The Thai Liberace

Mr. Paul Boonrungreung whose title at the Sofitel So Hotel in Bangkok is Just Say So Guru. Photo by David Lansing.

As I sipped my Magical Drink I asked the Thai Liberace to tell me about himself. He’s got an interesting story.

His name is Paul Boonrungreung and his title at the Sofitel So Bangkok is “Just Say So Guru.” Which means, he told me, that his job is basically making people happy. “Whatever they need, I can get.”

He said that he was working at a rather famous restaurant in Bangkok taking care of guests. “A lot of very famous people go there and my job was to take care of them.” One of the regulars was the general manager of So Bangkok. “He kept coming back and always asking me to work for him. He ask me maybe four or five times but I didn’t go. I tell him I don’t know anything about the hotel business and he say, ‘Good. Just be yourself.’

“I asked him what I would do here and he said whatever I wanted. What I wanted was to be the brand manager, so to speak, of the hotel. So I set the tone here. I provide every inch of the guest experience—where to buy diamonds, where to buy shoes, where to buy a T-shirt that says ‘Bangkok Rock ‘n’ Roll.’ I think,” he said as he got up to refill our glasses, “I am the Sofitel So Hotel.”

I think he may be right. And maybe he’s Bangkok as well.

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