So what’s your definition of a butler?
To me it’s all about assisting guests and making their experience more enjoyable. I was 21 when I started at The Regent, Sydney’s great five-star hotel then. I was responsible for the Premium Floor and assisted guests in the 18 rooms. I greeted guests on arrival, served champagne, unpacked luggage, assisted with restaurant reservations and any shopping or tour requirements. Requests were frequently unpredictable. The butler was a personnel concierge and was often rewarded handsomely. I was born in Perth and was always attracted to a hospitality and a sailing lifestyle. Sydney was the obvious destination.
Where have your butler beginnings taken you physically and figuratively?
Literally all over the place. My butler role progressed into more of a food and beverage one, and I then moved to the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas as catering and conventions manager. The connections and relationships I made along the way have shaped my future. What is really important are the strong bonds that you create.
How has it helped you with your business, Destination?
When I was at the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas I began organising off-site experiential dinners for the conference and incentive market and was given free rein to do so. We had to be innovative to continue to impress as we had repeat business. We did amazing dinners in cane fields, burning the cane and at marinas on the back of yachts. I also made connections with many incentive and event firms. It was then the mid ‘90s when I partnered with Peninsula resident to start Destination. We managed some 30 events per annum then and now Destination has more than 240 international and domestic events annually. I believe in investing in staff and creating a positive culture is paramount. Many staff members have been with me for 10 years plus, and 10 out of 50 are from the Peninsula. Many clients have been with us from inception also, most for 21 years. At Destination we have delivered a dinner for 500 guests at the Palace of Versailles and also created an event in Bora Bora for 180 people where the local villagers helped relocate tables and chairs into the middle of the lagoon and catamarans were used as bar and hospitality spaces.
Your headquarters are in Mount Waverley but you live in Mount Eliza.
Yes, I do and I love it. It’s a great place to bring up the family. We all enjoy the hospitality and the benefits of being close to the water anywhere on the Peninsula. The Peninsula offers a lovely balance to the hectic life of organising events and all the travel. We have five children and one of our boys has just started working in the business while at university, and I’m very proud of that. At Destination, we are very passionate about customer service. Each team member has a plaque on their desk that reads ‘Omotenashi’, a Japanese word that represents the act of providing detailed service by putting customers first — essentially hospitality but with a much greater meaning. The difference between Japanese and Western service is that Japanese perform additional service without an expectation of anything added in return.
