Naphat Nutsati, General Manager – Raya Heritage, Chiang Mai
In this interview, Ms. Naphat Nutsati, general manager of Raya Heritage, Chiang Mai, shares her growth in the hospitality industry in Thailand.
What do you do?
I take care of hotel operations, making sure guests and staff at Raya Heritage are happy. I have worked with this company for over 17 years. I started as general manager at Tamarind Village, our sister hotel in Chiang Mai Old Town and continued working for opening phase of Raya Heritage till now.
How did you get into the industry?
I remember when I was young at high school, studying English Language is one thing that I loved and I was good at. I learned more in university, and it lead me into the hospitality business after graduation. My first job was as a receptionist at a new hotel in Samui, Mandarin Oriental Baan Taling Ngam. It was really good start and I continued growing my experiences in few luxury chain hotels like Four Seasons Chiang Mai from small position as a Guest Service officer to Front Office Manager at Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. That was the part before I joined Tamarind Village as an EAM, continued to GM lately and now a GM at Raya Heritage.
Share with us a story from behind the scenes.
One of my most impressive stories happened during the opening of Raya Heritage. At that time, we worked with many artisans and local people to produce some hotel decorations and supported them to prolong their Lanna wisdoms for few years. Till we planned to open, we arranged the living exhibition of bamboo weaving, textiles, pottery clay pot, lacquerware etc., to promote and invited artisans to first stayed overnight in our rooms that featured all their products. That moment created pride and inspiration not only amongst the elderly and young artisans who came but also us who provided this event for them.
What food memory from your childhood or travels stands out?
I love fish curry puffs that I ate when I travelled to Penang long time ago.
What is the best/ worst part of your job?
Opening Raya Heritage is the best part of my job. I use all managerial as well as service design skills that I collected all the way throughout my career path.
What is one of your favourite food and beverage pairings?
Northern Thai food especially larb mMinced pork salad in Northern Thai style) and cocktails that use local herbs mix into cocktail ingredients.
What is one of the funniest things you have seen behind the scenes?
When we dressed up my colleague, our chief engineer to be Santa Clause and paraded him around the Christmas Eve events.
The perfect day off would be…
Dining and travelling around by car with my best friend.
A day in the life of a Naphat Nutsati is…
making all staff and guests happy.
What does Naphat Nutsati do for fun?
Making reels or posting travel reviews on social media
What would you like guests to know about Raya Heritage?
It’s a river sanctuary, simply luxury living by the Ping Riverside.
How have you grown in your profession? What are your key learnings from your start in the industry until now? Any misconceptions?
My background is from the rooms department. I grew up learning the basics starting as a Guest Service Officer, Supervisor and Manager at the end. My key learning is teamwork is key and how to make the best effort to go beyond service excellence. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and errors along the way however, all of that is the best practice to share mistakes for service improvement.
What do you want people to know about being a general manager as a profession?
Open up your mind for any feedback. This is very important because you are working with satisfaction, not only between you and guests but also you and all hotel employees.
What is your view on the hotel scene in Chiang Mai?
After Covid, there are many new hotel developments and they are more competitive.
What practices do you currently implement or hope to implement to work towards social responsibility and sustainability in the future?
A good vision as a company goal that we always follow through is harmonious alignment of success. It’s how you grow up and sustain your business together with employees and the community.
What can guests look forward to in the upcoming months?
It is my pleasure to recommend our latest campaign “A Unique Coffee Journey” which includes three kind of activities with the organic coffee from our plantation in Mae Rim district.
PONG KRAI ORGANIC COFFEE PLANTATION TRAIL
Visit the coffee’s plantation itself as part of the Baan Pong Krai Community Tourism program.
Get to know the local villagers and participate in an environmental conservation activity provided by the village. Join our wild orchid breeding activities and enjoy planting them in the forest along the natural path to propagate the Fah Mui orchid, Thailand’s very rare blue-purple-coloured wild orchids.
COFFEE FLAVOURS
Savour the rich taste of coffee in our special beverages and desserts made from the finest single-origin 100% Arabica forest coffee, grown in Pong Krai plantation. Each cup of this chemical-free coffee contributes not just to your palate, but also to the preservation of our forests. Specialty coffees are available in all restaurants at Raya Heritage.
COFFEE SCRUB AT AI WAAN SPA
Experience a one-of-a-kind coffee scrub using Pong Krai coffee grounds from our restaurant. A coffee scrub helps blood circulation, reduces cellulite, and makes the skin radiant, smooth and feel relaxed.
The program begins from herbal steam and culminating in a soothing aromatic four-element massage.
Read more interviews similar to this one with Naphat Nutsati here, and stay updated with the latest gourmet and travel recommendations here and here.