DURING the spate of lockdowns at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a large number of businesses were badly hit and many were forced to either close down altogether or rapidly downsize.
However, despite all the difficulties and uncertainties, one family-owned resort not only survived but managed to retain a majority of its workers and continue its corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations despite suffering losses.
Their secret was simply to treat each staffer as they would a family member.
As even five-star international chain properties struggled, the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa in Johor overcame the odds.
Lotus Group CEO Doraisingam Pillai said each month would pass and we (he and sister Indra Gandhi who manages Lotus Desaru) kept saying the pandemic would end the following month.
During those 24 months, Lotus Desaru, with something like 400 employees on its payroll, simply declined to retrench staff or slash salaries.
They did it by mitigating costs and their previous prudency in managing the finances also helped them,
Importantly, the siblings used the teachings and inspiration of their parents to guide them through the dark period where uncertainty was more constant than ever.
“We had no heart to retrench any of our employees,” said Indra Gandhi, who manages the beach resort sprawled over 26 acres along the coast facing the sea.
“We knew several of the employees’ families from our early days in Penang,” added Indira, a lawyer who still practises law besides managing the affairs of Lotus Desaru which she does on weekend trips to the resort, shuttling between the family residence in Petaling Jaya and Johor Bahru.
“Early days” would refer to the times in the 1960s when both Doraisingam, Indira and three other siblings lived in the family home in Pulau Tikus with their father, Rengasamy Pillai.
From the outset, Doraisingam and Indira adopted the business philosophy that management and staff relations would be always close and cordial.
“We treat our staff as our assets which is why we found it very difficult to retrench them, or even cut their salaries when business collapsed during the pandemic,” said Indira.
Even four visually challenged employees were retained though it was difficult to get them reassigned, as the majority of the workforce was reassigned to tasks such as gardening, growing vegetables and fruit trees, general cleaning of the premises, and repainting walls and structures.
“When we kept telling ourselves that the Covid pandemic would end the next month, and after over 24 months it didn’t, we were hoping against hope that the spell would be broken.
“Only when the pandemic ended and business came surging back did we sometimes wonder ‘How we managed that," said Doraisingam.
According to him, the whole outcome was much like his foray into the resort and spa business, coming as he did from the food and restaurant business.
When the previous owner of the resort, a Singaporean, sold the business to Lotus, there was widespread scepticism among the unsuccessful bidders that Lotus could succeed.
“I could understand their doubts because we were restaurant managers, not in the hospitality business,” remarked Doraisingam.
"Today, we have 1,400 rooms here at Desaru, up from eight hundred when we took over, and we have another hundred and eighty-four rooms 20 km down this stretch at Desaru Seaview,” said Doraisingam, who can be seen riding a motorcycle around the resort, to survey and inspect work being done.
“Nothing like good intentions and faith in running a business,” he added. - The Vibes, April 8, 2024.
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