Two Langlands Hotel Managers Moving On
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ILT chief executive Chris Ramsay has no qualms about finding a decent Executive Manager for the new 4.5 star hotel The Langlands – hopefully the media will do the work for him.
Invercargill’s newest hotel has received its fair share of national news exposure since it opened back in August 2022.
Only weeks out from opening, management were looking for several staff to fill key positions, but several television interviews helped speed things along.
Now both its manager Bryan Townley and Executive chef Jinu Abraham are leaving, with more gaps to fill.
The Langlands has only been able to open its premium restaurant three days out of seven because of staff shortages, but Chris is confident things will be better this year.
Jinu resigned in November and will soon go back home to Auckland where his family live, and executive manager Bryan is going to take a break and do some travelling.
An acclaimed chef who was responsible for the startup of five eateries and bars within the hotel, Jinu has a history in hotel start up, previously with CPG Hotel Group that has boutique hotels across multiple locations including Dunedin, Auckland and Christchurch.
Bryan has almost been a fixture in the Invers hospitality scene working and managing a number of venues, Waxy O’Shea’s, The Kelvin, the Ascot Park Hotel spring to mind before landing the plum gig getting The Langland’s Hotel up and running. That was not without its challenges
Another string to Bryan’s bow is his love of music especially country music. Among his many accolades is winning the top award in the NZ Gold Guitar Awards in 2000. He has also graced the stage in productions for Invercargill Musical Theatre .
Chris said they have found a successful applicant for the Executive Chef job but there is still one small check to go before they can finalise the position and make an announcement.
The pre-recruitment process was underway before Christmas, and Chris said a couple more adequately skilled chefs would also be helpful for the hotel.
The hospitality offering at The Langlands won’t be affected while the transition in staff takes place, “everything will remain unchanged. The ultimate aim is to grow the hours of trade from where they are at the moment,” he said.
Occupancy levels in the hotel have been “better than anticipated” since opening, he said, with the impact on its other Invercargill properties not as bad as they thought.
Chris said they have had a mixture of guests, with corporate clients throughout New Zealand still the backbone of the accommodation industry.