City hotels: A lady comes to town
View(s):Sri Lanka’s city hotels have been inspired by men to service the weary travellers walking through their doors but now the order is set to change and a breath of fresh air has entered Colombo Seven.
Ms. Rookamanie Fernando
Ms. Rookamanie Fernando, the new General Manager at Jetwing Colombo Seven with her unique style and mentality is the ideal personality that will fill the vacuum to bring in the change that Colombo is searching for.
She already has wonderful plans to liven up the city and ring back the authenticity of the Sri Lankan people to the fore with the Jetwing Colombo Seven Classic Eve on May 5 with an array of local food displaying the cooking tools as well like the grinding stone. Together with local music to revive more golden memories guests would be requested to attire themselves in Sri Lankan traditional outfits giving a feel of the place with a good party to go for.
God-fearing Ms. Fernando is married with children; she noted that she has been able to balance family and career throughout these years through her sheer determination and passion in about everything she does.
Colombo adds competition to her daily chores, due to which “I have to be very vigilant and know the target market and must know whom to tap and which channel to tap.”
Having had previous experiences as the General Manager of Jetwing Pavilion and Jetwing Sea, Ms. Fernando pointed out however, that Colombo is different in that its network is different and the serving is different compared to the resort setting.
As a creative thinker always attempting to churn out innovative ideas, Ms. Fernando said, “I am self-confident and my way of thinking is to do unique things that others have not done.”
Her experience goes back to the days since she completed her Advanced Level examinations and joined the industry soon after in 1981 as a trainee receptionist at the Browns Beach Hotel.
For four years she spent time in Vienna, Austria engaged in a study programme at the South Asian Environment Cooperative Programme where she continued her studies in German language and represented Sri Lanka at this institute.
During this time, Ms. Fernando also took time out to work at a public relations company called Aces.
Returning to the country in 1986, Jetwing opened the doors to a new career start as an Executive in Guest Relations at the Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel where she was promoted to the position of Public Relations Manager. There she was able to secure a place for herself having earned a good reputation within the company so much so that she was sent to represent the organisation at travel industry fairs.
During this time Ms. Fernando took an active interest in 1992 in learning the intricacies of Ayurveda gaining a wide knowledge of herbs and plants and their impact on the body and its functions.
Once she spoke to the management at Jetwing about the power of Ayurveda as a therapy for the weary traveller to Sri Lanka, she was allowed to market these treatments and promote the concept to their clientele.
Initially the hotel allocated two rooms at the Blue Oceanic hotel for her to carry out these treatments. Later a bungalow situated in proximity to the hotel was given out to her and due to the thriving business it generated Jetwing readied itself to establish the purpose built Ayurveda hotel the Ayurveda Pavilion in 2001 where she served as its General Manager.
Following this stint, she was then sent to an academy called the Shivasom Academy in Bangkok, Thailand in order to study more about spa treatments. She was also given the opportunity to undergo training at the UK based Elemis, which is considered to be the second largest spa providers in the world.
Upon returning to Sri Lanka, Ms. Fernando also brought down two UK trainers to assist in training the spa therapists at Jetwing. Following this knowledge gained, she was then asked to oversee the spas at Jetwing’s hotels like the Lighthouse, Galle; Blue Oceanic; Vil Uyana and Blue Waters.
Some of her milestones are the turning around of the Jetwing Sea property to a five star hotel and establishing deluxe rooms and raising the service charge from less than Rs.3000 in 2010 to Rs.25-30, 000 in 2017, she explained.
In addition she noted that at Jetwing Pavilion she had been able to increase the accommodation units from the existing 12 villas to an additional 35 rooms.
With a motto to deliver “beyond expectation,” Ms. Fernando said she wants to establish something unique in serving people who she said she loves.