Exploring Young Talent Scholarships with Avani Pattaya GM Matt Fryar

In this AIHM Higher blog post, Matthew Fryar—the General Manager of Avani Pattaya Resort—sits down with Samantha Lauver-Marion—Head of Student Engagement at AIHM—to discuss the Young Talent Scholarship, a fantastic initiative open to graduating high school students in Thailand.

Discover the details of the scholarship and then dive into the interview below.

About the Young Talent Scholarship

The Young Talent Scholarship is a highly competitive, full-tuition scholarship awarded to promising individuals who have decided to pursue a degree in hospitality management. Young Talent Scholars have their education fully covered as they study at AIHM and intern with global hospitality enterprises. Upon graduation, the Scholars enjoy a guaranteed three-year contract with the hotel that sponsors them. Scholarship recipients enjoy a fully funded degree and an amazing opportunity to launch their career, while sponsoring hotels and hospitality businesses benefit from a unique recruitment opportunity.

A Win-Win Situation for Scholars and Sponsors

Sponsoring hotels are able to employ well-trained young graduates who are entering the workforce with real-world experience at multiple properties already on their resume. These are emerging professionals who have received a world-class education following a Swiss management curriculum. The Scholars intern in both front-of-house and back-of-house departments at other hotels during their studies. They meet and learn from some of the industry’s most accomplished executives and experts. They study theory in the classroom and put their lessons into practice through a variety of special opportunities with AIHM’s industry partners. The Scholars also have the luxury of knowing their hard work is guaranteed to pay off. Instead of competing with other fresh graduates as they enter the workforce, they’re fast-tracked into hospitality careers with a job waiting for them upon graduation.

A Discussion with Avani Pattaya General Manager Matthew Fryar:

Young Talent, The Amazing Talent Pool in Thailand, and Building a Career in Hospitality

SLM:

I’m so happy to be speaking with you today, Matthew. At AIHM, our partnerships with experts in the hospitality industry and with hospitality enterprises are vital to our students’ educational journeys and to our mission of training the next generation of hospitality leaders. We really cherish these mutually beneficial partnerships.

We’re so grateful to have Avani Pattaya Resort as a sponsor for one of the Young Talent Scholarships. You joined us in interviewing a number of strong candidates and chose a very worthy recipient, Gunchaporn “Eng Eng” Lertritsirikul, who has been studying with us and is currently interning in the Front Office at Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel. As expected, she’s making great progress in her education, and I’m sure she has a very bright future ahead of her.

Now, Avani Pattaya is generously sponsoring another Young Talent Scholarship—which covers full tuition for a Bachelor’s degree, approximately 1.5 million baht. This will be for a student beginning their studies at AIHM in 2024. Interested students can apply for the scholarship now.

This scholarship is really a great opportunity for someone who’s dreaming of a career in hospitality. Before we talk more about the Young Talent Scholarship and what it means to your property though, could you tell us about your own career journey and the steps you took on your own path before you became the General Manager at the Avani Pattaya Resort?

MF:
My hotel career started back in 1989. I had found myself in London. At that time, I’d just recently left Australia and had spent three months travelling across the United States. When I landed in London, I needed to find some work. I ran into a fellow Australian traveller, who had just gotten a job in a hotel, and he said, “Why don't you apply?”

So early one morning, I found myself walking across Hyde Park in London on my way to the Intercontinental Park Lane. I had no idea at the time what its status was, what its history was. I walked in. I applied for a position that was available in Room Service. And I was successful in getting it.

That was the beginning of my hospitality career, starting off in Room Service at the Intercontinental Park Lane. Right away, I realised that this was something that I would love to do.

The interaction with different nationalities—London, being a very multinational environment—was great. I gained a lot from that. I was learning other people's cultures from very early on in my career. Up until that time, I had spent almost all of my life in Australia. That’s the only place I’d lived. That’s where most of my travel experience was. I hadn't been overseas very much at all.

Photo credit: https://londontheinside.com/checking-in-intercontinental-london-park-lane/

I worked at the London Intercontinental for two years, and that was a great foundation. Not only was I working in a multicultural environment; I was also working in one of the leading five-star properties during that time. I learned very early what was required to meet a very high level of guest expectations. That became ingrained within me and has remained ingrained in me throughout my career.

After my time in London, I moved back to Australia. I returned to Adelaide, my hometown in South Australia. There was a new beachfront hotel, a Ramada at that time. Again, I joined in Room Service. I worked in that hotel for four years, moving from Room Service to Front Desk. I worked as a Concierge and on Bell Desk. I had the opportunity to move from more of a back-of-house role to a front-of-house role.

I then subsequently left South Australia and moved up to Far North Queensland, where I had a job at a Holiday Inn. They were running a huge 750-key resort on Hamilton Island, one of the islands in the Whitsundays. I was there for just on two years.

I started off working as a porter. As you can imagine, this island was very big. It had its own airport. As a porter, we would wait for the luggage to come off the plane, sort it and then transport it around the resort, which was huge. We all had proper vehicles to drive around. Working in that function taught me about logistics, and it also taught me how to coordinate people. I’d quickly moved into the role of Head Porter. I had a team of up to 16 during high season for a 750-key resort.

I was successful enough in that role to move across to Front Desk, just as a Front Desk Agent.
I’d always wanted to move to the Front Desk, and that was my opportunity to do so.

Following my time there, I moved to Sydney. I moved back, funnily enough, to the Bell Team. It was a Swissotel at Bondi Beach. Again, another brand, and another opportunity for me to experience a different style of hotel, a mainland beach resort hotel. I was only there a short time though. I believe I was in that role for less than a year.

I joined a colleague of mine, who I'd worked together with on Hamilton Island, to open a brand-new hotel in Sydney’s Chinatown. That was a great opportunity. I was a Duty Manager during the pre-opening period, so I was able to experience and learn the basics of how to open a hotel from nothing. That opportunity was really very exciting, and I gained a lot of valuable lessons from that experience.

After we had successfully opened the property, I moved to another very well-known Sydney hotel called the Gazebo. I was the Duty Manager at that property. Then, I moved back into F&B as a Restaurant Manager at a restaurant that overlooked Sydney Harbour. The setting was spectacular, especially during New Year's fireworks.

Photo credit: https://sydneyexpert.com/new-years-eve-in-sydney/

Then, I thought I'd had enough of hotels. The life of hotelier can be stressful sometimes. You can find yourself in roles with professional responsibilities that make it difficult to have a lot of time for friends and relatives. I wanted to go to a 9-to-5 job. I ended up working for a company that installed hotel software around Australia and also in the Pacific region as well. I was in that role for around three years. It took me to many, many different hotels. Part of my role was to train all departments and department heads on how to use the hotel software. I learned how to communicate at all different levels.

I’d already had experience building those kinds of skills, but this new role reinforced and developed them further. I gained experience communicating with everyone in different ways, from the General Manager to entry-level employees and all the way back up again.

Photo credit: https://www.departures.com/travel/french-polynesia-tahiti-marquesas-islands-2-3

For one installation project, I had the opportunity to go to the Pacific nation of French Polynesia, which is a long way away from Australia. While in French Polynesia, I ended up joining Starwood Hotels. I had been working for the company that was installing their software. At the time, Starwood Hotels had three properties in French Polynesia. The third one was opening. I took up a role with Starwood as a Rooms Division Manager. I was the Cluster Rooms Division Manager responsible for resorts across three islands, which spanned an area of about 500 kilometres. It was challenging due to the distance and also very challenging because everyone was speaking French, and I was speaking English. There were communication challenges to overcome, and we did so successfully.

Ultimately, my position changed. At the time, revenue management was starting to appear in hotels. As a region, we reported to Hawaii. The Starwood team in Hawaii needed someone on the ground in French Polynesia to establish their revenue management. I became the Cluster Revenue Manager for four properties. I looked after Two Sheratons, a St Regis resort and Bora Bora Nui, a Luxury Collection resort. Apart from the existing Sheraton Tahiti and the Sheraton Moorea, I was actively involved in the preopening and opening phases of the Bora Bora Nui and the St Regis Bora Bora Resort.

After six and half years in French Polynesia, I travelled on holiday to Asia—to Thailand and Myanmar. At the time a good friend of mine was living in Myanmar. During that trip to Southeast Asia, I fell in love with Thailand. I made it my purpose to try to move to Thailand, which I successfully did after quite some time.

I began my career in Thailand at the Sheraton Pattaya, which is now the Intercontinental Pattaya. I worked there for 18 months. Then at the start of 2010, I joined Minor. I joined Minor through a colleague of mine. Actually, my General Manager at the Sheraton Pattaya, Dietmar Koegerl, had gone on to join Minor as the Pre-opening GM for Anantara Kihavah. He told me, “Matt, you need to come and work here at Minor.”

I interviewed with the CPO at the time. I then had a subsequent interview, which was initially described as just a coffee chat, but I ended up talking with Dillip Rajakarier, Minor Hotels’ CEO. Then ultimately, I had an interview on the same day with Mr. Heinecke.

And then I was very fortunate. I found myself joining Minor Hotels. I joined what is now known as Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Resort, as the EAM for that property. That was the start of my career with Minor. I’ve been with Minor for 13 years now—so quite some time. Over the course of those years, I've worked in the Maldives. I was at Anantara Dhigu and Anantara Veli Maldives as the Cluster Resident Manager there. Then after three years, I moved back to Thailand to work at what is now the Avani Pattaya, where I am currently, but at that time it was a Marriott. I worked at the property for two years during that period. I did a task force in China at the Anantara Xishuangbanna. I went to Qatar to handle part of the opening of Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara. I worked on the opening of the Anantara Angkor Resort—that is, its rebranding and evolution from the previous property called the Sothea. Then I moved to Avani Hai Phong Harbour View in Vietnam as a first-time GM.

Working as the GM of Avani Hai Phong was a great opportunity because I was able to be the person that was making the decisions, ultimately all the decisions. That taught me how to be independent, and how to establish and follow through on plans. I was able to really see firsthand how decisions and the way we executed these decisions as a team impacted our guests.

Very fortunately, we were able to really turn business around in that hotel. I worked for there for almost three years before moving to a new Avani, the Avani Hua Hin. We evolved and rebranded it as the Avani+ Hua Hin. I was there for two and a half years, into the initial part of the COVID pandemic. During COVID, I moved to my current role as the GM of Avani Pattaya.

Having worked there before, I already knew the property very well when I joined. I knew the team very well. It was like coming home in some respects. We’ve continued with the development of this hotel, and that brings us up to today.

SLM:
Thank you so much, Matthew, for sharing your journey with our readers and for illustrating all the different opportunities you've had across countries and in different departments and in hotels at different stages, from new openings to existing hotels to properties going through a rebranding. You have certainly had an amazing journey.

 It’s also great that the leadership role you’re in now is giving you a chance to give back to the young talent that’s here in Thailand. That’s the other topic I wanted to hear more about today. Could you talk about the Minor Young Talent Scholarship that your hotel has awarded to our current student Eng Eng? Could you explain to our readers what this opportunity is and what the Minor Young Talent Scholarship means to you and your team at Avani Pattaya Resort?

MF:
The Minor Young Talent Scholarship is a great opportunity for younger people who are coming up now and choosing hospitality as a career.

One of the things that I learned along my way in my own career is that if I had the opportunity to step up into these kinds of programmes, it was something I absolutely needed to take advantage of. It’s something you have to go after. We used to call them ‘elevator programmes’. They can be invaluable to your career progression. I’ve taken part in these kinds of programmes, for example, going through Horizon which is part of the Minor pathway to becoming a General Manager.

Beyond this, I think that this is also an opportunity for people who might not think that hospitality is for them, or people who simply haven’t considered the possibility of hospitality. This scholarship can be an opportunity for young people who have really dedicated themselves to their education, who have a great deal of potential, and who are looking for a career that has a personal element to it, for a career where people can embrace their own passions and talents and be themselves.

This scholarship—which funds full tuition for the duration of a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at AIHM—gives the awardee the chance to gain a strong foundation in how hotels operate. They learn what all the different departments do, how they interact, how they ultimately come together to benefit a guest and create a guest experience.

The scholarship also enables students to study these things in an environment that gives them access to the full diversity of hospitality. You’re exploring these things with other like-minded students, and you’re experiencing multiple brands. Minor has exceptional brands and great hotels, and every hotel within Minor’s portfolio is different. As you heard, I’ve worked in many different brands and different companies. Gaining a breadth of experience is an essential part of building a robust base of knowledge and understanding guest diversity.

AIHM’s students acquire that important learning. They build the foundational skills. They get to experience different environments and develop their skills within these environments throughout their three and half years of study and in the various learning opportunities AIHM provides them. By funding the education of one of these talented young people, our hotel is able to benefit as well. We’re able to recruit a talented individual who we know is receiving a terrific education, and when they come into our property to begin their career, we know they’re going to be very knowledgeable and already very, very experienced. They’ll have what it takes to succeed in the hospitality industry.

SLM:

Eng Eng is currently completing her internship with Minor at the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort, where she’s interning in the Front Office department and experiencing each division of the Front Office operations. When she finishes her three-and-a-half-year degree at AIHM, she’ll be well-prepared to complete her three-year employment agreement with the Avani Pattaya Resort.

She's going to be coming to your team with this well-rounded experience that you've mentioned and with the experience of seeing how different hotels operate so she can provide the best support to your hotel as a team member in the future.

Could you tell us a little bit more about why you think it's important to offer these kinds of opportunities to young people, especially young people here in Thailand?

MF:

Thailand has a wonderful reputation as being the Land of Smiles. This genuinely is something that’s incredible about Thailand. There’s such a strongly expressed warm hospitality that’s part of Thai culture. Almost everyone you come across in Thailand has that warmth. It’s a foundational part of Thai culture and Thai society. That’s one of the reasons why the hospitality industry here flourishes.

AIHM is great because you’re bringing an international learning environment and international faculty here to Thailand. You have a curriculum developed with Les Roches, which is one of the world’s top hotel schools, and students don’t have to travel out of the country to experience it and benefit from it.

Previously, this kind of high-level education in hospitality management was only available to those who travelled out of the country for their schooling. It was only available to students from very affluent families who had the luxury of being able to send their children overseas for education in places like Switzerland. The education offered at AIHM now and the Minor Young Talent Scholarship open the opportunity to receive this kind of education to a much wider range of people.

The AIHM students I’ve seen and even the candidates I was able to review during the interview process for the scholarship have displayed an amazing diversity and a passion behind their ambitions. Being able to learn all the skills required to work in an international environment and doing so in your home country, I think that’s extremely advantageous for the Thai students at AIHM.

SLM:
Yes, it is quite a great opportunity, especially since this is a full-tuition scholarship that is being offered. The scholarship that Avani Pattaya Resort is sponsoring is a great example of the commitment that both AIHM and Minor Hotels have for developing talent in Thailand’s EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor) region that includes key tourist destinations like Pattaya, Chonburi and Rayong.

While the Minor Young Talent Scholarship is something that’s currently only available in Thailand, we'd love to extend this beyond the borders of Thailand, especially into nearby countries in Southeast Asia. We hope to welcome more international students on full scholarships by partnering with Minor Hotels’ properties outside of Thailand and potentially with other brands in the future. We’d love to be able to offer more scholarships with hotel partners who are interested in developing the younger population within this industry.

I'm so happy to hear about the ways that you view this opportunity. The support that you have provided thus far to Eng Eng is certainly making an impact in her life and the communities that she is a part of.

MF:
You know, hospitality is international. Of course, hospitality can be domestic as well, but the international aspect of hospitality is undeniable. Think about how important international tourism and business travel is in Thailand. Working in the hospitality industry here means working in an international environment. I think it's important for students to understand that with training that they'll receive at AIHM, they can step out into an international environment with confidence.

What I’ve seen in the young professionals discovering hospitality now and something I especially noticed during our interview process for the scholarship is that the young people seeking out careers in this industry are choosing it in part because it offers a mix of practical skills training and more academic, professional management studies. A hospitality management degree appeals to a particular type of person who doesn’t necessarily want to study in a very strict academic environment where you’re learning from books but not gaining any practical experience. It appeals to young, up-and- coming professionals who want to have a mix of practical and academic learning so they can see more immediately how what they’ve learned unfolds in the real world, how they can put what they’ve learned into action, and what the ultimate results are.

That immediate, real-world application of what they’re learning helps them grow. Other educational opportunities and education for other career tracks don’t often offer that.

Plus, hospitality is a social environment and also a family environment in many ways. That’s something crucial for potential hoteliers to understand. When you join a hotel team, you’re basically coming in and stepping into an instant family. People that may be working away from their home, away from their hometown, have a family here, which is the hotel team. That’s very appealing for a lot of people in the younger generation as well.

SLM:

Absolutely, I completely agree. And being able to apply what they've learned right away is certainly, as you said, something that is a special aspect of what we provide here at AIHM for our students.

When I think about our students, I also like to think about what their steps next steps will be after they graduate. When students complete their studies at AIHM through the Minor Young Talent Scholarship programme, how do you think that they can grow in the hospitality industry after their graduation?

MF:
Well, I think it's about the foundation. AIHM’s students build a very strong foundation over the course of the three and a half years.

When we hire people and bring them on board, we hire for experience. And we hire for personality. If you have someone that has both of those at a younger age, then it allows them to progress through their career on a faster track. They can move up the career ladder quickly because they do have that strong foundation. They also have a structured mindset in terms of how to learn and most importantly how to adapt to different environments.

If you have this foundation and ability, the opportunities are far greater than what I had in my own journey. When I look back, my way into hospitality and the ways I progressed in my career are a bit different. I think that today if you’re able to gain a strong foundation early, you have the opportunity to achieve great things in your career, not only within Thailand but also internationally. Minor Hotels is one of the few companies doing this, and Avani Pattaya is really grateful to be a part of the Minor Young Talent Scholarship.

SLM:

Thank you so much, Matthew. I really appreciated the chance to connect with you and to hear more about your journey and about this Minor Young Talent scholarship opportunity that we've provided to Eng Eng and that we look forward to providing to future students.

I have one last question before we wrap up our discussion for today. If you were to look back on the beginning of your journey and think about a piece of advice you'd like to offer to students that are just starting their own journeys, what piece of advice would you give?

MF:

I think it's very important to connect with a mentor. This is crucial. A mentor is someone who has experience. They may not necessarily be in your same age bracket, but it’s important for students to understand that the time you have with mentors is a great learning opportunity.

I've had mentors throughout my career. I’m still connected with people who taught me and shared their experience and advice since day one in my career many years ago.

The importance of mentors is key to understand, and so is the importance of always being open. All the learning never stops. I always say: the more you're willing to learn, to continuously learn and put yourself in environments where you will learn, the more you’ll have a great career in hospitality.

SLM:

Thank you so much, Matthew. I really appreciate that. And I know that our students and our readers will certainly take this to heart and apply it where they can within their lives. Trying to select the right mentor that is a few steps ahead of where they are in their journey can certainly make all the difference.

We appreciate the time that you've taken, and we hope to see you again soon sometime on campus in Bangkok.

Partner with AIHM to Sponsor a Young Talent Scholarship

AIHM brings a world-class hotel management education to the most promising future industry leaders. Are you a hotel or hospitality enterprise interested in exploring sponsorship of a Young Talent Scholarship? We’d be delighted to speak with you about the possibilities!

Please contact Samantha Lauver-Marion at Samantha.Marion@aihm.education to discuss partnering with AIHM for scholarship and recruitment activities.