Hotel Insiders – Bangkok Hotelier Eric Hallin

Meet Eric Hallin, a Swedish expat who grew up in Africa and moved to Thailand 30 years ago to work in the travel industry.

In this new series ‘Hotel Insiders’, we’re reaching out to hoteliers in the Travel Massive community to learn more about their pathway into the hotel business, and how their hotel support their local communities.

In this first edition, we interview Eric Hallin – the General Manager of Rembrandt Hotel and Towers and member of our Bangkok chapter. 

How did you get into the travel industry?

I have had a very global upbringing. My father worked for UN which brought him and our family around the world. I was born in Stockholm, but was soon after living around the world … Greece, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and France among others. I studied at university in Sweden and also in Malawi. I then returned to Sweden for my mandatory military service.

Within days of leaving the military, I took my first job with a Swedish tour operator named Jambo, which focused on bringing tourists to Africa including the Seychelles and Mauritius. And soon after that, I became a shareholder which allowed me to travel even more.

I started my career in tourism by pure serendipity. Jambo, the company that hired me, had booked a ticket for me to visit my parents in Zambia while I was in the military. They happened to specialize in Africa which was a natural fit for me since I spent so many years growing up in Africa. Jambo Tours soon expanded to other distant destinations such as the Caribbean and Asia.

What brought you to Bangkok?

My father worked in Bangkok in the early 1960s and when he came back home, he would return with Thai silks and temple rubbings. This keepsakes made a big impression on me.

The tour company, Jambo, offered me the opportunity to move to Bangkok in the late 1970s as the Regional Manager. I was excited for the opportunity.

I felt at home in Bangkok, and many locals say I must have been a Thai person in another life.

I began my role as the General Manager of the Rembrandt Hotel in 2008. My good friend was the GM prior to me taking over the role. I knew the Rembrandt well, spending a lot of time there, dining in their restaurants.

What makes the Rembrandt Hotel Bangkok special?

I have worked for a lot of high end hotels over the years, but it is so important that a hotel brings out its soul. The Rembrandt definitely has a soul. My guests tell me that they feel at home here.

What has been critical to our success is we have had a lot of repeat business over the years.

There are hundreds and hundreds of hotels in Bangkok, some of them more beautiful, but I believe we offer a very personalized service. We make our guests feel like they are part of the family when they visit Bangkok.

We also have great food at our five restaurants, including two fantastic, award winning restaurants. Rang Mahal, our Indian restaurant, is located on the rooftop with breathtaking views and specializes in Northern Indian food. Generally recognized as the top Indian restaurant in town – it also has one of the most incredible brunches on Sunday.

Also loved by many is the Mexicano. Our chef is from Mexico City and we have been serving Mexican food in Bangkok for over two decades. Our food is much more Mex-Mex rather than Tex-Mex. I always recommend the margaritas and the table side made guacamole. There is great live Latino music with Cuban and Mexican musicians.

What is a perfect day in Bangkok when you have visitors?

This city offers so much.

Bangkok is the New York City of Asia. It is vibrant, alive. It is 24 hours a day. I love this city.

I like to bring my guests to Na Aroon for lunch in the Sukhumvit neighborhood. They specialize in non-meat dishes and it is a fantastic restaurant in a Thai villa built in the 1940s. Then we would jump on the canal boat and visit the majestic Golden Mount Temple, set on a high hill with great views. Continuing by river boat up the river visiting temples, parts of the old parts of Bangkok. We would end the day with food and drinks at Steve Cafe & Cuisine overlooking the Chao Phraya River and watching the sun dip down.

What’s your commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility?

Some of things we do are small, and others more impactful.

If you have to be a home away from home, you have to be part of the community.

Instead of plastic bottles in the room, we provide glass bottles of water. We send our used cooking oil to an orphanage where it is used in a bio-diesel plant at an orphanage. In the hotel we replaced all the chillers so we no longer use Freon and replaced our oil burning boilers with heat-exchangers providing our hot water needs and smaller gas operated boilers for steam to the laundry. We work with the Bamboo school (of the Mechai Pattana Foundation) which serves the economically challenged in Buriram province. Rembrandt buys rice directly from the school made by the students’ parents, paying market prices and cutting out the middleman.

We work with some schools in Laos, bringing teachers to Bangkok and providing training for them. We also work in 14 different provinces in Laos providing vocational hotel training for their teachers. The Rembrandt also support several projects run by a French NGO, IEDCD for hotel education in both Mae Sot as well as in Myanmar.

Thanks Eric for sharing your story with us!

Check out the Rembrandt Hotel and Towers for your next trip to Bangkok. You can find Eric most nights at the hotel lobby bar entertaining guests, so drop in and say hello from Travel Massive!