Gusti Darmayasa
In this interview, Gusti Darmayasa tells about his role as recreation manager at Hyatt Regency and Andaz Bali.
What do you do?
I am a Recreation Manager at Andaz Bali. One of my main jobs is to create activities for guests. Also, to supervise and make sure that the activities run well in operation.
How did you get into the industry?
I am surrounded by hotelier friends and family. My first job in the hotel industry was as a daily worker in St. Regis Bali. I had such a supportive team; they helped me upgrade myself professionally. I worked at various hotels in Bali, from Intercontinental, Mercure, and Movenpick, before joining Andaz.
What food memory from your childhood or travels stands out?
Our very own sweets or Jajanan Bali. It’s colourful, sweet and readily available in Bali.
What’s the best/ worst part of your job?
I myself believe that every job has its best and worst parts. The best one is that you can make a difference in someone’s life – be it making my guests happy or helping my team members advance in their careers.
What’s one of your favourite food and beverage pairings?
Traditional cake and a cup of hot Bali coffee – sweet and bitter.
The perfect day off would be…
Taking a good rest, be it sleeping or just laying down, anything that gives fuel to my mind and body.
A day in the life of a Recreation Manager is…
…fun!
I am lucky that my job is my passion. It gives me the energy to provide extra effort that eventually gives greater impact and good results, not only to guests but also to my team.
What does Gusti Darmayasa do for fun?
Cycling. The farthest distance I have biked is 120km. It was a roundtrip from Jatiluwih to Batubulan.
What’s something you’d like guests to know about Andaz Bali?
Andaz Bali is inspired by Balinese culture. Our guest activities represent what it is like to be local and to give the most experience of Balinese culture. We have kul kul parade, making a hat out of coconut leaf, lontar writing, creating batik, and more. Also, most of our decoration in the hotel area uses the real instrument of the culture itself, for example, just like angklung in the entrance gate that sounds when the wind blows.
What’s something you’d like people to know about being a Recreation Manager as a profession?
It is a fun job to do. Being a creative person is one of the requirements to be a recreation manager. So, this job can actually be done by everyone without a certain educational title.
What’s your view on the hospitality scene in Bali?
Close to 80% of business in Bali comes from hospitality and tourism with the new normal habit, and the economy is getting better after two years of the pandemic; Bali is getting back on the map.
What practices do you currently implement or hope to implement in the future to work towards social responsibility and sustainability?
We’ve been practising social responsibility around Andaz Bali by presenting activities that are based on our Balinese culture. Also, we keep all the needed property sustainable. For example, the coconut leaves for creating hat activities in the Village Square it is produced by the trees that we have around the hotel. We just take them and use them for making goods.
What’s in store for you in the upcoming months?
There will be new activities in the hotel area which are definitely interesting for guests and not to be missed. With some preparation, hopefully, these activities can be enjoyed by guests soon.
Read more interviews such as this one with Gusti Darmayasa here, and stay up to date with the latest gourmet and travel recommendations here and here.
Sure is great to have a job that one thinks is a whole lot of…fun!!!