{"id":75540,"date":"2012-03-29T00:00:46","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T15:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fukuoka-now.com?post_type=feature&p=18575"},"modified":"2017-06-13T12:34:37","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T03:34:37","slug":"jean-raphael-felus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/jean-raphael-felus\/","title":{"rendered":"Jean Raphael Felus"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jean Raphael Felus
\nHometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Paris, France
\nIn Japan:<\/strong>\u00a020 years
\nIdentity:<\/strong>\u00a0ANA Crowne Plaza General Manager<\/p>\n

Jean Raphael Felus is a self-confessed \u201chotel person\u201d, having worked in hotels for over 20 years, or as long as he can remember. The French born, current General Manager of ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Fukuoka maintains that the only real choice he ever made was to move from Paris to Yokohama. By going with the flow and taking opportunities as they came along, JR has taken hotel management positions far and wide across Japan- from Tokyo to Okinawa- and overseas in both Korea and Oman. In his current position at ANA Crowne Plaza Fukuoka, JR is constantly striving to offer the best guest experience in Fukuoka. Although the hotel is 36 years old, JR notes that recent renovations have kept its facilities to a high standard. He is proud of his staff and attributes most of the hotel\u2019s success to his hard-working team, praising the natural hospitality of Japanese people. As for his personal success, he owes it to no-one but himself. JR believes that work is the only key to success. In his free time, he enjoys exploring Fukuoka\u2019s natural landscape by car, taking drives with his wife and enjoying the local food, culture and nature.<\/p>\n

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\nWe sat down with JR at the ANA Crowne Plaza to find out more about his background, his day-to-day life in Fukuoka and his plans for the future…<\/p>\n

Tell us about your background. How did you wind up in Fukuoka?<\/strong>
\nWell, that was a long trip! I\u2019m a hotel person, I\u2019ve worked in hotels for as long as I can remember. It\u2019s the only thing I can do. I went to a hotel school when I was living in France, and then started to work for InterContinental Hotels. That was about 25 years ago. I then married a Japanese lady in France, we lived there together for a few years and moved to Japan for the opening of the Yokohama Grand InterContinental Hotel. I stayed in Yokohama for about three years, and from there spent the next two decades working and living in many places-from Oman in the Middle East to Seoul, Tokyo, Okinawa and finally Fukuoka. So that\u2019s basically how I ended up here. You know, going with the flow and going where I was told to go. The only choice I made was to move from Paris to Yokohama. From there it was \u201cGo there,\u201d \u201cYou should go there,\u201d \u201cWhy don\u2019t you go there\u201d\u2026 that\u2019s about it!<\/p>\n

For how many years have you held the position of GM?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve been GM now for as long as I\u2019ve been in Fukuoka\u2014from Sep 2010 to now. So it\u2019s a very short period. I\u2019m still a baby (laughs).<\/p>\n

Do you have any short or long term plans for the hotel?<\/strong>
\nWe want to be the best hotel in Fukuoka, there\u2019s no doubt about that! We want to be able to provide the best guest experience possible in the city, we want to have the best employees possible. That\u2019s for the short and mid-term. Otherwise, the hotel is in good shape. It\u2019s already 36 years old, but the new owners have been kind enough to put a lot of money into renovating the rooms and the restaurants. The renovations happened in 2008\u2014recent without being too recent. Now the only thing left is for the owners to invest some money into the banquet rooms.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the percentage of Japanese guests versus foreign guests?<\/strong>
\nThat\u2019s very easy; we have about 95% Japanese guests in the hotel and 5% foreigners. The 5% are mainly Korean, Chinese, Taipei, a few Thai and Singaporean guests. Generally speaking, we have very few European guests. However, with the opening of the IKEA store in Shingu, we do have a lot of Swedish, English, and German, Danish and Australian guests here at the moment. This will mess with my data for a few months coming! It\u2019s a really unusual event.<\/p>\n

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So, if the profile of the hotel was more for Asian\/local clientele, why did the company ask you, a European, to be the GM here?<\/strong>
\nOh, I don\u2019t know! (laughs) Actually, IHG-ANA the management company wanted to add some foreign culture because Fukuoka is an international hub, especially for Asia. They wanted the international flavor but at the same time they wanted someone who speaks Japanese. And I was the only one! (laughs) They had no choice, actually! It was the same when they moved me to Okinawa\u2014they needed someone with InterContinental experience who was also able to speak Japanese. So, what they get with me is a foreigner who looks like a foreigner, but is not really a foreigner.<\/p>\n

Did you notice any change in tourism after the March 2011 disaster?<\/strong>
\nThere were no major changes for our hotel because we aren\u2019t too dependent on business from foreign countries. As I mentioned earlier, only 5% of our business comes from abroad. So, in that respect, we didn\u2019t lose a lot of business. On another front, our business increased because many companies wanted to relocate their staff away from Tokyo, which was considered a dangerous area at the time. So, we had an influx of people during April of 2011\u2014a period of the year which is relatively slow. Following that, summer came and many people who had planned to visit the northeastern part of Japan changed their plans and instead went west. The whole summer was quite busy in Fukuoka because of all the people who changed their plans and came here.<\/p>\n

It also has to be mentioned that the Shinkansen has had a big part in this respect. People had additional incentive to come this way.<\/p>\n

Have seen a big rise in numbers since the Shinkansen started operating?<\/strong>
\nThe numbers have risen. But, is it really just the Shinkansen or really just the March 11 catastrophe? I\u2019m not sure… it\u2019s little a bit of both.<\/p>\n

Do you notice any difference between the service industries in Japan and your hometown?<\/strong>
\nIf we talk about basic customer services, I think that Japan is far ahead compared to Europe\u2014or America, for that matter. The natural hospitality of the Japanese people is real, it\u2019s here. You can see it in the comments from foreign guests\u2014they say, \u201cOh, the service is so good,\u201d \u201cThe staff are so nice,\u201d \u201cThey\u2019re always smiling\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n

For us Europeans or Westerners, coming to Japan and experiencing the hospitality is eye-opening. When I go back to France, for example, I complain to no end about the service there! I was used to that service 20 years ago but now I have come to take many things that happen in Japan for granted\u2014things that never happen in France. So in terms of guest service, I think that the Western world has a lot to learn from the Japanese.<\/p>\n

In terms of efficiency, it\u2019s a different story. Japan probably has a lot to learn. This presents a bit of an issue because we know that Toyota and similar Japanese companies are some of the most efficient companies in the world\u2014they have great productivity, impeccable timing, everything is perfectly controlled. But in the hotel industry we\u2019re still working on an old pattern where administration takes up a lot of space and things take a lot of time. Japan likes things to be perfect. Here, nothing is ever started without having covered all the potential issues. Meanwhile, in the western world we just say, \u201cHey, let\u2019s go ahead!\u201d and we fix things along the way. In some ways, this type of flexibility is missing in Japan. So, service-wise, Japanese people don\u2019t have a lot to learn from the western world, but in terms of efficiency, I think it could be beneficial for Japan as a whole to be a little more flexible.<\/p>\n

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What are you most proud of regarding this hotel?<\/strong>
\nMy staff. The staff in this hotel are doing a great job and they\u2019re always trying hard. They never give up and they always want to please. Sometimes they don\u2019t succeed, but in the end this hotel is what it is because the people are great.<\/p>\n

What is the most unusual or demanding request you have received from a customer?<\/strong>
\nOh…that\u2019s a good question. Well I don\u2019t know if you could publish the most unusual request I\u2019ve had. The most demanding? It happened with a Japanese customer actually when I was working at the Intercontinental in Paris. The man couldn\u2019t speak French or English and none of our staff could speak Japanese\u2014he was part of a group and couldn\u2019t get in touch with his tour group leader. He called the reception saying \u201cMessage, Message, Message!\u201d, so I came to the phone and said, \u201cOkay, let me see if you have a message.\u201d I checked our computer system to find no message, and told him \u201cNo, I\u2019m sorry sir there are no messages.\u201d As soon as I put the phone down, it rang again and the same guest was on the line saying \u201cMessage!\u201d over and over. By this point, he was starting to become quite angry, and had begun to scream \u201cMessage, Message, Message!\u201d And in the end, what did he want? He simply wanted a massage! The situation was very unusual\u2014we couldn\u2019t understand him and he couldn\u2019t express himself in a way that we could understand. The poor man called for two hours asking for a massage! So although it turned out to be a misunderstanding, at the time the guest seemed very demanding.<\/p>\n

Do you have any tips for foreigners working in the Japanese hospitality industry?<\/strong>
\nBe patient, be open, and learn Japanese. To work in the hospitality industry in Japan you have to speak the language. Even as a rank and file where you don\u2019t have to talk to your staff, you do have to understand the customers.<\/p>\n

What are your personal tips for success?<\/strong>
\nWork. I\u2019ll share something that I just read: \u201cRise early, go to bed late and work hard.\u201d My grandfather told me to wake up early, \u201cThe world belongs to early risers\u201d was his message to me. Every morning I get out of bed at 5:30. I have been waking up at 5:30 in the morning for the last 20 years of my life. Work is the only key to success.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re not working, what do you do in your free time? Where do you like to go on holiday?<\/strong>
\nIn my free time I like to go on drives with my wife. Fukuoka is great for that\u2014you have many so places where you can go on one, two, three hour drives. You\u2019ve got the sea, the mountains, the countryside, the history, the culture, the nature, the food. Exploring Fukuoka by car is something that I do in my free time. Holidays for me are primarily returning back to France to see my mum and my family. My daughters live in France so I like to go and see my daughters. If I ever have extra holiday time, I like to visit places I\u2019ve never been before. The next destination will probably be Vietnam.<\/p>\n

Any last comments or messages for our readers?<\/strong>
\nPlease come and visit ANA Crowne Plaza Fukuoka! We have a great Japanese restaurant, a great Chinese restaurant, a nice bar and many areas in which people can enjoy a relaxing time.<\/p>\n

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ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Fukuoka<\/strong>
\n…and if you want to book a room at this hotel at a super-discounted rate click on this banner and search for ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Fukuoka!
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Originally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn160, Mar. 2012<\/a>)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jean Raphael Felus is a self-confessed \u201chotel person\u201d, having worked in hotels for over 20 years, or as long as he can remember. The French born, current General Manager of ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Fukuoka maintains that the only real choice he ever made was to move from Paris to Yokohama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"18575","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4911],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","location-fukuoka-city","en-US"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/fn160infukuoka-002.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75540"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98394,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75540\/revisions\/98394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}