Charintip Tiyaphorn
In this interview, Charintip Tiyaphorn, Owner Representative and Head of Sales, Marketing, Accounting and Finance at Pimalai Resort & Spa in Koh Lanta, shares the complexity of her role.
What do you do?
I do sales, marketing, accounting and finance for Pimalai Resort & Spa. That means that I ensure that our sales reach the target while implementing operation control procedures so costs and expenses are reasonable.
How did you get into the industry?
In November 2014, the company was looking for a new financial controller. Because of my accounting and auditing background, my parents decided to give me the position instead of externally recruiting a new financial controller.
Share with us a story from behind the scenes.
At the time when my parents made me a financial controller, I wanted to be a national archer and had just started competing in national competitions. Taking up the role of financial controller in Krabi meant more work, responsibility, and travel but less practice time. I would bring my archery with me when I visited Pimalai, but a few years after I took up the financial controller position, my sister, who was in charge of sales and marketing, was starting her family, and I stepped up to look after sales and marketing too. This was when I barely had time to practice archery and had to give up my chance to be enlisted on the national team. At the time, I was also looking after a serviced apartment close to Bangkok and an organic farm in Chiangmai.
What food memory from your childhood or travels stands out?
Grilled alpaca steak from Cusco. It was so tender and very tasty. I’m planning a trip back to Peru with my friends. This time I hope to indulge myself in trying the guinea pig – their national food.
What’s the best/ worst part of your job?
The best part is I can do various things, from numbers to creatives. And I also get to meet and learn from new people. New ideas are coming in every day from multiple outlets.
The worst part for me is flying. I don’t do well on a plane, especially sleeping on a plane, but I’m flying two to three times per month. If flight options are limited, sometimes I cannot avoid redeye flights.
What’s one of your favourite food and beverage pairings?
I enjoy tasty and spicy food. My favourite food is the stir-fried twisted bitter beans with chilli shrimp paste and minced pork. It goes amazingly well with hot rice and a Thai prawn omelette. Of course, when the food is very hot and spicy, the best drink to go with it is a cold, fresh coconut.
What’s one of the wildest/ craziest/ scariest/ funniest/ most outrageous (choose an adjective or pick your own) things you’ve seen behind the scenes?
From mid-March 2020, we started receiving huge cancellations every day. The scariest moment was on March 25, 2020, when the Thai Prime Minister announced a full lockdown in Thailand. Pimalai had to move all our guests to designated government hotels or assist them in arrangements to get home before April 10 2020, the day we closed. No one knew how long we had to close and what would happen to all our 380 staff. During that time, there were rumours that a group of people who got Covid-19 and did not want to be in quarantine fled to Koh Lanta as well.
The perfect day off would be…
Having time to take my five-year-old Chow Chow for a walk, and enjoying good food.
A day in the life of Charintip Tiyaphorn is …
Each day is different, but it always starts with checking the previous day’s sales volume. If the sales report is less than satisfactory for three days in a row, my team and I come together to assess and regroup, discussing what can be done to ensure we perform.
What does Charintip Tiyaphorn do for fun?
Eat good food. Spend time with the right people. Go to the gym.
What’s something you’d like guests to know about Pimalai Resort & Spa?
Pimalai Resort & Spa is a destination with its own soul. It’s the place where you can totally relax, recharge yourself and yet have fun at the same time.
How has the pandemic changed your perspective or the way you operate?
We are more flexible, more open and constantly learning new things.
What’s something you’d like people to know about being an Owner Representative as a profession?
Usually, a company would not use the same person for finance and marketing, but I think this is a great idea. I am able to amalgamate logical, strategic thinking and creativity. Every week I take a day where I’ll spend time on analysis and forecasting business so I can come up with a proper plan. The rest of the week is dedicated to sales and marketing strategies and implementing them. Our operations are very dynamic in this way.
What’s your view on the hospitality scene in Krabi?
Krabi is an amazing destination, especially for nature lovers. It has everything: the beach, mountains, a waterfall, caves, mangrove and land forests, great food, fresh and sweet seafood.
The Thai government is heavily promoting BCG (Bioeconomy, Circular economy and Green economy), and Krabi (both local authority and business owners) have been adopting this module quite well. With the new Krabi international airport that has doubled its capacity, Krabi will grow to become a truly green destination.
What practices do you currently implement or hope to implement to work towards social responsibility and sustainability in the future?
We are working on a small project for Laanta Lanta Festival on 3-5 March 2023 at Lanta Old Town. At the festival, local schools, villagers and business operators will send their marine life sculptures made from recycled waste to compete.
Pimalai will submit our own whale shark sculpture! Pimalai is also the main sponsor and organizer for this competition though we will not be involved in the judging and ensure it will be a fair game for all contestants. We set new conditions this year that all the waste must be able to be reused or recycled. After the competition, we will keep the sculpture for show on the island for three months (tentatively in the Saladan area), then all will be sold to a recycling centre, and the money will go back to each team. Pimalai also sponsored the cost of the production to competing teams and prizes for the winners.
What can guests look forward to in the upcoming months?
Definitely, the sculptures made for the festival. Each will be at least 1.5 meters tall. If many people come to see the marine life sculptures, we hope that this module can be used in other tourist areas and help to reduce waste problems.
The Koh Lanta National Marine Park is also a must. Snorkelling in this area is a dream! Crystal clear water, lots of marine life, and beautiful soft and hard corals. My all-time favourite snorkelling and diving spot is Koh Haa. I’m not an advanced diver yet, but when I am, I will be heading to Hin Muang and Hin Daeng, which is very close to where Pimalai is too. This year (2023), the National Marine Park will be closed for its annual conservation period from June 1 – September 30.
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Interesting story from behind the scenes