Hom Parviz, General Manager at Hyatt Regency Belgrade - My home is there where I unpack my suitcase

(Hom Parviz)

Exactly a year ago, I unpacked my suitcase in Belgrade. He is a native Iranian who grew up and was educated in UK and worked in all meridians. He believes patience is a key thing in his life, since “all falls into. He ran a famous Hard Rock Cafe chain and then got the opportunity to manage the Hyatt hotel. Today, Hom Parviz, the first man of the Belgrade Hyatt Regency hotel.

After the revolution in 1979, whilehis father as a government employee had to leave the country, the Parviz family moved to Britain.

- When we arrived to London I was 14 -15. Since I was at that age, it was a thrilling experience to move from the Middle East country to the European one. Lots of new things to discover, experience ...
As he explained, his formal hotelier education is limited. He finished "only"a higher college level. - Sometimes, some jobs require certain degrees, but inmy case I was lucky enough to be at the right moment at the right place and with smart decisions and a bit of a hard work to reach what I have now. However, all diplomas are irrelevant compared to the fact that he started earning for himself when he was 16.

- Firstly, I was assisting in a candy shop near home. At the age of 16, I started working three days a week, I washed dishes.

With a smile, he said it was perhaps his first encounter with services. His career in the "hospitality"management began in the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant chain where he spent about 10 years.

- My first position was a restaurant supervisor. At the end, I left the company as General Manager –our spokesman remembers.

After that, Parviz joined the Hyatt.

Experience on all meridians

First he workedin Baku-based Hyatt. He arrived to the Azerbaijan capital in 1994 and again found himself in a new environment. And it was only some time after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although in some things they lagged behind the European hotels,it was exciting because it was the first hotel Hyatt opened on that side of the world.

After Spain and Oman, where he spent about two and a half years, Parviz moved to Hyatt in Australia. After that, he came back for three years he returned to Azerbaijan and spent some time in Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia.

When asked where he felt the best, he said he still remembered Muscat (Oman) as a place where he felt very comfortable.

- The hotel was beautiful,with a touch of middle-east spirit and warmth, mixed with the spirit of the Emirates and Dubai. Eastern culture but without neon signs and glamour - the first person of Belgrade Hyatt remembers.

However, perhaps Omanis his choice because there he met his current wife with whom he has a son.

Serbia is my home now.

It was exactly ayear in April since he came to Belgrade.

- In the hotel industry there is a saying that when you arrive somewhere and open your suitcase,you are already home.

He says that in our capital he feels very comfortable ... He travels to Britain two or three times a year because his parents and sisters with whom he is close live there. However,he is not thinking of return.

My personal experience is that patience is crucial.

- Whatever you do in your life, especially young people, the most important is that you wait for the things to happen. But, today the culture of the youth is that they want everything immediately. For me, it was important to wait. It took me almost 10 years to get from a supervisory position to general manager.

- With a proper attitude, everything is possible.

He is trying to nourish that attitude in Hyatt as well. He supports initiative, human care and humanity. He is very pleased with the situation in our Hyatt.

- I worked in 7-8 countries but I can set aside two:Kirgistan and Serbia where I discovered high level of professionalism and committment.

- No, luckily, I have more suitcases...

Cooking, skiing and family

Hom Parviz is trying to spend all his leisure time with his family. Except from Belgrade, he visited Palic and Novi Sad. He is planning to test skiing paths on Kopaonik next year since he is a fan of skiing.

Instead of visiting shopping malls, he prefers walking along the streets. He says he still feels youngand enjoys night life in Belgrade, including cafes, bars, clubs and inns. The only thing that matters is company.

Except from managing hotels, he also manages his kitchen.

- Believe it or not, I am pretty good at cooking.

Whenthe selection of food is in question, he says that as a chef he must be open.Therefore, he combines Iranian and cuisine of the countries he lived in. Heenjoys wines and thinks our wines are very quality ones.

Plans

He observes thefact that in 2015 Belgrade will see openings of several hotels with 4 or 5 stars,from two perspectives. It`s good thing since new hotels will provide chance foremployment. But the problem is whether there will be enough guests and tourists for all.

The success of thehotel is the main goal to Parviz. He says that all short-term plans of Hyatt Regency even in crisis are met. In the future, customer satisfaction will be primarily. And in order to have that, according to Parviz,you need to have good people among staff, give them a chance, give them the opportunity to advance ...

- The problem is that we have "just a piece of cake" - the head of Hyatt said - and with the hope that the owners or investors of the hotel did their calculation well, because,as he added, next year or two are risky to start investments.

Jelena Djelic