Excellence & Purpose
With a distinguished career spanning more than 25 years across multiple continents, Christoph Pouls brings a wealth of global hospitality expertise and a dynamic, hands-on leadership style to InterContinental Bandung Dago Pakar. As he built his career from the ground up, Christoph possesses a deep-rooted understanding of operational excellence. In a highly competitive luxury landscape, his vision focuses on securing long-term relevance through flawless execution and cultivating authentic, meaningful guest connections.
Q: At this stage in your career, what do you think leaders often overlook?
A: Leaders sometimes focus too heavily on numbers, overlooking what truly drives those figures. Hotels remain profoundly human businesses. Culture, consistency, and the team’s daily morale ultimately shape the guest experience far more than any corporate strategy. It also comes down to the finer details. A loose tile, a missed greeting, or a tired space may seem trivial in isolation, but together they define the character of a hotel.
Q: What’s the hardest part of evolving a property without losing its original identity?
A: The risk is trying to change everything at once. A hotel’s identity is not the logo or the design; it is how it feels. If you lose that, you lose your regular guests. So the balance is simple: improve what needs fixing, but protect what already works. Listen to returning guests. They will tell you very quickly what should not change.
Q: What does it take to meet today’s luxury guest expectations?
A: Consistency. Luxury guests today are well-travelled. They have seen everything. You do not impress them with one big moment. You win them with no mistakes. Clean room. Good sleep. Strong food. Attentive but natural service. And one more thing: relevance. Local connection matters more now. Guests want to feel where they are, not just stay in a nice building.
Q: Where do you see hotels getting the balance between short-term results and long-term relevance wrong?
A: Chasing occupancy at the expense of positioning. In the short term, it fills rooms. In the long term, it weakens the brand and the rate. Once you train the market to see you at a certain price point, it is very hard to move back up. So, it is about discipline. Not saying no to business, but saying yes to the right business.
Q: How do you see dining shaping a hotel’s identity today?
A: More than ever. Restaurants are no longer just for in-house guests. They are a reason to come to the hotel. A strong restaurant builds a reputation in the local market first. If locals come, guests will follow. It needs to be simple, clear, and consistent. Too many hotels try to do too much. A few well-executed dishes will always win.
Q: What have resorts taught you that urban hotels overlook?
A: Pace. Resorts understand time better. Guests are not in a rush, so the experience is more intentional. Urban hotels sometimes become too transactional. Check in, room, breakfast, out. But even in a city, you can create moments. A proper welcome, a space to slow down, something that makes the stay feel less rushed.
Q: Do you prioritise technical skill or attitude, and how do you build what’s missing?
A: Attitude first. You can always train a technical skill, but changing someone’s mindset is far more difficult. It is never an either-or equation, though. True leadership means developing both. By combining clear operational standards with consistent coaching and follow-up, you hire for outlook and train for excellence.
Q: Beyond performance, what do you hope people will remember about your time at the InterContinental Bandung Dago Pakar?
A: Beyond the metrics, I want people to remember that this was an inspiring place to work. Performance is essential, yet the way we achieve our targets defines us. When you foster a culture where the team grows and feels respected, the results take care of themselves. When a team takes pride in their work, the guests instinctively feel it.
Asia Dreams Volume 59
InterContinental Bandung Dago Pakar
Jalan Resor Dago Pakar Raya
Bandung 40198, Indonesia
T: (+62) 2287806688
E: icbandung.reservation@ihg.com
W: bandung.intercontinental.com
IG: @intercontinental_bandung
