Dulanka’s great service equals booming business
Ozone Services Group uses the "best of today’s technology to capture and monitor site productivity and performance"
From little things, big things grow—and Ozone Services Group CEO Dulanka Jayaweera has tripled his business in just three years. From 350 employees 12 months ago, his workforce has grown to more than 1000.
The company has also expanded into the international market, partnering with the Crowne Plaza at Changi Airport in Singapore.
First published in the new Autumn edition of AccomNews print edition HERE
“We’ve had huge growth in our business, but we’ve done it in a sustainable way,” Dulanka said. “We are implementing parameters into the business that only add to the quality. It has been an amazing growth journey.
“We’re pushing the boundaries and attracting people who want to be at the heart of what Ozone is doing.
“Our passion and that genuine desire to do well and to be of service is attracting more and more business, while we maintain our current clientele.”
One of Dulanka’s long-time supporters, leading hotel entrepreneur Paul Fischmann, has now come on board as a shareholder in Ozone Linen Services, Dulanka’s new venture. The linen arm of the business will further expand the company, making it a fully integrated service provider for the accommodation industry.
Dulanka, the son of Sri Lankan immigrants, grew up in a family of six sharing a modest two-bedroom unit in Sydney. At 18, he moved to South Australia to pursue a university degree but took a job as a concierge at The Playford Adelaide.
He worked at several upmarket hotels and soon realised he could run a business that provided better hospitality services than what was on offer at the time.
In 2017, he launched Ozone Hospitality Services, offering a comprehensive range of skills tailored to the accommodation and hospitality sector—from housekeeping and maintenance to staffing solutions, including front desk personnel, night staff, bar staff, and restaurant staff, as well as services such as landscaping, pest control, and security.
Recently, he established a small linen facility in Brisbane that has grown into a new business: Ozone Linen Services, for which he has high hopes. Dulanka’s aim is to provide accommodation providers in Australia with a holistic range of services, addressing their operational needs from every angle—setting his business apart from competitors.
“We are a national business,” Dulanka said. “The focus is to deliver services in all areas of Australia in a standardised fashion. Melbourne is actually our biggest volume business, but Sydney and Brisbane are pretty close, and we’re expanding further into the west and South Australia.”
Over the past 12 months, Ozone has continued its partnership with Accor, signed on to work with key assets such as Melbourne’s Victoria Hotel with the Schwartz family, maintained its partnership with the Salter Brothers through assets including the Mercure Garden City in Brisbane and Mercure Southbank in Melbourne, and built relationships with IHG through properties such as Voco & Indigo Brisbane City Centre and the Crowne Plaza at Changi Airport—Dulanka’s first overseas client.
In a strong endorsement of Ozone’s attention to detail, the company has also partnered with the accommodation branch of NSW Health.
“We operate in a way that uses the best of today’s technology to capture and monitor site productivity and performance, while providing transparency for each of our clients,” he said. “Ozone is at the forefront of technology and automation. We’ve also started Ozone Linen, which is going to be such an important part of our business.
“We are the first company to integrate our services in a way that offers housekeeping, linen, maintenance—all the major services a hotel needs—all performed by the one company. This makes it very convenient for accommodation providers.
“I’d like to think we’re challenging others in the hospitality services space. We’re moving the industry into the modern era.
“Our ability to use the technology at our fingertips helps our staff get the most out of what they’re doing,” he said.
“We also run surveys—happiness surveys— to monitor our staff’s wellbeing and to see how our clients feel about us. It all contributes to delivering a better service.”
Ozone has embraced automation tools such as robots to assist with housekeeping and uses integrated software systems to streamline operations.
“These systems assure our clients that we can provide more thorough and advanced services. The integration of all our interfaces gives us the ability to make informed decisions on the go.”
Dulanka said Ozone’s goal is to excel in every aspect of their work, with staff paying meticulous attention to the finer details that make a real difference in the accommodation sector.
“We focus on delivering the best service possible,” he said, “and we’ve found that when we do that, everything else falls into place.”
Grantlee Kieza OAM has won three Queensland Media Awards, two Australian Sports Commission Awards and has been a finalist for the Walkley and News Awards and for the Harry Gordon Award for Australian sports journalist of the year. In 2019 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his writing. You can find more of his work in our AccomNews & Resort News print magazines.
He has written 22 acclaimed books, including bestsellers Hudson Fysh, The Kelly Hunters, Lawson, Banks, Macquarie, Banjo, Mrs Kelly, Monash, Sons of the Southern Cross and Bert Hinkler.