Sonja Vodusek: Manila Pen's first wo-manager

MANILA, Philippines- Sometimes, the best man for the job is a woman. Like Sonja Vodusek, whom The Peninsula Manila recently welcomed as its first female general manager. She comes armed with formidable credentials and a disarming smile as warm as Australia’s glorious summer.

Yes, Sonja was born and raised in Australia, but the world is her home. Or should we say, the hotel is her home. Fact is, this is her second life — but it’s her first and foremost passion. Straight out of school, she worked for the family’s meat processing business where she ran the human resources and financial side. It was in the top 500 private companies in Australia. She grew up doing a lot of charity work and fundraising with her parents.

“I really enjoyed the whole people component and dealing with people,” she enthuses. “I was with the family business for six years and then one day, I said, ‘I think I wanna do something else.’ I was in a doctor’s clinic for a medical checkup and I saw this advertisement about hotel management. And I said, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’”

And that’s exactly what she did! “My first job was cleaning rooms; I started from the bottom,” says Sonja with a twinkle in her eyes. “I knew one day that I wanted to manage a hotel. But I had to start from the beginning to be able to say to my staff one day, like now, that I understand the job that they do.”

With a diploma from the Blue Mountain International Hotel Management School tucked under her belt, she kissed her folks goodbye and left Australia to live and work in Japan, and then Ireland, USA, Czech Republic, and now, the Philippines. Her first job, while still in school in Sydney, was at the Sheraton Grande in Tokyo, Japan where she was a room attendant for six months. From there, she moved on to Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas, Queensland where she worked as a waitress/hostess in the restaurant.

Meet you at The Lobby: Since The Peninsula Manila opened its doors on Sept. 14, 1976, The Lobby has been the place to see and be seen. It is said that one hasn’t arrived until one has dined at The Lobby.

With sheer hard work and the indefatigable drive to excel, Sonja steadily rose from the ranks. Hold your breath now: From waitress to assistant director of housekeeping at Sheraton Mirage to assistant housekeeping manager at Grand Hyatt in Melbourne to director of housekeeping at the Regent in Sydney to opening director of housekeeping at the Four Seasons in Dublin, Ireland to front office manager in the same hotel to consulting director of rooms at the Four Seasons in Tokyo to hotel manager at Four Seasons in Prague, Czech Republic to hotel manager at The Peninsula in New York and now, to general manager of The Peninsula Hotel in Manila.

She confesses, “In my 16 years in the business, I would say my most memorable experience was my first job as a room attendant. That was tough. I questioned myself when I was in Japan whether I was gonna make it. The hardest part was the physical aspect of it.”

But she made it and look where she is now! Shades of the J. Lo movie Maid in Manhattan? If you love that movie (I do, I do), you’re bound to love this true-to-life inspiring story.

Sonja shares, “When I talk to the staff, I tell them, ‘Don’t ever let anybody say you can’t do something. You can do it! I was also a waitress and slowly, I worked my way up.’ There were lots of trials and tribulations, and lots of sacrifices made traveling around the world, not being with your family, not being able to see your nephews and nieces growing up … You do give a lot. But it’s a wonderful industry and it’s something that gets in your blood.”

Sonja lived in and traveled to different parts of Asia for a while, like Japan, Shanghai, Korea. But what took her so long to come to the Philippines?

“I don’t know what took me so long,” she replies with a chuckle. “It’s surprising because I’ve had so many Filipino friends from around the world, worked with so many Filipinos. We have many Filipinos in Australia. When I was director of housekeeping, of the 200 staff, there were 120 Filipinos. So every now and then, we would have merienda in the housekeeping department.”

Sonja just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be the first general manager of The Peninsula Manila (she’s the third female to become GM of The Peninsula Group — the two others are Pen Chicago GM Maria Rezumech-Zec and Pen Hong Kong GM Rainy Chan). “But isn’t the Philippines a very matriarchal society?” notes Sonja with an ear-to-ear grin.

What were her expectations of the Philippines?

Comes her quick reply, “My expectations have been exceeded in that the Philippines is a beautiful country, it’s a hidden treasure. We have all these beautiful slogans for other countries, like Incredible India, Amazing Thailand, Malaysia Truly Asia. What about Fun Philippines? We have to come up with some great slogan that can capture what Filipinos are — warm, welcoming, friendly. I want to go to Palawan, Baguio, there’s so much to explore. And for most people coming from abroad, it’s easy to adjust because people here speak English. Out of all the other Asian countries, you have this warmth and naturalness, and English is a language you understand. And the good thing about the Philippines is it’s very family-oriented. And The Peninsula is all about the family.”

What would a lady GM bring to The Peninsula Manila?

“The question is: Is there a difference between a male and a female manager?” she asks. “I think from a business perspective, there’s none. But from a nurturing perspective, yes, there is. Women are naturally caring. And being in the hospitality business is about caring for people, for your guests. That is the niche a woman in this industry brings. I always say the competitive advantage for any hotel is personal service. Yesterday, I was in the lobby and one of my personal goals is every day, I touch four guests in the lobby. I introduce myself. Yesterday, it was two foreigners and two Filipino guests. Just touching people and saying that I’m not in the ivory tower somewhere. Who runs this hotel? It’s visibility. Another thing that’s part of my style is remembering people’s names and knowing a little bit about them.”

Indeed, Sonja is a natural-born hotelier. “I enjoy making people feel comfortable and from a guest and staff perspective, it’s important to have happy staff, happy guests — and happy guests means more guests.”

She points out, “I think the challenge of hospitality leaders now is ensuring their frontline staff is happy and inspiring them to be able to make the guests feel they’re at home because that’s really what they want.”

Herself feeling very much at home in her new job in a new country, Sonja enjoys eating pancit luglog, adobo, and oodles of noodle dishes. “All the fattening Filipinos dishes,” she gushes.

What changes does she hope to bring to The Pen?

“I just want to continue driving the business forward,” asserts Sonja. “We have a dynamic team, we’re very fortunate to have people who have been here for a long time — they know what works, what doesn’t work. I think my role as a general manager is to represent the brand and support everybody in the hotel, what they’re doing, and try and bring more business in.”

The Pen is also constantly looking for opportunities to do things for the local community. “Giving back to the community is important because we’re supported by the community,” says Sonja.

So far, what’s it like for the new lady GM working with Filipinos?

“Absolutely delightful!” Sonia exclaims. “I think everybody is willing to please, nobody wants to disappoint. I think creating that culture of wanting to take care of their guests and wanting to work for somebody is far more important than I have to do this because I have to do it. I’m continually getting commendation letters. The key message I get is the warmth and friendliness of the staff and the ‘can do’ attitude and nothing’s a problem, which is great. I was having dinner last night and a guest said to me, ‘One thing that sets your hotel apart from many others is your people. And he asked me, ‘Why the difference?’ I said, ‘We hire for attitude, and we can train the skills later.’ Because if you have somebody with the right attitude, they’re prepared to do whatever it takes.”

Aussie does it: “One of my personal goals is every day, I touch four guests in the lobby. I introduce myself. Just touching people and saying that I’m not in the ivory tower somewhere. Another thing that’s part of my style is remembering people’s names and knowing a little bit about them,” says Sonja Vodusek.

Sonja hastens to add, “I’m really looking forward to being part of the Peninsula family in Manila, enjoying my time here, and working with a great team of professionals. We have lots of exciting things happening this year. I think the property is just gonna go from strength to strength.”

To go back in time, it was on Sept. 14, 1976 that The Peninsula Manila opened its luxurious doors in the pulsating financial center of Makati City. It was the year the Philippines hosted the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Conference. The Peninsula Manila has since been the elegant address of choice for foreign and local guests as it offers the best of gracious Filipino hospitality.

     And now, celebrate the suite life as The Peninsula Manila offers a special package to mark 35 glorious years of exceptional service. For its “Celebrate 35 Years” room promotion, available from June 1 to September 30, guests may reserve any room category — from a Superior Room to The Peninsula Suite — for one night at the regular published rack room rate and enjoy the second night at only P3,500.

To perk up the celebration, The Bar at The Pen has concocted Spirit of ’76, a commemorative cocktail made with Tanduay Rum 1854 (a reserved aged rum blended by the Philippines’ oldest and largest distillery, Tanduay Distillery Inc.), Aperol, pomegranate syrup, fresh mango and passion fruit juices. It will be available at The Bar, Salon de Ning, and all the hotel’s restaurants throughout the year.

Over at the Old Manila, chef de cuisine Samuel Linder, inspired by the original 1976 menu, whips up various anniversary specials which guests can enjoy at incredible 1976 prices. The promo is available from September 1 to 30.

    The Pen’s legendary The Lobby celebrates its 35th birthday by offering the iconic Halo Halo Harana at only P35 on Sept. 14, from 12 noon to 12 midnight. Now, that’s the sweetest deal in town! Another popular iconic Lobby menu item that will be offered is the grilled schublig which can also be enjoyed for only P35. So, meet me at The Lobby on Sept. 14.

And now, say hello to Sonja Vodusek, your new Pen pal!