„she interviews“ Isabelle

Isabelle manages the hotel since 2014. Following an impressive career journey that started with graduation at the Swiss Hospitality Management School in Lausanne, followed by assignments in New York, US, Paris, France and Mainz, Germany.

„…..I rather designed my career according to the available opportunities. When you get stuck with ideas, you don’t see what’s right and left. And in the end, it led me to what was, at first, my dream. To run a small boutique hotel…”

Isabelle

Can you describe your current role?

I am the general manager of the Hotel Florhof in Zurich. This means that I am in charge of the entire operational business, rooms division, food & beverage, as well as finance, sales & marketing and HR management. And that around the clock. With this position I have actually fulfilled my original professional dream.

How did you start your professional life and what were your professional goals at that time?

I was certainly influenced by my mother’s brewery and my father’s winery, which means I was in contact with the food & beverage industry since I can remember; I was already behind the counter at a very early age. In addition, since my youth I do horseback riding, also at tournaments. And here too I helped a lot in the marquee. That’s when I noticed that I enjoyed it and I also had a talent for it to a certain extent. I was also one of those in the group, who voluntarily did long shifts. So maybe it was in my cradle, my mother also went to hotel management school. After my Matura in Switzerland, I passed the entrance examination at the Swiss Hospitality Management School in Lausanne (EHL), and then my path really took off. I graduated in 1997 and my goal at that time was to work in hotels in general, and my dream was to run a smaller hotel. Preferably with a riding stable I thought that might be interesting for couples, where not both are riding. One can have a riding holiday, but one can meet for dinner in the evening. So, over the years I can say that the dream of a small hotel has been lost a bit, but in retrospect all my professional steps after that have brought me to where I am today, running a boutique hotel. 

Part of the hospitality management studies are internships. Where did you do them? 

My service internship was at the Giardino Ascona, Eden Palace au Lac Montreux in the kitchen, and the rooms division internship was in France, in the Hotel du Palais Biarritz.

What was the next step, what were the immediate steps after the studies?

Afterwards I went to New York with a friend with whom I also studied. Without a job, only with a CV and we both just went from hotel to hotel, seeing if they had any vacancies. I had no particular job or department in mind, I wanted to be completely open. So eventually, I got the job as Assistant Restaurant Manager at the Swiss Hotel New York.  

As I said, I was very open, I didn’t want to be too focused, I knew I still had so much to learn. And I still believe in that today. No matter where you start, no matter what you do, you will need it.  Also, if you want to work in sales, it is an advantage to have worked in F&B for 2 years. A manager in a hotel must know what the waiter does, must know what the receptionist does. If you don’t know this, you will not understand a hotel.  Of course, one has certain talents and preferences, so I knew that I did not want to work in finance. And I also knew that I wanted to work in operation, working with the guest. All in all, I spent three years in New York.  

Through an entanglement of coincidences, I ended up in Paris afterwards and took part in the reopening of the Hotel Le Meurice. I was Assistant Room Service Manager, which was also a very interesting experience. Among other things, because the colleagues had been there for a long time, all the Maître D`Hotel there were as old as my father. And besides, they never had a woman as a superior.  However, this did not cause me any problems and I never saw any differences. I wanted to be myself and just do a good job. And in retrospect that was also the key to successful cooperation there. I am still in contact with some Room Service colleagues from back then, and I am very pleased about that. After that I was allowed to manage one of the restaurants at Le Meurice. Following that, I was offered the position of Assistant Manager, a kind of Duty Manager role, so I suddenly had more insight into the rooms division department. After Le Meurice, I joined Hyatt as F&B Manager at Hyatt Madeleine. So, all in all, at the beginning I was open for rooms or F&B, the main thing being a hotel. I rather designed my career according to the available opportunities. When you get stuck with ideas, you don’t see what’s right and left. And in the end, it led me to what was, at first, my dream. To run a small boutique hotel.

What would you describe as your career milestones; which ones were particularly formative in retrospect?

There are some things I am very proud of and which have also shaped me. And motivated me to continue on my path, all were stretch assignments. One thing that comes to mind, that I was able to look after the top-class clientele, including heads of state, at Le Meurice. My superiors had given me the full responsibility to organize their stay, to welcome them, etc. This has strengthened me incredibly; it also gave me confirmation that the more normal and natural one behaves, the better.  Other things that I can recall was having learned so many new things throughout my career, such as managing a renovation or organizing large outside catering events. And last but not least, to manage the Hotel Florhof and to be responsible for areas where I didn’t have so much experience in previously.

I would be keen to learn if you had mentors that guided you. Did you have role models; superiors with special influence, and were there any women as role models?

The Assistant General Manager of Le Meurice played a big role; he always radiated calmness and was always there for the staff; we admired him; he also worked extremely hard, but he was and always remained human.

What does human mean to you?

Human for me is someone who also shows a weakness, someone who knows his employees and is interested in the person. I once had a GM who also said, he was tired and not motivated to work on that day. I think that’s great; a boss is a human being and he/ she is allowed to say that.

Did you also have women as role models?

Yes, there were many direct colleagues. At Hyatt, for example, it was the Director of Rooms and Director of HR.  Both could pull people along and inspire them. They never disguised themselves, always remained human and personal.

Sometimes one hears that there are differences between men and women in terms of career planning and development, as well as leadership style. Do you agree with this?

It’s hard to say. Personally, I’ve always followed my intuition in my career planning; men may be more calculating in their career planning, more forward-looking.

What is the key to successful leadership for you; what are the characteristics of a good leader?

Think fast and networked, be solution-oriented, identify talents and use talents. As a manager you are dependent on your employees, so it is good to recognize specialists and also to know where your own limits are.

The current time, with the impact the pandemic has on the hospitality industry, what leadership skills in specific where needed to navigate through the last few weeks?

You always need a good team; but in this crisis your team and you need to be actually one. As you need to expect utmost flexibility from your colleagues, whether around the actual working times or also the tasks that needs to be done. Secondly, as a leader you need to fully and transparently communicate. As an example, when it comes to staffing, explaining openly of not being able to hire additional staff while others being furloughed. You also need to be quicker, as things change daily, being informed and reacting accordingly is key. 

And what are your thoughts on moving forward? Is there something that needs to change from the perspective of a leader?

What I learned from this crisis is definitely as a leader you need to be open to get more help from the outside. Being faced with new issues and challenges, you need to talk to specialists. As an example, process oriented things such as – the enhanced cleaning and disinfection routines, what are recommended products as the commercially common cleaning products are not sufficient; what impact do they have on any material, be it furniture and other surfaces. Another example could be the increased dealing with insurances and the need to work brokers or advisors. Generally, I would recommend building a larger network of specialists from other industries to draw upon when needed. And finally, what we will look into more in the future – how can we better balance the financials without compromising service. As clearly, revenues are nowhere near they should be. 

Coming back to your career in general – looking back, what would you describe as courageous decisions in your career today?

In a large hotel group, the career is a little predetermined, even if every step took courage; but it took much more courage for me to manage a hotel comprehensively.

An important issue is and will remain the compatibility of work and family life. What are your thoughts on this?

It’s all a question of organization; although I don’t have children, I have a dog, which takes up a lot of time. And by the way, I also got the dog by pure coincidence. In general, it is important to pull yourself out of the swirl of the job; to just go home; and to learn to let go.

What are your recommendations, what tips would you give to career starters and junior managers? About professional life in general but also about establishing yourself as a manager?

Always remain yourself, you should not play a role (like the one of a „manager“). You cannot be an authentic host if you pretend to be. Secondly, always gain as much practical experience as possible, according to the old motto „Practice makes perfect“, that still holds true.  Furthermore, always do what is fun; that gives motivation and passion.  As an example, it was clear to me that I would never want to work in finance, but in my management positions I was always responsible for my financials, had to develop forecasts and budgets. But through my experience, the numbers made sense; behind every number there is a process that I understand.

In connection with female executives, one often hears „its lonely at the top“, is that true? And what can a woman do to establish herself as a leader?

There is something to that. In 2005 I was the only woman to attend an F&B and Kitchen meeting in Dubai, where all the F&B directors and executive chefs from Europe, Africa and the Middle East were present. In general, I think it is important to network, to look for comrades. It is always easier when you are in exchange with like-minded people. For example, we founded PEARL in Zurich. PEARL is an association of 6 boutique hotels in Zurich, all run by women by the way. We are often in exchange, and that feels good. Professionally and personally.

A big thanks Isabelle for sharing your words of encouragement and inspiration!