Five questions with Michael Phipps

Michael Phipps is about to find out what life is like on the other side of retirement.

As general manager at the DoubleTree by Hilton Wichita Airport for nearly 30 years, the gregarious Irish-born Phipps has walked two to three miles every day through the hotel, chatting up whomever he meets to keep tabs on operations.

His retirement coincides with the decision by the ownership group to sell the hotel to Greenwood Hospitality of Denver.

Phipps was born in London and raised in Armagh, Northern Ireland. He worked in hotels in Europe and the U.S. before coming to Wichita in 1986.

He is married to Ann Marie, and they have three grown children.

1. So, what are you feeling about retirement?

It hit me about two or three weeks ago as I was leaving the office. Somebody who had been with me a very long time asked, ‘Are you ready for this?’ I drove home and, in my mind, said, ‘I don’t think I am.’

2. Are you happy or sad about it?

It’s a double-edged sword. I’m happy because I pinch myself as I look back at my life, at where I’ve lived and worked, all over the U.S., Zurich, London, England. I’ve had a great life.

But sad, too, because I have 220 employees that I care about and have sort of been involved in their lives, and whoever the new manager will be, I worry about that. There will be a void for those employees.

3. What will you do?

The first few months will be OK for me, but by February or March it will sink in that I don’t work anymore.

Suddenly, I will become the butler. My wife will love it. I will have dinner on the table. I’ll clean the house. I’ll do the laundry, and once or twice a year will do the windows.

4. That’s it?

I know I will be doing some volunteer work, continue to be a Rotarian, certain things I enjoy doing. Some of the knowledge in my head, I’d love to mentor young folks in the hotel business. I probably don’t want to run a larger hotel. I don’t mind being on the bus, I just don’t want to be the one driving it.

5. What’s your legacy?

I walked around the hotel every day, leaving the hotel in the best condition it’s ever been, and I’m very proud of that, very proud of the legacy I’m leaving behind.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Five questions with Michael Phipps."