VETERAN hotelier Alain Guernier passed away last Saturday (November 23, 2013) in China after a nine-month fight with bladder cancer.
“I was at his bedside and it all happened so unexpectedly fast,” his wife Eve wrote to friends.
The news came as a shock to his friends and peers in the industry, who expressed deep sadness in emails that started making the rounds. Guernier was also thought to be on the mend just weeks ago, according to a few of his friends.
Guernier spent most of his hotel career in Hong Kong. He was regional director, sales & marketing of Holiday Inn Asia, senior vice president marketing of Omni Hotels Asia, general manager of Renaissance Hotel Hong Kong and director of Allson International Hotels & Resorts, Hong Kong. In 1995, he set up a hotel management group, Byron International Hotels, to provide independent owners an alternative to larger hotel chains.
In 2001, he joined Training Services Asia as executive director. He also served as CEO of Tamani Hotels & Resorts and was last executive director of Abelint International, an independent hospitality management group based in Shanghai.
A handsome man whose smile could light up a room, Guernier had a big heart to match, while his easy manners belied his candour.
Said See Foon Chan-Koppen, then with Holiday Inn Asia: “Alain Guernier worked with me in the regional marketing department of Holiday Inn for some years. I brought him out from operations to learn sales and marketing which he took to in a flash and was most successful at it.
“He was generous to a fault, giving of his time and happy to share whatever he had to offer materially. He never minced words either, telling it like it is to anyone within earshot. He was a bon vivant who loved the good life and a great raconteur to sip the grape with.
“He was a caring father and a protective husband who took charge of the family both in and out of the home. I stayed with him a few times in Hong Kong and he was the perfect host.
“Alain is a good friend and I will miss him.”
Added Patrick Fiat, general manager of the Royal Plaza on Scotts, Singapore: “Alain was Mr Hotelier Asia. He was a great professional and a pioneer in marketing. A great mentor to many.”
“A good man, gone too soon, RIP,” said Kevin Murphy, president & CEO, Asiawide Hospitality Solutions.
