And so began Goh’s illustrious career as a hotelier. After graduating from college, Goh’s first job in a hotel was, in fact, at the Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, in 1993 where she first started out as executive club floor manager, before taking up the role of resident manager. After spending 18 years with the property, she moved to London to join the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, where she once came face to face with the late Queen Elizabeth II.
“When I arrived in London, it was a very colourful time in UK history as it was Prince William’s wedding,” Goh cheerily recalled. “The Queen held a pre-wedding cocktail in the hotel, with over 50 Commonwealth Heads of State attending. It was a memorable evening. When everyone was leaving, I stayed behind and I came very close to the Queen. She looked at me curiously because I wasn’t dressed for the occasion, I was just dressed in my work clothes!” Goh laughed.
BAPTISM OF FIRE
After London, Goh moved to Hong Kong for a short stint in Mandarin Oriental’s corporate office, before moving on to Mandarin Oriental, Macau, to take up the general manager role. Her most recent appointment before returning to Mandarin Oriental, Singapore was with The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, where she steered the property through various crises.
A month after she joined The Landmark in 2019, the Hong Kong protests began. Not long after, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. “Twice, I went through a baptism of fire. But now when I look back, it was a challenging time, but it forced us to be unprecedented,” said Goh. “The hotel industry was the first to be impacted during the pandemic. Suddenly, we were hit with single digit arrivals, single digit occupancies. What do we do with our people?”
Under Goh’s leadership, The Landmark was converted into a quarantine hotel. Back then, the decision to convert a five-star hotel with several Michelin-starred restaurants was unheard of. “Everyone raised their eyebrows at the time, because The Landmark is a super luxurious hotel,” Goh recalled. “On hindsight, it was a daring decision, but it ended up being the right one.”
