Erastus Radjimin believes that constant constructive engagement leads to constant learning and self-improvement.

In order to create excellent and sustainable businesses, especially in the hospitality sector, which involves intense interactions among many people, leaders must maintain open and transparent communications between their team members.

According to Artotel Indonesia CEO Erastus '€œErry'€ Radjimin, opening channels of communication paves the way for staff members to constantly evaluate their performances, assess challenges and difficulties they face in carrying out their tasks so as to overcome them quickly and also reflect on things they are already good at.

'€œIn Artotel, we achieve this by conducting departmental briefings twice a day for our concierge team, from receptionists to food and beverage staff and housekeepers. This is important to constantly upgrade our service excellence, as it is the essence of hospitality industry,'€ he told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

'€œThe hospitality industry is very complex and involves many different departments. One example is the case in which a receptionist is busy checking in new guests while in fact a housekeeper is still in the middle of cleaning up the room after it was just occupied by the previous guest. This is a case we have to resolve quickly, so that our guests won'€™t feel uncomfortable while waiting for their room to be prepared.'€

According to Erry, aside from maintaining excellent service, constant communication that allows for feedback, evaluation and improvement is also important to support the sustainability of a business.

'€œA leader has to be able to groom a new generation of leaders in order to make his or her business sustainable and long-lasting and this, aside from being accomplished through constant briefings, can also be attained through mentoring and coaching,'€ he further said.

The mentorship and coaching programs are divided into technical on-the-job training like food and beverages preparation, as well as non-technical ones on leadership and communication skills. The non-technical training is conducted at least once a month.

'€œThe hospitality industry is beyond a hotel business, as there are many categories in the industry. A travel agent is one example,'€ he said.

Erry himself has had considerable training and numerous experiences in the hospitality world. After he graduated from Boston University in business marketing and hospitality management in 2007, he worked in various hospitality-related companies, including a travel agent. It wasn'€™t until 2010 that Erry decided to establish his own hotel business.

'€œI decided to establish a contemporary art-themed hotel. My family and I have always had the passion for visual arts. We did extensive research before opening the hotel. At that time, there was no such art-themed hotel in Indonesia, except Tugu Hotel in Malang that incorporates traditional art in its concept. So, I saw this as a good opportunity to embark on,'€ he explained.

He added that through the establishment of the hotel, he hoped to promote Indonesia'€™s visual arts to a wider public.

It took at least a year to conduct the research, including finding out about the trends of art hotels in other countries and forming networks with artists able to help decorate and design the hotel, as well as executing marketing strategies devised by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their Blue Ocean Strategy book.

The first Artotel opened its doors in Surabaya on Jl. Dr. Soetomo in 2012. Its branch on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta was opened the following year.

The Surabaya and Jakarta hotels employ 80 and 60 staff members, respectively. Meanwhile, Artotel'€™s management board is a team of 20 people.

For Erry, running his hotel business is a never-ending learning process that he goes through every day.

Erry, however, said that Asian people have the tendency to be reticent about speaking their minds openly, especially to an authority figure, which remains a constraint to establishing the open communications that are essential to a learning organization climate.

'€œSome people also have poor communication skills. So, it is vital to encourage them to articulate their minds and polish their skills and there'€™s no other way than engaging them in on-the-job training on a daily basis. Eventually, we will always find people who stand out in their jobs and thereby can be groomed as our future leaders,'€ he asserted.

Asked about the challenges that the future hotel business leaders would face, Erry said that they had to work the extra mile to maintain service excellence and prevent mistakes caused by the digital era that allows people to disseminate information instantly to others.

'€œIf, for example, the room is a bit dirty, guests can instantly take a photo of it and complain on social media and you'€™re finished,'€ he said.

Erry plans to open two more hotels in Bali and Yogya next year, as well as a beach club in Bali and two more hotels in Semarang and Bandung in 2017. His long-term dream is to make Artotel a homegrown hotel brand that goes international.

'€œWhen I did my research on art hotels abroad, most of them merely place paintings on the walls without really integrating art into it. We are different from that; we incorporate art into the whole hotel through murals, sculptures and architecture, as well as holding regular exhibition programs.'€
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Place of Birth

Surabaya, Feb. 4, 1986

Career Highlights

Sales executive, Marriott International London (2007-2008); sales manager, Marriott International Singapore (2008-2009); vice president, Vaya Tour Jakarta (2009-2010); assistant director, Para Group Indonesia (2010-2011); CEO, Artotel Indonesia (2010-2012).

Education

Bachelor'€™s degrees in business marketing and hospitality management from Boston University in 2007.

At Ease

Basketball and soccer lover

I play basketball or soccer after office hours on weekdays because I already have a family and spend time with them during the weekends. I join a soccer club behind the Hotel Mulia in Senayan with my friends. I'€™ve played both games since I was young. Playing a team sport can also refine teamwork skills.

Travel buff

I like to travel to find new ideas and concepts that could be applied to my hotel business. I like to immerse myself in local cultures and arts. Bali and Yogyakarta are among my favorites because of their strong cultural characteristics. My favorite international travel destinations are Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Paris and London.

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