PATA Singapore Temasek Polytechnic Student Chapter’s second Fireside Chat Series with, Mr Peter C. Draminsky, Regional Vice-President & General Manager at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts
Group photo above of some members who attended the second fireside chat session on 16th September 2021
Singapore, 16th September, 2021 - The second instalment of the fireside chat series took place on the 16th of September 2021, with guest speaker Mr Peter C. Draminsky. Mr Draminsky is the current Regional Vice-President & General Manager at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.
Mr Draminsky boasts an impressive resume, with experience working in multiple continents for major hotel chains. Beginning his career in 1994 with Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, Mr Draminsky has since armed himself with skills in Hotel Openings, International Multi-Property exposure and a strong operations background. Mr Draminsky’s skillset, friendly demeanour and experience in the hotel industry made him an ideal candidate for the Hospitality and Tourism Management students in Temasek Polytechnic.
The conversation mainly focused on how Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts’ has overcome the pandemic and the tools that were required for the hotel chain to continue to thrive. In Mr Draminsky’s opinion, the pandemic benefitted Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts greatly in terms of preparation for the future of tourism, sustainability efforts, shifting to more usage of the Four Seasons’ app and to better understand the domestic market, its wants and needs.
This promptly led the conversation to the introduction of the Four Seasons’ App. Mr Draminsky noted that the app made guest’s hotel experience easier during the pandemic. When asked what his favourite part about the app was, Mr Draminsky said it was the inclusivity, convenience and personal engagement that the app offers and he believes that it helps Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts’ to offer excellent customer service in the middle of a pandemic.
Mr Draminsky shared some of his thoughts on technology and sustainability and commented that technology was “going to be huge for sustainability”. He then highlighted some of the efforts that Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts has taken to shift to more sustainable practices. Major changes brought up by Mr Draminsky were, the phasing out of single-use plastics, construction of the new water plant and the monitoring and measuring of food waste the hotel generates.
A final key topic Mr Draminsky talked about was how Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts plans to attract more members of Generation Z to their hotel. Mr Draminsky shared that he has been delighted to see more guests concerned about the impacts of the tourism industry on the environment. He enlightened us by stating that Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts now has a Vice-President of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and has been making steady progress with all their new initiatives. Ending off, Mr Draminsky stated that ultimately preserving the environment is a choice and simply having conversations about sustainability without taking the proper steps to curb it, will not suffice.
Overall, this conversation has helped to shed light on the hotel industry and deepen our understanding to realise that there is more than meets the eye in the day to day running of a hotel. This will definitely be useful for us when we embark on our internship journeys and we cannot thank Mr Peter C. Draminsky enough for this opportunity.
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About Temasek Polytechnic PATA Student Chapter
Temasek Polytechnic PATA Student Chapter (TP PATA SC) was founded in 2014 and it is the first Student Chapter in Singapore. We are affiliated with PATA, which is an established non-profit travel trade association for the Asia-Pacific region that is based in Bangkok. Our vision is to enhance sustainability, value, and quality of travel in the tourism industry.
For more information, please contact:
Nur Camelia Binte Mohamad Firdaus - President
Email: nurcameliafirdaus.psc@gmail.com
Ang Ming Li Kelly - Vice-President & Marketing Director
Email: kellyang.psc@gmail.com