February 2017
My love story with hotels, and this one in particular
What I do
In this article, I would like to introduce you to another part of my life. It is a big part for me, as I would like to tell you about my work, my day-to-day job. I am often curious about what it is people actually do on a daily basis. And I would like to tell you what I do and how I got there...
I think my love story with hotels started when I was eleven years old. In summer 1989 my dad took my mum, my sister, and me on holiday to Turkey. That was our first trip to Turkey and we stayed in an absolutely beautiful resort, the Robinson Club Pamfilya in Antalya. The stunning resort was widely spread out, all buildings were white with blue pointy roofs, the swimming pool and beach were to die for and the restaurants were fantastic. They had entertainment for kids where we made many new friends and had entertainment around the clock. During that holiday, I became fascinated with how everything worked in this resort, the kind of people that worked there, and the fantastic hospitality that was offered to us.
This experience stayed with me and when it was time to decide which direction my professional life should take, it was clear to me that it was supposed to go towards the tourism industry. I tried my luck with the university first, but it became obvious pretty quickly that studying would not get me to where I wanted to be. I did a u-turn, tried a few things and got accepted at the Hotel and Tourism school in Leipzig. I moved there in the summer of 1999 and started my degree. I spent two years in school and a third-year with two different internships, one on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura, where I worked in F&B and one in London at the German National Tourism Office in Sales & Marketing. Once the second internship was successfully completed I was ready to go and to start working. And I was given the opportunity to stay and work in London a bit longer. That is how started working in hotels, with my first job at the Regional Sales Office for Kempinski Hotels. I found out that Sales was my thing and from there on I worked my way up. I worked for an English company called Thistle & Guoman Hotels, followed by the Steigenberger Regional office in London and then on property at their beautiful flagship hotel Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof. A restructure at Steigenberger took me to the Small Luxury Hotel Schlosshotel Kronberg and from there I moved to the job which I still have at the moment. I became the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Regent Berlin and moved to Germany's capital city.
Regent Berlin
The Regent Berlin is the hotel I have been working for, for the past five years. It was opened in 1996 as the Four Seasons in Berlin and was the first luxury hotel in the city after Germany's reunification. Located in the heart of city center east, in the middle of that part of the city that was closed of for so many years. Walking distance to the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, Museum Island, and right within a great shopping and dining neighbourhood. Regent Berlin is an elegant, sophisticated hotel with many warm colours, marble, and flowers. It has a lot of understated elegance which kind of never goes out of style. It is not in your face but offers a warm, cozy and beautiful surrounding to the people who are looking for a perfect place to stay while they are in Berlin.
The guests who stay at the Regent either travel for business or pleasure (sometimes both), they come from all over the world and they really appreciated the excellent location, the absolutely fantastic food, and the very attentive service. And this service that is being offered is the unique selling point of our hotel. It is the people that make all the difference. And I don't say this because I work there, I say it because I have experienced it first hand. I can safely say I have never been welcomed to a job anywhere like here before. From the first time I stepped into this hotel, everyone has been friendly, welcoming, and helpful. This goes from the times where they did not know who I am to the times when they knew I was one of their colleagues. This team has something very valuable, they help each other and are friendly to each other, not only to the guests but to one another too. And I think our guests can feel that too. Of course, we argue, of course, we disagree but I feel that we always make up and find a solution in the end that everyone can live with.
My Job at this beautiful hotel
I started working at the Regent Berlin in December 2011 and this is the longest I have ever stayed in a position. My job is to look after the Sales and Marketing department of the hotel. I have a team of 10 people, a Marketing Manager, five Salespeople, and four persons in Meetings and Events.
In general, we are responsible for marketing and "selling" the hotel. We look for potential customers, for new opportunities, keep guests coming back to us, introduce the hotel to new potential guests and customers and establish cooperations. We listen to their wishes, do presentations, site inspections of the hotel, negotiate contracts, attend trade fairs, invite customers to dinner, travel around the world, cold call old and new clients, keep our database in check, never take "no's" personal and our glass is always half full.
I love my job, every day is different and I get to meet so many interesting and diverse people. It is a great people business and we get to provide a home away from home to everyone who comes to visit. We look after our guests´ every need through the tools of our profession with our authentic selves. It is the job I´ve always wanted!
