Arrival

From Oman: Eirik Bergvoll

Most Jo’burgers would run indoors during a Highveld thunderstorm. Not so for Eirik Bergvoll who did the exact opposite, choosing to run outdoors to aim his face towards the pelting African sky. “Well, we’ve been living in the Arabian
sands for the past few years; you can only imagine my excitement,” says Radisson Blu Sandton’s new general manager, who’d been in the country for exactly one week at the time of the interview Moving to South Africa was an easy decision for the Bergvolls. “My wife had been here once before many years ago, when she was travelling around the world with friends and she was very keen, as were my two boys. Once I came out here, it was a no-brainer. It’s a great property, perfectly located and I think this will be a great place
to be based,” he says. Bergvoll was born in Norway. “It’s the land of the midnight sun,” he laughs. “I was born in a small town above the Arctic Circle
and we have three months of sunshine, 24 hours a day. And then we have three months of darkness during the winter, where there’s semi-daylight for only an hour or two a day.” Seems Bergvoll was destined for a career in hospitality. “My father worked in the same business,” says Bergvoll. “I started as a bell-boy and worked my way up to front desk and got my first GM position in 1998 on the west coast of Norway.” From Norway, Bergvoll moved to Vilnius, Lithuania, and later Muscat, Oman, where he picked up Arabic to round out his Norwegian and English linguistic skills. “I’ve never been to Cape Town,” says Bergvoll, “but I’ve always heard such great things about it. I can’t wait to see it. I think what I’ll really enjoy about living in South Africa is its outdoor lifestyle. I love sports – fly-fishing, tennis, skiing, soccer or anything that involves a round ball. And, being a hotelier, there’s a natural passion for good food and drink. I love cooking; I even taught my wife how to cook. It was her dream before we married – to meet a man who could teach her
to cook,” he laughs. Bergvoll has been with the Radisson (Rezidor) group since 1984. “One of the company values is its emphasis on what we call the Z-factor – daring to be different, and we work to the ‘Yes I Can’ spirit – a campaign that predates Obama’s by more than 20 years. It’s the vision of our company.” And it’s a company that’s on the move – particularly in southern Africa. A new Radisson Blu has recently opened in Port Elizabeth – the city’s fi rst-ever fi ve-star property; a new Park Inn will open on Katherine Street in June, while a second Radisson Blu is being built in Sandton Central across the street from Sandton’s Gautrain station, complementing another Radisson Blu in Maputo and a new Hotel Missoni (from the same group) in Cape Town. “South African hospitality is known to be good in industry circles around the world, so I’m really looking forward to
working here, learning what I can – and passing on what I can.” Bergvoll has arrived at the perfect time, too. “We’ll all be gearing up for the World Cup and it’s a fantastic opportunity for South Africa to but itself on the world map as a destination. And it creates opportunities to host other big events. But we must deliver as a country,” he says, “though I think we will. What I’ve really noticed here is delivery from the heart. The staff got together and sang me a welcome song that the hair on
my arms stood up. It’s magic. And it came from the heart. You’d rarely experiencethat anywhere else.”
Details: www.radissonblu.com;
tel 0800 994 300

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