International Councillor - Paul Follows Elected to National President for 2007, Paul has many exciting ideas to take Skål in the UK forward for the future. In 2009 he was elected International Councillor.
At the National AGM in January 2010, took on the dual roles of Membership Development and PR
email address: paul.follows@btinternet.com
He is excited with Young People within Skål and during his year as National President, made his Presidential theme “Engaging the Next Generation”
He has developed the Skål Graduate of the Year Award., and hopes to take this forward in time.
Paul was born and schooled in Stafford United Kingdom and gained his Final Membership qualification of the now renamed Institute of Hospitality, at Birmingham University for Hospitality and Tourism.
Having trained under a Swiss General Manager and Executive Chef at a top four star spa hotel in Droitwich, Paul embarked on a career in established quality corporate hotels. He joined Thistle Hotels as Banqueting Manager of the Gosforth Park Hotel the top Egon Ronay rated hotel in Northern England. Within two years he was promoted to Deputy General Manager and was later seconded to a newly acquired Thistle Hotel at Gatwick Airport to assist the General Manager in bringing the hotel up to Thistle four star standard.
Later he transferred to Thistle’s Manchester hotel with the objective of raising standards of operation. Within eighteen months he was given the General Manager reigns and during the five years as General Manager he perfected his natural flair for sales and marketing moving the hotel into number one spot as the most profitable hotel within the group.
Moving into London he ran a number of small group of independent hotels including the famous Great Western Hotel at Paddington Station (now Hilton).
He moved to Grim’s Dyke Hotel a country house hotel in Harrow, North/West London as General Manager and after four years left for a similar type establishment in North London being given the job of moving the hotel into a higher quality market sector.
Paul was recruited three years later and persuaded to return to Grim’s Dyke as General Manager and later Director. The historical links of the hotel were perfect for Paul’s creative marketing mind. In ten years Paul made Grim’s Dyke an industry renowned name for quality, winning Visit London Best Small Hotel 2004, London in Bloom winner plus UK Inbound’s UK Hotel of the Year for 2006 and recently Visit London’s Best Tourism Experience 2007. Locally the rosette awarded restaurant is considered one of the best in a very competitive market. His motivation is making an idea work, making it pay and doing it in style.
Paul is involved with the London Development Agency where he is presently Chairman of the West London Tourism Executive and Marketing Group and a member of the Industry Committee for the British Hospitality Association. He is a Past UK President of Skål International the World Wide Travel and Tourism Association.
His interests include dog showing/judging where he is now an international show judge and booked to judge at Cruft’s the world’s largest and most prestigious show in 2011.
Paul lives in East Sussex and is married to Susan and has two children Amy 26 and Greg 24. | 
