1. Who are you?

2. What do you like about what you do?
Meeting new customers and providers everyday is the most thrilling part of my job. Enjoying people from all over the world, with different culture, personal history and occupations. It is really enriching as you have to greet them according to their own traditions, yet they all have to be satisfied and ensure to make them come back.

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
That I am not able to meet all the clients, even though our team is dedicated to make their stay the most enjoyable one, I would like to see them all.

4. Please tell us about your hotel and your aims with it?
Hotel BALZAC is a unique property, mixing the traditional decor with contemporary fabrics along with a gourmet restaurant, rated 3-star at Michelin Guide. A stay at the Balzac is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
My goal for the Balzac? Make it one of the best hotels in Paris, reaching the top 20 in 2010. We can make it.

5. Are you working with blogs and if yes, what is your favourite blog?
Not that much actually except my friends’ ones.
I truly think this is a great medium and I will create one for the Balzac for sure.

6. Your TOP 3 hotel experiences:
Oriental in Bangkok; tradition and excellence
Montage in Laguna Beach : the best Californian experience ever
Eden Roc on French Riviera: perfection in service and view on the Mediterranean sea

7. Your TOP 3 destination experiences:
Provence, as everything there seemed to have been especially created for hapiness
sia, especially Thaïland for its culture and the kindness of its people
California:  from San Francisco to Los Angeles, the true American dream

8. Your TOP 3 food and/or beverage experiences:
- Restaurant Pierre GAGNAIRE, inside the Hotel, one of the 3 best restaurant in the world
- Mon Vieil Ami, gourmet bistrot in the heart of Ile Saint-Louis in Paris
- Rosticceria Fiorentina in Roma : genuine, simple, perfect

9. Can you offer possible readers 3 things they absolutely need to do/visit/see when visiting your city?
- Champs Elysées
- Ile Saint-Louis
- Trocadéro Gardens

10. Any comments you want to share with us?
Life is short, enjoy every minute of it.

At the top of the Champs-Elysées, this 19th-century elegant mansion is one of the most exceptional landmarks in Paris.

The requirements for the young hoteliers attending this event, are, that they don’t work within a management position and that they are younger than 25. This year’s event counted 14 motivated ‘young hoteliers’ who all had to answer this year’s theme-question:

“How should a green hotel look like, and how to bring it alive?”

Presenting their point of view, in English, took place in Imperial hotel on the 26th of February.

Thomas Eder, Barbara Eckmann (Winner) and Martin Fuehrer

In the jury, who had a long day judging all the presentations, director of Wien Tourismus Norbert Kettner, Manpower-manager Katharina Münchmeyer, Johnson Diversey director Martin Führer, hotel owner Michaela Reiterer, Hilton Vienna Plaza director Michael Reinhardt, Christophe Bergen from Cornell University and consultant for the hotel project Hotel im Palais Schwarzenberg and chairperson Thomas Eder of the GMC were represented.
Johnson Diversey is the main sponsor of the event, who also realised the first price which is a summer-course at the Cornell University in Brussel or nearby New York. Not only was the course sponsored, but the flight and accommodation as well.

Manpower organised two days of training in presentation skills for the young hoteliers. These training days took place in November, where the young hoteliers were trained and prepared in giving presentations.

On the 26th of February the event took place in Imperial hotel and already started at 08:00 hours in the morning, with the first candidate. On the next day, the 27th of February, the winner of this event was announced and a small after-party was organised. This took place in the Imperial hotel as well. The young hotelier, who answered the theme question the best and convinced the jury of her presentation skills, was Barbara Eckmann of Le Meridien. She won the summer-course at the renowned Cornell University, including the flight and accommodation worth of around € 4.000.

Second best was Caroline Winter of InterContinental Wien, who won a course at the Chamber of Commerce, worth of € 500. A difficult decision for the jury was the third place, on which two Young Hotelier Award candidates ended. Thorben Thiemann of the Radisson SAS Palais Hotel and Angelique Piquer representing Grand Hotel Wien and The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel.

So what exactly is a green hotel?

Green travel is based on travelers who consider the environment whilst they are traveling, and try to waste or disturb the environment as less as possible. A green hotel considers the environment and community as well, as in taking responsibility for the impacts of the hotel’s activities. Taking this responsibility can be done in many ways, for example with energy efficient lighting, installing solar panels to win alternative energy, offering the guests a linen program, making use of biological and regional products in the kitchen, using chemical free cleaning solutions or only treating your guests with natural spa products. These are not the only solutions, but some general examples, as there are hunderds of solutions to implement when taking responsibility.

Why are hotels taking the responsibility?

The main advantage for companies to take the responsibility is creating a win-win situation. When implementing ‘green’ solutions, the environment will benefit, but the company as well. Some of the main advantage for these companies could be; improving their financial position by decreasing costs, improvement of brand image, increase of guest loyalty and more satisfied and motivated employees. Besides the win-win situation which is created, more and more companies are forced into taking the responsibility, due to the increase of costs of resources, the overall opinion about the climate change, and governmental institutions and other organisations developing new rules and regulations for companies and hotels to follow, in consideration for our environment.

1. Tell us about yourself?

2. Tell us about your daily life at work and what you like about it?
Everything, the Staff, the Guests, Every day is different. Working with other Passionate Individuals to create a high quality environment.

3. Tell us about your daily life at work and what you don’t like about it?
Not much. I am a pretty positive guy and my glass is always half Full, not half Empty!!!
I can sometimes get frustrated but that just steers me on to do even better! Life is too Short not to make the most of it!

4. Tell us about your hotel and your aims with it?
It dates back to 1856 when it opened as The Bank of The City of London. The lobby is dominated by a stunning stained glass dome, offers 69 bedrooms, 3 meeting rooms, Bonds Bar caters for up to 100 people and Bonds restaurant has 80 covers offering modern French cuisine.

5. Are you working with blogs and if yes, what is your favourite blog?
No but my son is watching Youtube, which makes me feel old.

6. Your top 3 hotel experiences?
Good Question. Glasshouse Hotel (Edinburgh), Hotel de Paris (Monte Carlo) and Le Bristol (Paris)

7. Your top 3 destination experiences?
Singapore, Bali and Hong Kong

8. Your top 3 food and/or beverage experiences?
Good Question …

9. Can you offer possible readers 3 things they absolutely need to do/visit/see when visiting your city?
Stay at Threadneedles, drink Champagne in Bonds Bar, and eat in Bonds Restaurant.

10. Any comments you want to share with us?
Be nice to people and they will be nice with you!

Threadneedles, Luxury Boutique Hotel in London. Voted by Conde Nast Traveller as one of the top 50 hotels in the world.