Catalina Susan – General Manager of Armenia Marriott Hotel, Yerevan

What, in your opinion, are the main skills needed to run a successful hotel?
First of all, you need to be knowledgeable of all the hotel activities, and this you can get with experience. So, I strongly believe that a general manager should have experience working in different departments of a hotel. So, in my case, I worked most of my career, about 16 years in the hotel finance department, but the last two years I was involved with the work of other departments as well, in order to get more experience and more exposure.
Concerning the skills, I’d say you need to be strong, as there are always various challenges, life in a hotel is not easy, and something inevitably pops up and it needs to be solved.
You also need to be hardworking, as you need to dedicate all of yourself to the life in a hotel because when you try to split it in another direction as well, it gets extremely difficult.
And last but not least, you need to be very flexible to adapt quickly to new environments, people, culture, and if you’re not open to something new, you probably will fail as a manager.
What are the biggest challenges a hotel owner/general manager can expect to face?
To be honest, here in Armenia I face more challenges then I did in the previous hotels I worked in, for example in the European Union conditions, even the legislation is totally different from further east. This Marriott is not an easy property. The biggest challenge, I would say, right now is finding suppliers in the current market, as there aren’t that many options here, and surprisingly for me, some supplier does not want to work with Marriott.
It is also difficult to find outsource companies, which is one of the options for running the property with higher profit. And it’s much easier to work with outsourcing companies and hire them during the high season, and the other seasons you just base your work on your regular staff. Also, it is difficult to work in unfair conditions, for example, AirB&B is doing an unfair competition, I’d say, and a lot of customers prefer to go there instead of the hotels, despite the fact that they have different conditions. A lot of people do get disappointed, that whatever is shown in the picture isn’t a reality most of the time, but still, for the first experience they prefer something other than a hotel.
In Armenia it is difficult to find employees because bright minds and good professionals have chosen to leave Armenia, most of them work in Russia. So, whenever we have an opening, it gets really difficult. Turnover is not so big, but for some departments, like front office, it is indeed very high, and we face the issue of hiring people, training them, and consecutively they do not stay long with us, and instead move to another hotel with a higher position, or maybe another Marriott property. The majority of them say that it is a difficult job, but it really is not, and if you really want to grow in that company you need to start from the bottom.
Sure thing, as a General Manager you will most definitely be stressed out most of the time, but it is important not to show it because you will stress the others as well. And so, I try to keep calm all the time, and you will hardly see me upset.
Please describe a typical day of a general manager of a large chain hotel.
The typical day is very busy, usually, I plan my week at the weekend, but it never goes as planned, I only manage to get some 40% done.
I start my morning in the gym at 6.30, I go there 3-4 times a week, this refreshes me to have a long and busy day. Then I do a touring of the hotel, starting with the breakfast area, talking to the customers, I also come to the executive lounge, where we have our repetitive guests and VIPs, and sometimes I spend a lot of time here chatting with them. Next, I check the conference area to see what the events for the day are, whether everything is prepared, then I go through the lobby area and afterward I spend some time talking to the staff.
One or two times a week I pass by all the departments, I greet the employees, find out how they feel, whether they need something. Whenever we have a difficult or busy day I find it especially useful talking to the staff as they may feel overwhelmed, and while talking to them I try to encourage them and make them feel a little bit better.
During the day I do have a lot of meetings, internal meetings with my staff, like selling strategy meetings, I try to catch up with my emails, but I usually end up doing this after my working hours when I am at home, and twice a week I take Russian lessons, I want to learn Russian, I think it will help me in my future career.
What advice would you give to prospective hotel owners/general managers?
First, they need to pay attention to the staff they are hiring, because it is important to hire the right people, and not to be very “cheap”, because some people choose to go for young and inexperienced staff, of course, it is very important to hire young people to give them the chance to build their career, but it is very important to have experienced and skilled staff as well. Marriott is very good at it, because they bring people from other hotels for key positions, as these people know all the rules and procedures. Also, they need to be patient, in the beginning especially, as it might be difficult to teach all the procedures, rules and standards (if it is a branded hotel), if it is not, you set out your own procedures and rules. They need to pay attention to how they choose their suppliers and be very meticulous about everything, even the smallest detail because if you compromise quality and as a result, the customer isn’t satisfied and their impression of your hotel isn’t good, they are not going to come back. So, I can say that the suppliers directly impact the hotel’s guest satisfaction. And last but not least, be dedicated to your work and be aware of everything going on in each area/department of your hotel, you don’t have to show that you know everything, but it is good to be aware of it. And one bonus advice, try to always learn something new, I constantly learn, I also learn from other hotel’s experiences as well, because we meet occasionally with other general managers of hotels in Armenia and share experiences.
You have experience working in several countries. Could you tell us what is unique about working in Marriott in Armenia?
In Armenia the people are different than in other countries, I worked in. They are very warm, and they have hospitality in their blood, they like to talk to other people. The people made me feel home right away, despite the fact that my friends who learned I was coming to work in Armenia would exclaim, “Where are you going? It’s the end of the world’.
I actually knew a lot about Armenia before even coming here, because I am also orthodox and I knew Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as their official religion. So, I always wanted to come here for a vacation, but I never really had the time. So, I got very excited when I learned I am coming here to work.
Another unique thing is the Marriott property itself it is landmark itself, everybody knows it, it is in a very central position, all the diaspora knows about this property, and this keeps our customers loyal. When you think of a hotel in Yerevan, you think at Armenia Marriott Hotel.
Please tell us when and how your journey in hospitality began.
It started in June 2000, in JW Marriott in Bucharest, Romania (I am Romanian), I started as an assistant of the director of finance after other 6 years experience in other two companies, as I was graduating from university with a major in Finance, bookkeeping, so this is my main field. I worked for almost 16 years in finance. In 2006 I moved to Marriott Warsaw, and it is the biggest Marriott property in Europe with 523 rooms. I was Assistant Director of Finance for only one year, then I came back to Bucharest to take the position of Director of Finance, and for almost 9 years I stayed in that position. The latest 4 years of my career in Finance I was again in Warsaw Marriott, and that hotel is kind of a “ramp”, so who starts working there, they usually continue working as a General Manager, because you learn a lot working in that hotel. In 2016 February I started my first position as a General Manager in Courtyard by Marriott in Budapest, it’s an upscale Courtyard, not a standard one. I stayed only one year and four months there and was later asked to move to my current position in Armenia. And I’ve been here since July 2017.
Please tell us what it is like to be a female general manager in such a heavily male-dominated sphere.
It is actually very good being a female General Manager, and Marriott, in general, is trying to empower and promote women, as they are more attentive to details, they are watching differently than men, and they keep better relationships with guests/customer. But in general, it is a bit different, and especially in branded hotels, there are very few female general managers there.
I myself try to always support not only women, but also man, and wherever I work, I try to push my staff to get higher positions, to inspire them. And I think when the general manager is a woman it always inspires others in the company to raise their ambitions. Becoming a general manager was always my desire, I had the option of choosing to go work for the Marriott headquarters Finance department, but I decided to follow my dream of becoming a General Manager.

Каталина Сьюзан – генеральный директор Armenia Marriott Hotel, Ереван

Каковы, на ваш взгляд, основные навыки, необходимые для успешной работы в отеле?
Прежде всего, вы должны быть осведомлены обо всех мероприятиях отелей, а это приходит с опытом. Поэтому я твердо верю, что генеральный менеджер должен иметь опыт работы в разных отделах отеля. Так, в моем случае, большую часть своей карьеры (примерно 16 лет) я проработала в отделе финансов гостиницы, но последние два года я также работала в других отделах, чтобы получить больше опыта и понимания.
Что касается навыков, я бы сказала, что вы должны быть сильными, потому что всегда возникают различные проблемы, жизнь в отеле непростая, и что-то неизбежно случается, и это нужно решать.
Вы также должны быть трудолюбивым, поскольку вы должны посвятить себя этому делу полностью, потому что, когда вы пытаетесь совмещать эту работу с чем то другом, все становится чрезвычайно трудным.
И последнее, но не менее важное: вы должны быть очень гибкими, чтобы быстро адаптироваться к новым условиям, людям, культуре, и если вы не открыты для чего-то нового, вы, как менеджер, вероятно, потерпите неудачу.
С какими самыми большими проблемами может столкнуться владелец отеля / генеральный менеджер?
Если честно, здесь, в Армении, я сталкиваюсь с большим количеством проблем, чем в предыдущих отелях, где я работала. Например, в условиях Европейского Союза, даже законодательство совершенно отличается от Дальнего востока. Marriott не дешевая собственность. Я бы сказала, что самой большой проблемой сейчас является поиск поставщиков на текущем рынке, поскольку вариантов здесь не так много, и, что удивительно для меня, некоторые поставщики не хотят работать с Marriott.
Также сложно найти аутсорсинговые компании, что является одним из вариантов управления собственностью с более высокой прибыльностью. Гораздо проще работать с аутсорсинговыми компаниями и нанимать их в разгар сезона, а в другие сезоны всю работу выполняют ваши штатные сотрудники.
Кроме того, трудно работать в несправедливых условиях. Например, AirB & B ведет, я бы сказала, нечестную конкуренцию и многие клиенты предпочитают идти туда вместо отелей, несмотря на то, что у них другие условия. Многие люди разочаровываются тем, что показанное на картинке, большую часть времени не совпадает с реальностью, но, тем не менее, для первого опыта они предпочитают что-то другое, а не отель.
В Армении сложно найти сотрудников, потому что умные люди и хорошие специалисты решили покинуть Армению, большинство из них работают в России. Поэтому, когда у нас появляется вакансия, процесс становится действительно сложным. Оборот кадров не такой большой, но для некоторых отделов, таких как фронт-офис, он действительно очень высок, и мы сталкиваемся с проблемой, когда нанимаем людей, обучаем их, и они не остаются с нами долго, вместо этого переезжая в другой отель на более высокую должность, или, может быть, в другую собственность Marriott. Большинство из них говорят, что это сложная работа, но на самом деле это не так, и если вы действительно хотите расти в этой компании, вам нужно начинать с самого низа.
Конечно, как генеральный директор, вы определенно будете подвергаться стрессу в большинстве случаев, но важно не показывать этого, потому что этим вы будете подвергать стрессу и других. Поэтому я стараюсь все время сохранять спокойствие, и вы вряд ли увидите меня расстроенной.
Пожалуйста, опишите типичный день генерального менеджера крупной сети отелей.
Обычный день очень занят, как правило я планирую свою неделю на выходных, но она никогда не идет по плану, мне удается только выполнить около 40% от запланированного.
Я начинаю свое утро в спортзале в 6:30, я хожу туда 3-4 раза в неделю, это освежает меня для долгого и напряженного дня. Затем я совершаю обход по отелю, начинаю с зоны для завтрака, общаюсь с клиентами, я также захожу в представительский лаундж, где у нас много постоянных гостей и VIP-персон, и иногда я провожу там много времени, беседуя с ними. Затем я проверяю конференц-зал, чтобы увидеть, какие события запланированы на этот день, все ли подготовлено, затем я прохожу через вестибюль и потом провожу некоторое время, общаясь с персоналом.
Один или два раза в неделю я наведываюсь во все отделы, приветствую сотрудников, узнаю, как они себя чувствуют, нужно ли им что-то. Всякий раз, когда у нас трудный или напряженный день, я нахожу особенно полезным разговаривать с сотрудниками, поскольку они могут чувствовать себя перегруженными, и во время разговора с ними я стараюсь подбодрить их, помочь им почувствовать себя немного лучше.
В течение дня у меня много встреч, совещаний с моими сотрудниками, например по вопросам стратегий продаж, я стараюсь просматривать свои электронные письма, но обычно я делаю это после рабочего времени, когда я дома, и дважды в неделю я беру уроки русского языка. Хочу выучить русский, думаю, это поможет мне в дальнейшей карьере.
Что бы вы посоветовали будущим владельцам отелей / генеральным менеджерам?
Во-первых, им нужно обращать внимание на персонал, который они нанимают, потому что важно нанимать правильных людей, а не гоняться за “недорогими” вариантами, так как некоторые люди предпочитают нанимать молодой и неопытный персонал. Конечно, очень важно нанимать молодых людей, чтобы дать им возможность построить свою карьеру, но также очень важно иметь опытный и квалифицированный персонал. Marriott в этом плане очень хорош , потому что сюда приводят людей из других отелей на ключевые должности, так как эти люди знают все правила и процедуры.
Кроме того, они должны быть терпеливыми, особенно вначале, поскольку может быть трудно обучать всем процедурам, правилам и стандартам (если это брендовый отель), если же это не брендовый отель, то вы устанавливаете свои собственные процедуры и правила. Им нужно обращать внимание на то, как они выбирают своих поставщиков, и быть очень тщательными во всем, даже в мельчайших деталях, потому что, если вы ставите под угрозу качество и, как следствие, клиент не удовлетворен, то и его впечатление о вашем отеле будет нехорошим, и они не будут возвращаться. Таким образом, я могу сказать, что поставщики напрямую влияют на уровень удовлетворенности гостей отеля.
И, наконец, что не менее важно, будьте преданы своей работе и будьте в курсе всего, что происходит на каждом участке / отделе вашего отеля, вам не нужно показывать, что вы все знаете, но это полезно знать. И еще один, бонусный совет: старайтесь всегда узнавать что-то новое. Я постоянно учусь, я также учусь на опыте других отелей, так как мы время от времени встречаемся с другими генеральными менеджерами отелей Армении и делимся опытом.
У вас есть опыт работы в нескольких странах. Не могли бы вы рассказать нам, что является уникальным в работе Marriott в Армении?
В Армении люди разные, чем в других странах, в которых я работала. Они очень теплые, у них гостеприимство в крови, им нравится общаться с другими людьми. Люди сразу же заставили меня почувствовать себя как дома, несмотря на то, что мои друзья, которые узнали, что я переезжаю на работу в Армению, восклицали: “Куда ты едешь? Это край света”.
Вообще я много знала об Армении еще до того, как приехала сюда, потому что я тоже православная, и знала, что Армения была первой страной в мире, которая приняла христианство в качестве своей официальной религии. Поэтому я всегда хотела приехать сюда на каникулы, но у меня никогда не было времени. Итак, я очень обрадовалась, когда узнала, что приезжаю сюда на работу.
Еще одна уникальная вещь – это сам Marriott, сама достопримечательность, его знают все. Она занимает центральное положение, вся диаспора знает об этом отеле, и это поддерживает лояльность наших клиентов. Когда вы думаете об отеле в Ереване, вы думаете об Armenia Marriott Hotel.
Пожалуйста, расскажите нам, когда и как началось ваше путешествие в гостиничный бизнес?
Все началось в июне 2000 года в JW Marriott в Бухаресте, Румыния (я румынка). Я начала работать помощником директора по финансам, после – 6 лет опыта работы в двух других компаниях, так как я закончила университет по специальности финансы, бухгалтерия, так что это мое основное направление. Я почти 16 лет работала в сфере финансов. В 2006 году я переехала в Marriott Warsaw, а это самый большой отель Marriott в Европе с 523 номерами. Я была помощником финансового директора всего один год, затем я вернулась в Бухарест, чтобы занять должность финансового директора, и почти 9 лет я оставалась на этой должности. Последние 4 года моей карьеры в области финансов я снова провела в Marriott Warsaw, и этот отель – своего рода «звание», поэтому тот, кто начинает там работать, обычно продолжает работу в качестве генерального директора, потому что вы многому учитесь, работая там.
В феврале 2016 года я впервые заняла должность генерального директора в Courtyard при Marriott в Будапеште, это высококлассный двор, а не стандартный. Я пробыла там только один год, и позже мне предложили мою нынешнюю должность в Армении. Я здесь с июля 2017 года.
Пожалуйста, расскажите нам, каково быть генеральным директором женского пола в сфере, где доминируют мужчины.
На самом деле очень приятно быть генеральным директором женского пола, и Marriott, в целом, пытается расширять возможности женщин и продвигать их, так как они более внимательны к деталям, видят не так, как мужчины, и поддерживают лучшие отношения с гостями / клиентами. Но вообще все немного по-другому, и особенно в фирменных отелях очень мало руководителей /генеральных менеджеров женского пола.
Я сама стараюсь всегда поддерживать не только женщин, но и мужчин, и где бы я ни работала, я стараюсь вдохновить, подтолкнуть своих сотрудников, чтобы те занимали более высокие должности, . И я думаю, что когда генеральный директор – женщина, это всегда вдохновляет других в компании повышать свои амбиции. Вступление в должность генерального менеджера всегда было моей целью, у меня была возможность выбрать работу в финансовом отделе головном офисе Marriott, но я решила следовать своей мечте и стать генеральным директором.

Armin Eberhard, General Manager of Renaissance Moscow Monarch Centre Hotel.

Please tell us about your journey to the hotel and hospitality industry.

I was born in the northwest of Germany and started my career in Berlin in one of the major international brands. I had a great opportunity to train in various disciplines as part of the vocational program including rooms division, food & beverage, housekeeping, accounting, sales and marketing, and others. My initial training gave me a great overview of how large operations are structured and together with the brand I could progress my career in diverse destinations such as London and New York. Later, outside the big brand, I had an opportunity to gain experience in the resort market in the Caribbean. Prior to coming to Moscow, I worked in Prague, the Czech Republic, and Budapest, Hungary for a European operator with large conference hotels.
What are the specifications and characteristics of a business hotel?
The needs and requirements of an individual business traveler or a corporate conference attendee are always the centers of our activities. Most important to this community is comfort and ease of access to facilities with timely and efficient customer service. Often tight schedules and meeting agendas do not allow these guests much time for discoveries on their own. That is why our Navigators lead the way, so our guests can make the most of their visit on and off work.

Could you please tell us about Renaissance Moscow Monarch Centre Hotel’s uniqueness?
Besides being one of Moscow latest additions to the conference travel hospitality sector, the hotel distinguishes itself with several unique selling points. Let me start with the accommodation; spacious rooms of a minimum of 35 square meters arranged for comfort, with Marriott standard bedding quality and modern bathrooms, including bathtubs and walk-in showers. With its inventory of 366 units, the Renaissance Monarch Moscow hotel offers different accommodation levels to suit all travel needs next to the deluxe king or twin bedrooms. We offer 45 suites from junior or 1-bedroom corner suites of 55sq. m. up to presidential suites of 160sq. m., all with separation between bedroom and living room.
For guests on project work, the Renaissance offers 40 apartments at 75sq. m, including kitchenettes and excellent full service, stay solutions with many services included. The second highlight is our Duplex Executive lounge offering private breakfast, sweeping views over the city and a relaxation space throughout the day with pre-dinner cocktail food and drinks in the evening. Another excellent attribute for the business traveler is our spacious and impressive Health Club. Located on almost 1,600 square meters, it has a workout and wellness space with a large, fully equipped gym, pool, jacuzzi, sauna, spa and a group training room hosting a wide variety of trainer-led activities. The core of the hotel is formed of our 2,500sq. m. of banqueting and catering floor with 12 modern and flexible meeting rooms surrounding 1,000sq. m. exhibition space and a welcoming lobby.

Do you agree with the opinion of “20% of the success of the hotel depends on location and the building with its interior and exterior and 80% depends on people who manage the hotel”?
Location is often a paramount decision for a frequent individual traveler. The sheer size of the city demands the planning ahead of travel requirements within the city during the stay. Residing on one side of the city and commuting to the other side during a short stay period puts enormous pressure on schedules and extends travel time. However, the frequent individual business traveler is an expert customer in service evaluation and possesses a great experience to compare hotel products and services worldwide. To stand out and gain the loyalty of these valuable customers means we must train and focus the associates to recognize, welcome and serve the community with utter professionalism and courtesy. Especially here in Moscow travelers have great choices and only the unique, friendly and efficient approach of all team members will make a stay memorable and convince the customers to return.

What values or characteristics should a person have to join your team?
When we hire associates, we look for that special talent with a genuine interest in meeting and engaging with international travelers from all over the globe. The desire to communicate with and host these guests without any prejudice is the most important skill to fit into our team. We can teach you many technical skills, but we cannot create desire and natural curiosity. You need to be a good Navigator for our Discoverers and our guests.

What are your plans going forward?
Currently, we are in the process of introducing new banqueting facilities, adding 400sq. m. to our existing space. Following Marriott standard updates, we are renewing facilities and technical amenities, including a new TV system and WIFI infrastructure, keeping up with the digital development. Additionally, as the hotel celebrates its first decade in 2020, we are preparing a year of surprises and want to share this milestone event with our associates, clients, partners, and guests.

Salvatore Casarrubia – General Manager of Opera Suite Hotel, Yerevan

Mr. Casarrubia, taking into consideration your experience can you share some advice for managing a successful hotel.
First, to become a successful hotel, it is very important to have a motivated and professional staff. As an example, for an inspiring and motivating manager, we can take Jose Mourinho, a famous football coach. Maybe, he is not the best tactical coach in the world, but in my opinion, he is the best at motivating and making his players feel valued and appreciated. Following the same logic, I demand from myself to motivate my employees and put them in the position where they can do their best every day, and that is the way to help and empower them to grow professionally, to have new experiences every day, of course by providing the necessary conditions.
It is very important to understand that it is bilaterally effective both for the company and the employee. As a hotel, you can have the worst facilities, but if you have a motivated staff, you will have an advantage over your competitors with the quality of service your staff can provide.
Today I am more than happy to share my experience with my employees and colleagues, I am not jealous. I understand that sometimes it can be a little bit challenging, like in any other industry, working in the hotel has its ups and downs, but I am not talking from my side as Salvatore Casarrubia, I am telling it as a person with all this experience. I am asking my employees to trust my experience and when I tell them to do things in a certain way, I ensure that it will run very good.
Let me tell you also another thing. The position of a general manager is very delicate, you have to say when something is wrong and it is not personal. My goal is not to please everyone, that’s why from time to time I have to make decisions that some people will not like, but again as they say “nothing personal, just business”. My goal is to make sure that the company is running as it is supposed to run, also, of course, take care of my staff. But I must be sure that they are giving all the maximum for the company. You must be sure they are doing what you require.

You spoke about how you need to treat your employees and colleagues, tell us more about your views on how to treat customers.
As for the customers, my thought is following; never say no to the customer. I used to say to my employees, don’t reason with your pocket, because you never know who is standing in front of you. For sure when a customer asks for something very special, they know that they must pay. That is self-understanding. We should ensure that whatever is customer demanding, of course within the law, we are doing our best to provide it at the highest level possible.
When I came here, I introduced the Latin expression to my staff. “Vademecum” which means “Come with me”. That gives them guideline how I wish they treat each other and how they treat our guests. I don’t like to use the words customer or client; I prefer using Guest. In the past, there were no clients or customer, everybody was called GUEST. You must treat them as a friend, as someone you are hosting at your house. Hospitality is not only a job, but it is also a culture.
I understand that it is not easy, working as a waiter, barista or receptionist, for example, as you are serving people. But you don’t have to be embarrassed because you are serving someone, you need to understand that you are providing service, which is a different approach and different mentality. I can see some differences comparing Armenia and Italy in that sense. Waiter understands that he or she is not just serving, but they are providing professional service.
Speaking about professionalism and different approaches, what do you think about professional education in this industry in our country?
Taking to account the problems mentioned above I think It should be very interesting to have a hospitality school in Armenia. For example, if we discuss the case of Switzerland (the country where I was born) they have mountains, beautiful nature, agriculture, banks but very little tourism (compared to other industries). But they have the best tourism and hospitality education in the world, they have the best private schools for our industry. In those schools they provide education for general managers, financial managers, revenue managers, restaurant managers, housekeeping managers, chefs. They are to pay for that, and when they finish school, they already have work. Young Armenians should understand and give importance to professional education. They have a lot of opportunities and chances to build their career in your country.
What do you think about new opening hotels in the country and their management and pricing strategies?
Yerevan is a very beautiful and welcoming city, and I am very happy with the new opening hotels, but in the same time, I am worried that new hotels are making damping, not all I mean. Damping is very dangerous and could be damage the market, it needs a long time and it will be very hard to recover that. I am not scared about the opening of new 5-star hotels, I am glad about it. Normally, they should sell higher than me 4-star hotel (smiling). My position in the market could be a little bit less comparing 5-star hotel. I took many challenges in my life. I had some losses and wins of course. Here I have a very beautiful 4-star hotel and very motivated, professional staff. I feel very confident that we will make a difference not with our walls but with our staff and service that we can offer.
Tell us a little bit more about one day at work as a general manager.
As a general manager, I can come even at 10:00 am. But I am I usually arrive around 08:30, I am not here just to sit at my office and check numbers from the previous day. I go up to the breakfast room. I am checking if everything is fine and I am having a walk in the hotel to ensure that everyone is doing their job at the right time. It doesn’t mean that I am some kind of policeman or I am checking on someone. The message is that I am here and I give example to everyone by doing that.
Can you share your work experience?
My previous work was a big hotel with 140 rooms and spacious meeting rooms, we had 1500 sqm ballroom, it was situated close to Bologna. It was old, like many Italian hotels. I understood that this 1500 sqm ballroom, can and must be our advantage. In the case of that hotel, if meeting rooms work, all the services will work as well.
Also, I worked in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in Florence for 3 years and Toscana as well. And I had a different kind of experience. I managed a business hotel, a thermal hotel with a big spa that operates mainly for the leisure segment.
I have started my career in this field in 1993 with a very important chain: Accor. I worked for many years in this chain and it is a very important background. I grew up as a professional with Novotel. I worked for Novotel Bologna for several years starting from the reception. I had a very good General Manager Mr. Paolo Rier, He was the General Manager of Novotel Hotels in Italy at that time. He gave me the opportunity to grow up until Front Office Manager. I decided to leave the Accor chain and continue my experience by myself.