Cross Talk

Originally, I worked in marketing when I was still in France.
I have always been fascinated with Japanese culture, such as martial arts, movies, and anime, and I wanted to live in Japan someday, so I came here as an agricultural volunteer. How about everyone else?

I worked as a bank clerk in Sri Lanka, but I was very impressed by Japan's hospitality during my travels, so I decided to come to Japan to learn more about it.
The world was going through tough times due to the Coronavirus pandemic, so I thought maybe I could help foreigners in Japan who find themselves in a tough spot because of the language barrier.
How about you, Lili?

I was born in Japan, but when I turned 2 years old, I returned to my mother's home country, the Philippines.
At first, I studied Japanese on my own while working at a factory. I was able to pass the JLPT N3 and switched jobs to a department store retail position.
Through that experience, I became interested in the service industry and landed at Cosmos Hotel Management (CHM).

It's amazing that you studied Japanese on your own.
Emilian, why did you join CHM?

How was it for everyone after joining the company?

It's only been a month for me, but the more experienced staff that I work with are very kind, and it's easy to work here.
At MIMARU Tokyo Shinjuku West, where I work, there are so many staff of different nationalities, including Japanese and Chinese.
I am very grateful that everyone tries to communicate in an easy-to-understand way.

The hotel team and the work environment are even more interesting and fun than I had imagined before joining the company.

I joined the company during the Corona crisis, but everyone supported each other during that tough period.
At MIMARU Tokyo Shinjuku West where I first started working, there was this idea of "creating an environment that is easy to work in" that everyone worked towards, but in the end, I realized that it meant creating a dependable team first and foremost.

Everyone's opinion is valued, especially when it comes to hotel staff. You can actively make the hotel better with your own ideas.
Over the past month, the number of foreign guests has steadily been increasing, and things have changed a lot since the pandemic. What do you think, Lili?

For my training internship, I worked at MIMARU Tokyo Okachimachi, and the occupancy rate was above average. It was thanks to my amazing and experienced co-workers that I learned a lot about quick decision making and problem-solving.

As our occupancy rate increased, new issues such as staff management and communication errors with our cleaning companies became apparent.

I want to provide our guests with service and comfort that exceeds their expectations and have them say, "I am glad I stayed at MIMARU! Thank you!"
That is my motivation, but what about everyone else?

The other day, I prepared some things for a newlywed couple that was staying with us. It was a request from their friend.
We all thought about how to decorate the room to make the guests happy, and seeing their delighted reaction is an amazing reward for our work.

My branch, MIMARU Tokyo Kinshicho, is the closest MIMARU to Narita Airport. Guests sometimes stay only a couple of nights and then move to a different hotel but come back to MIMARU before they go back to their home country since it was the most comfortable out of all the hotels they visited, and they became friends with the staff.
I am always happy to meet guests like that.

Since I became hotel manager, I've learned that I find it rewarding to create an environment where all my staff can work comfortably, in addition to cherishing gratitude from the guests.
I am happy that everyone I work with can freely express their opinion and work together to find a solution that the whole team is happy with.

We are where we are now because more experienced staff have created an environment where it is easy for us to express our opinions. Now it's on us to create that same environment for the next generation of staff.
Each country and culture are different, so we must always think about how to make the workplace enjoyable and inclusive.

Speaking of a comfortable workplace, I also appreciate how easy it is to take holidays.

In most Japanese companies, even if you are allowed to take two or three consecutive holidays, it is usually difficult to take long vacations. At CHM, however, there are lots of foreign staff who would like to visit their families in their home country occasionally, so the company makes it easier to take longer holidays, which is a big draw.

As the company grows, I want to keep building on CHM's strengths and improving things that need improvement together with everyone.
I believe that MIMARU can become a hotel that makes people from all over the world happy precisely because we have such a diverse staff of many nationalities.

MIMARU is currently available only in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, but in the future, I would like to expand all over Japan so that guests can stay at MIMARU all through their Japan journey.
Even now, we have many guests that connect their trip between the Kansai area and Tokyo through MIMARU, so if we can expand nationwide, we will be able to support even more guests. What do you think, Lili?

We have accumulated a lot of tourist information over the years, so I would like to use social media to offer this information about Japan as MIMARU.
I want to let everyone around the world know the appeal of MIMARU.

What an awesome idea! It would be nice if MIMARU could someday not only serve as a place to stay but also provide tourist information about Japan to the world.