The Big Cheese with voco Gold Coast General Manager

The Big Cheese with voco Gold Coast General Manager

This week, we made the general manager of voco Gold Coast Brenden van Blerk, tell us all his dirty little secrets. Ok fine, we just interviewed him.

The great thing about my job is…

I get to play and create, I get to do all of the things I always wanted to and foster a team of dreamers and doers that share the same level of passion and zest.

The challenge for the industry is …

It’s the growth of the professional mindset, that hospitality is career building and can take you across the globe, it’s not just a job

My greatest achievement is…

First and foremost, its always going to be my family, my wife and little girls keep me balanced but outside of that, I would say bringing voco to life the very first time globally and the amount of influence I have been able use in helping to shape the brand has been truly amazing.

The biggest thing in MICE this year will be…

Meetings the way you want, in spaces that aren’t just four walls, shared and family style eating, unique experience during the events that help bring to life the content being shared.

I try to relax by…

Hitting the beach (I make a mean sand castle) and playing golf (perhaps more of chasing a ball around a fairway than playing).

I don’t understand why…

It’s so hard to get the basics right, why making something work can be so troublesome sometimes (well not at voco Gold Coast), and why my 3-year-old is far sassier than I was and she gets away with it.

My favourite venue/destination is…

Voco Gold Coast 😉 …… okay I would say The Sydney Conservatorium of Music – we had a global region Learning Event there and it was such a diverse space that was a really amazing backdrop for the event.

I’ve always wanted to travel to…

MACHU PICCHU like the full on 5-day hike and all, sign me up right now, please.

I am scared to death of…

Not leaving my mark on the industry, there is this great lesson around leadership shadow and understanding how far you cast yours.

I can’t live without…

Coffee, Family, Whisky, Friends, my Apple Watch and Movies.

I really wish I had…

An Aston Martin, started the two languages that I have been meaning to learn (I’ve even bought the courses), more patience (anyone with kids might empathize).

If I could invite four people to a dinner party, they’d be…

Robin Williams, Eddy Murphy, Albert Einstein and my Dad.

For anyone starting out in the industry one piece of advice I’d give would be….

Be passionate, be hungry, get involved, know what your personal brand is and craft how you plan to grow it and remember that each of your next roles will stretch your bandwidth and capacity and that is a good thing – and most of all have fun.

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