Rebecca Thorn, star General Manager for Hotel Indigo Tokyo Shibuya, shares her experiences in the hotel industry in New Zealand and how she adjusted to the omotenashi of Japanese hospitality. Rebecca emphasizes the importance of immersing oneself in a new culture and how this is helping her as she opens the first Hotel Indigo brand property in Shibuya in August 2023! 

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In this episode you’ll hear:

• Rebecca’s experience in all aspects of the hotel industry during her 25 year international career so far
• The key differences between the hospitality culture in Japan and New Zealand
• Is the language barrier really a problem?
• The importance of immersing yourself in Japanese culture
• How standing back and observing customers in the hotel lobby and restaurant are key cues to understanding customer-care
• The creativeness of the “Hotel Indigo” brand bringing the neighborhood into the hotel

About Rebecca

Rebecca Thorn is the General Manager of Hotel Indigo Tokyo Shibuya, now scheduled to open in August 2023.

She has been in the hotel industry for 20 years and with IHG for 17 of those years.

She has experienced several hotels across Asia Pacific in the group in that time.

Rebecca moved to Japan in August of 2019 and absolutely loves working and living in Tokyo. 

Connect with Rebecca

Personal work instagram https://www.instagram.com/rebecca_thorn_/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-thorn-65b49940/ 

Hotel Indigo Tokyo Shibuya website - https://www.ihg.com/hotelindigo/hotels/us/en/shibuyaku/hndsh/hoteldetail

Links:

The Culture Map: https://www.amazon.co.jp/Culture-Map-INTL-ED-Decoding/dp/1610392760 

Ryokan Koito: https://koito-inn.co.jp/ 

Bar Hotel: https://www.barhotel.com/ 

Jandals in Japan is brought to you by Catherine O’Connell Law and PodLaunch with Jayne

Connect with Jayne and Catherine

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jandals-in-japan-podcast/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jandalsinjapan/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jandalsinjapan 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jandalsinjapan 

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