Director of Marketing at Swissôtel Jakarta PIK Avenue and Mercure Jakarta Pantai Indah Kapuk
As Director of Marketing for both Swissôtel Jakarta PIK Avenue and Mercure Jakarta Pantai Indah Kapuk, Fandy Lo lives a very active life that revolves around daily meetings and business engagements. With the current situation, he is now re-learning how to enjoy a slower pace of life, while still commanding business from home.
Q: How are you staying positive and healthy at home?
A: I believe that staying positive starts with the right frame of mind. I keep telling myself, and reminding some of my friends, how grateful we are to still have a job, to have healthy family and friends, and that we have shelter. This can only bring positivity and the physical and mental health boost that we all need today.
I also feel that by spending more time at home, I am more conscious and more thoughtful about eating. I mix my daily consumption between homemade food and buying online from local restaurants to support them.
Q: Have you found any new hobbies to do?
A: I have always enjoyed languages. So, with more time now, I signed up for online language courses on Duolingo, to follow my newfound interest in Korean and Spanish. To be honest, I complement those sessions with watching movies and series on Netflix. They go well together. I’m not planning on speak either language fluently after the pandemic, but at least, I will be able to pick up some common conversations.
Q: Do you have any tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
A: Eat well, move often and have enough sleep. I may not be a frequent gym-goer, but overall I feel blessed to live a healthy life both before and even now during this situation. I recently also started the simple habit of having a few drops of apple cider vinegar every morning to help with weight loss and to lower blood sugar levels.
Q: What are your daily activities now that you’re spending a lot more time inside the house?
A: I work for Swissôtel and Mercure hotels in North Jakarta and both of our hotels are still open. This means even though I spend more time at home now, I still have to manage the team and work closely with my colleagues. From time to time, I check in on my emails and supervise marketing assets. Thank God for the internet!
Q: What silver linings have you seen from this current situation?
A: I think we have to look for the good in all this bad news. 2020 has not been as expected, but this new normal has changed the way we work, interact and treat others. It’s really good to see how brands, especially those in my industry, are thriving. Some travel and hospitality brands truly have found a way to reach out to customers in a fun and creative way. This allows me to keep learning every day.
I also enjoy keeping up with friends over video conference. This pandemic has somehow made us a closer to our high school friends and others who we rarely see on normal days.
Q: Since you have to stay at home more, what do you miss most from normal life?
A: I think I miss social interaction the most. As a marketer, I meet a lot of people at and outside work. Communicating with people using digital platforms is simply not enough. I also believe we get more work done when we are able to meet the team physically. To be honest, I also miss hanging out at cafés and visiting malls. We all are, I guess.
Q: What is the first country you want to visit after the quarantine is over and why?
A: It has got to be Vietnam. I have been dreaming about the beaches, street market hopping and delicious Vietnamese delicacies. But before everything else, I need to return to Bali to see my sister, who lives there. We have lots of catching up to do.
