Garin Dart is now managing director and general manager of Le Pommier Hotel, which he joined in 2023.
‘I’ve always been in hospitality. When I was 15 I started working for the Savoy Group and then between the age of 15 and 30 I worked as a chef, and my last pro cooking job was head chef at a hotel and restaurant which opened in Park Lane,’ he said.
‘In 2003 I went to Japan for 10 years and we did events for English speaking companies, we did everything, decorations, setting up. These were big events, we did them for Barclays Bank, some big law firms, we did one from Etihad Airways when they launched in Japan.
‘I came back in 2013 and started running hotels in a management capacity.’
Mr Dart worked in large hotel groups such as Mercure and Crowne Plaza, before moving to Guernsey and joining forces with the team at Le Pommier.
‘I was fed up of having meetings about running hotels rather than actually running hotels, which is what happens in these big groups, so when I came to Guernsey I went into business with the owner of Le Pommier, and it’s been great,’ he said.
Mr Dart was previously a committee member at the CGi before stepping up as chairman.
‘I joined last year, and then I was asked if I wanted to be chairman, which I said yes to,’ he said.
‘I’ve been a member of a lot of associations. I was a member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan and hospitality associations, but what I like about CGi is if you got the members around the table, you could have 10 different industries there.
‘Other associations are just focused on one industry but that is what makes CGi different.’
In his new role Mr Dart wants to increase the CGi’s membership as well as help to give more industry representatives a voice.
‘We’re looking for more members. Very soon we will be looking to introduce an individual membership for people who are self-employed and tradespeople. It’s about getting everyone together and bringing together lots of different perspectives.’
The CGi has a view on lots of different matters and as a hospitality professional Mr Dart said that the CGI was very anti-GST.
‘We have our own stance on a lot of things, and we believe that GST will really hurt the retail and hospitality industries,’ he said.
‘That’s another thing we want to do, we want to give our members clear information on what things mean for them without them having to sit through hours of meetings and reading long documents.
‘I think there is a lack of clear and concise information coming out, and by doing this hopefully we can make a greater voice for industry in Guernsey.’
