Stephane Duvacher
With Malaysia’s Datai Langkawi featuring in BBC Two’s Amazing Hotels this Thursday, here general manager Stephane Duvacher talks new travel trends, not emailing outside of work hours and the hotel’s pioneering sustainability pledge
Stephane Duvacher is general manager of Malaysian resort Datai Langkawi. The French hotelier started his career as a chef working at Michelin-starred restaurants, before moving into senior hospitality roles in Dubai, the British Virgin Islands, Mauritius and Thailand. Since taking over at The Datai Langkawi in summer 2023, Duvacher has been responsible for delivering the hotel’s trailblazing Datai Pledge, a four-pillared commitment to protect the wildlife, environment and community on the island of Langkawi. The Datai Pledge has been heralded by the rest of the hospitality industry for setting a template for how hotels can act more sustainably. The Datai Langkawi will also feature in BBC Two’s Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby this Thursday which sees hosts Rob Rinder and Monica Galetti get involved with everything from looking after the lily pond to driving golf buggies…
I’m proud that the Datai Pledge is seen as a blueprint for hotel hospitality. In fact, it’s become even bigger than the Datai itself. We were recently approached by the University of Oxford who were preparing a mandate for governments on sustainability in the hotel industry.
The Datai Pledge is based around four pillars: purity, fish, wildlife and youth. Our hotel is surrounded by an ancient 10m-year-old primordial rainforest with a wealth of unique flora and fauna. It’s our duty to safeguard this environment and the communities who live there.
Pure for the Future is based around the ideas of a circular economy. We aim to recycle, upcycle or return waste back to nature in an organic form to ensure it doesn’t end up in landfill or the sea. None of our food waste is sent to landfill, while we’ve managed to avoid sending 94% of our solid waste there. We also use in-house water bottling, ban single-use plastics and have a permaculture garden where we use circular farming techniques to grow fresh produce and herbs for our kitchen and spa.
Fish for the Future aims to protect the marine biodiversity of the waters in our archipelago through the promotion of sustainable fishing, while we’re also gazetting our bay as a marine-protected area to preserve its coral reefs. We’re also working with Malaysian NGO MareCet to study local dolphin and porpoise populations.
There’s been a rise in deforestation in Langkawi due to the climate crisis – something our Wildlife for the Future aims to address. We’re currently working with social enterprise Gaia on the conservation of endangered wildlife on the island such as hornbills or the mousedeer.
Finally, our Youth for the Future pillar helps educate young people on environmental issues. We’re currently sponsoring three schools in Langkawi and working closely with them on their sustainability curriculums.
We encourage Datai guests to get involved in these projects wherever we can. During their stay they can help tend our permaculture garden or care for our colony of stingless bees. They can also learn skills such as batik printing or recycled glass craft in workshops led by local artisans. We also have a coral nursery for injured corals and guests even put on their diving-suits to help replant them in the sea.
Amazing Hotels will show the true behind-the-scenes happenings of Datai Langkawi. Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder were involved with beekeeping, leaning our lily palms and working with our glass-crushers. They even had to pass a special driving licence so they could get behind the wheel of our buggies.
One of the biggest travel trends now is multi-generational holidays. At our hotel it’s not uncommon to see three generations of one family holidaying together.
Covid has prompted the return of domestic travel. Today many of our guests are from Malaysia and Singapore – many of them rarely holidayed in their own country before the pandemic.
The British are travellers unlike no other. Nearly half (45%) of our customers are from the UK.
My leadership style is relatively easygoing. Yes, I’m the general manager but it’s important for any manager to be approachable. you’ll often see me talking to the guests or in the kitchen. If I want a coffee, I’ll always make it myself.
I’m a big supporter of the right to disconnect. I live on the Datai property but as soon as I close my bedroom door, I disconnect 100%. I refuse to read my emails or WhatsApp and don’t even think about work.
My advice to anybody working in hospitality? Don’t view this industry as a place to make money. You’ve got to be passionate about hotels, as well as open-minded, empathetic and be able to form close relationships with your team. If your team isn’t as passionate as you are, then the guests won’t get the experiences they deserve. Passion is infectious.
Find out more about Datai Langkawi and the Datai Pledge
Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby airs on BBC Two on Thursday 10 October and is currently available on BBC iPlayer.