Palazzo Versace loses its fourth General Manager in four years

ANOTHER one bites the dust. Palazzo Versace has lost its fourth general manager in less than four years after Claire Huang walked out of the luxe hotel this week.

PALAZZO Versace has lost its fourth general manager in less than four years after Claire Huang left the luxe hotel due to “personal reasons” this week.

Touted as the world’s first fashion-branded hotel, the five-star resort has struggled to retain a GM since Russell Durnell’s shock resignation in April 2014.

Claire Huang, former GM of Palazzo Versace. Picture: John Gass

Although the GM role looks like a dream gig for any hospitality boss — your office is a marble-floored, gold-plated, chandelier-filled, five-star waterfront resort — insiders say the reality involves making frugal decisions.

An industry insider said the iconic Main Beach property had been cutting costs since 2012 when it was sold to a Chinese consortium for $68.5 million.

The luxe Main Beach hotel.

“They don’t pay the GMs very well, they’re probably getting about half as much as they would at another hotel,” the insider said.

Spicer's Peak Lodge general manager Subash Basrur at the luxury Scenic Rim resort after he left Versace.

“They’ve also chosen to go down the path of high occupancy with a lower room rate (as low as $367 a night), so they’re attracting the ‘Jetstar crowd’.

“It’s the little touches that just aren’t there anymore, and the service is not what you’d expect from a supposed five-star hotel.”

Russell Durnell was the first GM to walk out since Sunland sold the property. Picture: Jerad Williams

Ms Huang isn’t the only senior staff member to leave the hotel in recent months, former marketing and communications boss Jasmine Webb took a position at soon-to-open W Brisbane.

Palazzo Versace General Manager and Marketing Manager Jasmine Webb. Picture: Scott Fletcher

A former employee said the revolving door applied to a number of senior positions.

“I worked there for about a year and a half and in that time we had four food and beverage directors,” said the former staff member.

“There was a lot of pressure on management to keep costs down. It was all about having minimal staff on the floor where previously the focus was on guest experience.

“Not to mention the salary doesn’t match the stress for people at management levels. I’m a waiter at the restaurant where I work now, and I make about $10,000 more (annually) than a restaurant manager at Palazzo.”

Former General Manager Subash Basrur. Picture Mike Batterham

The three former GMs immediately before Ms Huang have remained in the industry: Russell Durnell is now the GM at Principal Hotel Company in England; Thierry Tollis, who resigned after just seven months, is the manager at Watermark Hotel Group in Brisbane; and Subash Basrur left the hotel in 2016 to take the top job at Spicers Peak Lodge in the Scenic Rim.

Thierry and Denise Tollis. Picture: Regina King

When Mr Basrur quit, an industry insider told the Bulletin he had cemented himself as a popular figure with staff.

“He was well on the way to restoring the hotel’s glory,” the insider said.

“He had a couple of months that were the best they ever had, but he had a holiday and things went back to the bad old ways.

Claire Huang pictured at the luxe property. Picture: John Gass

“When he got back from holidays he was asked to cut more costs and more staff and make more money — something he said was impossible.”

The Bulletin was unable to contact Ms Huang for comment.

A REVOLVING DOOR

Nov 2009-Apr 2014: Russell Durnell

May 2014-Nov 2014: Thierry Tollis

Dec 2014-Aug 2016: Subash Basrur

Aug 2016-Jan 2017: Claire Huang