management, Sales & Marketing, projects, PR, Finance, etc… I to never get bored
WHAT DO YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION?
A hotelier don’t close his shop in the evening till the next day and even less on weekends, work is never finished therefore one tends to spend a lot of hours at work unless you are very well organized.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT HUA HIN?
Firstly I should say that I came to Hua Hin to live in Thailand. Indeed, after all my intensive travel around the globe for work or leisure, Thailand is the country where I found most of the ingredients matching what I was looking for to settle in for a while if not for good. I also found the right Owners who are not just investors but a family who cares, cherishes, reinvests and develops their property which is an enormous advantage in terms of quality, guest satisfaction and the team motivation. Lastly, Hua Hin is a cute city where there is still so much to develop and with a huge potential.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT AND WHY?
To be very honest, in the torment of the handover, the renovations to complete and the opening of the new Bluport wing, I hardly had a chance to test many restaurants so, I will just mention that I love to eat and walk around Cicada market on weekends.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME AND WHY?
More active than intellectual I prefer outdoor sports activities, adventure trips. I have done a lot of sports all my life and cannot remain sedentary too long. I love going to movies though (more movies in English would be great in hua Hin theaters BTW 😉
WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO NEW-COMERS TO DO IN HUA HIN AND WHY?
There is so much to do… For Families I would definitely recommend Vana Nava, the Winery is also a great trip, Cicada market…
TELL US A SURPRISING FACT THAT THE PUBLIC MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU?
I am attracted to sports that boost my adrenaline, I used to parachute, moto cross racing, horse racing games and hunting.
WHAT IS THE MOST OUTLANDISH THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE AND WHY?
Such a difficult question to answer, out of the crazy activities plane acrobatics, the most memorable moment relates to my adventure travel and I would hesitate between waking up at dawn on Peru’s Machu Pichu in the middle of ancient ruins or diving in the reef pass of Rangiroa (remote island in French Polynesia) in the middle of sharks, dolphins, manta Rays and turtles or, being in the middle of a sunset ceremony in Rishikesh at the source of the Ganges river, surrounded by a thousand ashram orphan children singing and praying around a huge fire pit till dark.