In this week’s Smart Talking, we chat to Carina Svensen, General Manager of Hotel Missoni, Edinburgh.
Hi Carina, welcome to Smart Talking. Please tell us about Hotel Missoni Edinburgh and about your guests.
Carina: Hotel Missoni is Edinburgh’s newest 5 star hotel and the first Missoni hotel in the world. The entire hotel is designed by Rosita Missoni, from the colourful bed linen right down to the dramatic black and white Missoni signature crockery. We’re just a minute’s walk from Edinburgh Castle, on the corner of George IV Bridge and the Royal Mile. Most of our 136 rooms have beautiful views over the city and the Old Town.
Our guests come from all over the world, and we have a good mix of both business and leisure travellers. As well as being stylish and modern, we offer a unique, personalised service and a “home from home” experience. Hotel Missoni is friendly, warm and welcoming, and it’s about going somewhere comfortable that feels like home.
Hotel Missoni puts a strong focus on design and style – would you say that is this an important factor for your guests when choosing the hotel?
Carina: Design is an important factor, but I don’t think it’s the only thing people consider when they’re choosing Hotel Missoni. For us it’s not all about appearances – the hotel needs to be comfortable and functional as well. Yes, the hotel is stunning and people are often attracted to the Missoni style, but it’s also very warm and inviting, and comfortable for our guests. Our aim is to be the friendliest 5 star hotel in the world, and we have a great team in place who go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome and have the best possible guest experience.
Travellers are becoming more demanding and a lot more savvy these days – in your experience what are the key things they want from their stay with you in Edinburgh?
Carina: Travellers nowadays expect something a little bit different, something more than just comfort and convenience, and rightly so. When people travel, they want value for money, comfort, and quality, as well as excellent customer service. I believe we can offer this, and it’s the little luxury touches that make all the difference. Hotel Missoni is for people who appreciate design, luxury, quality and value.
For young people currently interested in a career in the hotel/hospitality industry, what advice could you offer them?
Carina: If you choose a career in the hotel/hospitality industry, you’ll discover new cultures, new people, new places and new ideas. It’s such an exciting, dynamic international industry, and there are so many different fields within hospitality that you’ll never get bored. The industry is fun, fast-moving, and interesting but you also need to be prepared to work hard and expect the unexpected!
My advice would be to find out where you want to start, who you want to work for, and what areas you think you’d be most suited to. Talk to people within the hospitality industry, establish connections with people, and try to get some hands-on experience. I think work experience is just as important as academic learning, so that you can get a true feel for the job and a realistic understanding of what it’s like. Hospitality is a fantastic career path and who knows where it could lead you.
The current economic climate is particularly challenging for businesses, not least for the Scottish tourism industry. How is your business coping with this – any positives coming out of the experience and any advice for others?
Carina: Hotel Missoni is doing incredibly well since opening in June 2009 and has gone from strength to strength, and I genuinely believe that it’s a lot to do with the great team we have in place. There is a clear service concept and specific training to ensure staff are knowledgeable, competent, and can go above and beyond what is expected to make guests happy. At Hotel Missoni, we have a shared service culture called ‘Vita’, and it’s all about celebrating new experiences, appreciating the people around you, and always staying positive. We work extremely hard to stay on top and we’re constantly coming up with new ideas – the aim is to make the guest experience as comfortable, easy, and enjoyable as possible. Thankfully, business in Edinburgh is doing well as a whole and hotel occupancy figures are high across the board. We anticipate that business will grow further into next year.
Do social media and digital technology have a place in your business?
Carina: Absolutely – social media is certainly growing and there’s been a massive shift in how people find business. We’re quite proactive in social media and we have profiles on Facebook and Twitter, and our “fans/followers” are growing. It’s a great tool for interacting with people one-on-one and getting regular feedback on how customers are reacting to marketing messages. We’re interested in building relationships with people, and social media is another means of communicating. We’re running a competition for our 2000th follower on Twitter to receive an overnight stay in the hotel with dinner in Cucina. We want people we connect with online to come and visit us and stay with us, and we value those customers because they’re real people helping to build our reputation. Social media can help us find out what guests are saying, how they view competitors, and more importantly, determine what our guests want and need.
What’s Hotel Missoni up to at the moment – any news you would like to share with us?
Carina: There’s a lot going on at the moment! We’re all set for Christmas, and for people who book lunch or dinner before 30th September, they enter a prize draw with the chance to win two nights in our top suite, dinner in Cucina, and a helicopter ride over Edinburgh! In Cucina, our head chef Mattia Camorani has been cooking up a storm and we recently launched Mattia’s Masterclasses for small groups of up to ten people. The next Masterclass on 13th September costs just £25 per person, and it includes a welcome glass of Prosecco and canapés, with a one hour demonstration on how to make the perfect risotto.
Spa Missoni opened in November last year – we’re the first Scottish spa to provide Natura Bisse and Eve Lom treatments and products, and although I’m probably slightly biased, the results from these products are incredible! We’ve just launched some exclusive monthly Spa packages, so this month for example, there’s a “Diamond Nights package” – you receive a glass of Prosecco, a diamond goody bag worth £100, and a 90-minute Natura Bisse Diamond Lifting Facial, all for £150.
Many thanks for Smart Talking with us, Carina, and may the busy season continue!
For more information visit www.hotelmissoni.com or follow on Facebook or Twitter
Professional indemnity