Redefining Service Culture - Robyn Pratt - Defining Hospitality - Episode # 185
DH - Robyn Pratt
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Speaker 3: [00:00:00] What I do is inconsequential. Why I do what I do is I get to shorten people's journeys every day. What I love about our hospitality industry is that it's our mission to make people feel cared for while on their journeys. Together, we'll explore what hospitality means in the built environment, in business, and in our daily lives.
I'm Dan Ryan, and this is Defining Hospitality.
This podcast is sponsored by Berman Falk Hospitality Group, a design driven furniture manufacturer who specializes in custom case goods and seating for hotel guest rooms.
Dan: Today's guest is someone with decades of work in the hospitality industry. Most of which is at the management and the director levels. She's worked across all business functions as such as sales, marketing, operations, project management, and brand strategy. And even more. She's been featured in fellow podcast Hospitality Daily with Josiah McKenzie, big friend of mine. She's also the co host of the podcast, Robyn and the [00:01:00] Dinosaur, and is super passionate about the service culture of hotels. She's the principal and managing director at Impact Consulting Limited, and also serves as the general manager of the Phoenicia Hotel in Malta. Ladies and gentlemen, Robyn Pratt. Welcome Robyn.
Robyn: Hi, Dan. Happy New Year.
Dan: Happy new year to you. Uh, this is the first recording of the new year So thank you for sharing in this moment with me I know we've been trying to do this for a long time but travels and sicknesses and we're finally here together and I'm just My heart is warm over it.
So
Robyn: Yes, and festive time in hotels is great. It's a busy, busy time as well.
Dan: It took it a hundred percent is, and I've seen that from traveling. One thing I can say about traveling. I've been many, many places in the world. I've never been to Malta and I want to learn more about how you found your way to Malta. I, we all want to know that cause I think that's critical to, to your story as well. Um, but before we get into that, what does hospitality mean [00:02:00] to you?
Robyn: So Dan, I think hospitality to me is a sort of the art of delivering experiences, welcoming experiences to guests, to employees, to anybody that you're welcoming, like that you're welcoming into your home. I think for me, what makes it special and real true hospitality is making that person feel special.
That like they're the only one in the room that is just you and them.
Dan: I. Agree with that, and that rhymes with so much of what other people say. It's about meeting people where they are, making sure that they feel heard and seen and cared for. I'm also very curious about your path in hospitality, because you've worked in pretty much all facets of hospitality. You also consult, and you're the general manager of a pretty famous hotel. in, [00:03:00] in Malta and in the, in the world, I would say from a luxury perspective. So how did you find yourself to this place where not only you're a general manager of a renowned hotel, but also you're consulting and you're helping other hotels and other, other, other businesses and hotels get better through the practice of hospitality.
Robyn: sure. So Dan, it's, yes, it definitely has been a journey. Um, I, I'm Australian from a very small country. I won't even say a town, um, but I grew up on a dairy farm in central Queensland in Australia, and like most Australians, uh, had a dream to travel and because Australia is so far away, you need a little bit more money.
And so I got a second job in a restaurant and that's when I started to, to get vets. [00:04:00] They say once it's in your blood for those people that are truly passionate about hospitality. Um, and then I went from a casual waitress to a full time waitress, but very quickly decided that I wanted to own my own restaurant.
So I think by 21, I had my own restaurant, but I was working two other jobs to pay for for this. And, um, and then I went on. Um, it sounds a little bit, um, strange now, but it was many moons ago. I won, uh, it was called Girl in a Million in Queensland. And at those days it was ITT Sheraton, we're a sponsor of this.
And as a result, I, um, was offered a position as catering manager in their hotel in the capital city. And I took that on and ITT Sheraton became Starwood. And then I went on into [00:05:00] various general manager positions and marketing positions. And I moved to, um, Brussels where I took on the role of implementing the Euro, uh, within our Eurozone hotels back in 2000.
And I've taken, I've managed, had various roles since then. And, um, something I feel really. really am grateful for is particularly in my regional office roles and regional and brand roles was having the ground roots experience. And now as a general manager, knowing what it takes to make so many beds a day or peel the potatoes or the shrimp, um, I think it makes me a better leader.
Dan: Yeah. I do find that hospitality from so many [00:06:00] of the guests that I've spoken with, um, What's so interesting, and I think what keeps them in it is that within a hotel or within our industry, there's so many different channels of business and experience, whether it's like you said, catering, or it could be events, or it could be, um, activities from hiking to zip lining, to you name it, to just being a rooms attendant, to all things in between, skiing, scuba diving, and you get to kind of touch and become, I guess, like, uh, Jack of all trades, but maybe a master of none? But you get to surround yourselves with these masters of all of these different practices. Did you find that along your journey as well?
Robyn: no, absolutely. I mean, um, I am so, you know, proud of many of the people who have worked for me who are now in very big positions around the world in various, [00:07:00] um, situations, whether it be in the culinary field or in marketing and food and beverage, um, in managing brands. Um, but I think it's, Because you have sort of that knowledge of a certain area, it give, even though you may not be the best in it, knowing what it means to ensure that you, um, are delivering the best.
Uh, housekeeping product. You know, we've got the cleanest hotel. What it, knowing what it means in housekeeping, um, it helps you to, I guess it's also having that respect from others when you can talk their language as well, but I think that helps you. And you know, talking their language is a big thing. And I, I always do recall when I was in a hotel and particularly, you know, now not, maybe not so much when I first started, but it was all the brands that we have around the world right now.
Um, it's up to the [00:08:00] hotel general manager to deliver what the brand has promised. And I have to admit it. Sometimes you think who made up this, uh, who came up with this idea? How are we going to implement it? But I think having that hotel experience as well, Um, in positions like that really does go a long way as well.
Dan: Tell us a little bit about the Phoenicia and what makes it unique in the world of hotels. And also just by the virtue of finding your way to Malta.
Robyn: Yes. Well, Malta, I think is unique. A lot of people sort of think Malta. Oh, I haven't been there. I'll just sort of go there for a couple of days and check it off my bucket list. But when they come here, they're like, wow, I never realized how much history and culture is here. I mean, one of the oldest temples in the world is here in Malta.
Um, it's, it's just off the coast of Italy. It's close to. Libya, Tunisia, Africa. It was a, [00:09:00] is a very strategic location as far as shipping goes. So it's been fought over by many countries. Um, the French, the Moors, the English of course was the, you know, it is a Commonwealth country. So it's very, um, got a lot of English traditions, but, um, how we found ourselves, my husband is also in the industry, or was in the industry.
Was in hotels. Now he's in, uh, aviation, but we were moving from Belgium back to Australia and, um, he was offered a position here and we thought, ah, Malta, it sounds okay for a couple of years just to live in a Mediterranean island for going all the way back to Australia. And, um, I was at that stage, um, after we'd left Starwood doing a lot in the consulting world, um, with regards to service culture development.
So traveling an awful lot. And we found that from Malta, it, you know, obviously a lot easier than traveling from [00:10:00] Australia. So Malta is, um, a country where, you know, as an English speaker, it's very easy to live here. Um, people are very welcoming. It's easy to get to, to the, to mainland Europe where, uh, and the UK where a lot of, uh, my clients were based.
So we found that one year led to the next and then COVID happened. And, um, that's how I came to be the general manager of the Phoenicia, the owner who's Scottish, um, found himself in a situation where the general manager had left. He had no GM. I was, had been doing some consulting, uh, and he said, look, Robyn, can you look after it for, you know, at that stage, which was a couple of months, this COVID thing would be around.
Um, and I couldn't travel. He couldn't get here. So the rest, as they say, is history.
Dan: One of the things that struck me in learning about you was that when that [00:11:00] conversation was happening with this, with the owner, I didn't realize he was Scottish, but I love a Scottish accent. So I'm going to, I'm envisioning it in the story. Um, you said to him, I'll do it, but I have to do it my way. So I was cooking last night. I was listening to a Frank Sinatra mix and my way came on. I played that at my dad's funeral. There's a certain way that, and he wanted to play there, but it's like, you got to go through your life doing it your way. At least that's how I live. Like, I don't like being told what I can do, what I can't do. I got to do it my way.
Thank you, Frank. Um, and also
thank to Robyn. But like, how was that received? Because your hotel is a very well regarded hotel. I'm sure. That there are systems, processes, culture, luxury, things that you feel when you're in that hotel. How is your way different? And how did you fight that battle to do it your way?
Robyn: Right. Yes. [00:12:00] You're so, and you are so right. Um, and it wasn't saying it, you know, in, um, in an arrogant way. It was, I was in charge of, uh, quality and quality assurance and design luxury brands. So I had benefit for 240 hotels of seeing, of really being able to correlate what differentiated. A good hotel to a great hotel, and it was obvious time and time again.
It was the element of employee engagement, the involvement of the general manager and how, you know, how engaged the team were to the culture, to the brand, uh, the overarching brand and their quality, uh, scores. And As I had then left [00:13:00] Starwood and was doing service culture development for other brands, both within hospitality and, um, across other industries, I was telling, you know, leaders, general managers, regional, global heads.
If it's great, you know, service culture is the buzzword, but if you are not going to walk the talk, if you are not going to be engaged with this, then you're wasting your money in running these service culture trainings because it's got, it has to, to be successful, truly successful in leading a strong, Service culture, a culture of service, a culture where everybody feels engaged in that.
It's got to be really all in. And, um, this hotel is an amazing hotel. It's got, it's located right on the doorstep of UNESCO, an actual [00:14:00] City, that is, um, a UNESCO, uh, site.
Dan: That's the walled city
Robyn: yes, a Valletta, yes. So we're right on the doorstep. In fact, many on this is eight acres of land and we have some UNESCO, um, treasures if you like within the site.
So what had happened over the years as happens with many hotels. Cause you know, I was brand leader. So I had to deal with many owners as well, is that. You have a great hotel, but it doesn't have, it's lost a little bit of its soul. So this hotel is 77 years old. Um, and yes, it had a good reputation, but the owner really, and he still has a very strong vision to take this whole hotel to the world, to further renovation.
We've just, you know, last year was achieved many, many awards, um, and be renowned for the best. [00:15:00] Urban Luxury Hotel. First of all, the Mediterranean, then beyond. And this
Dan: in the Mediterranean. Like, is that in the middle of the Mediterranean or
Robyn: like yes, yes, so we're in the Mediterranean. But, um, and so,
Dan: So wait, you beat out all the other hotels touching the Mediterranean.
Robyn: so we, uh, yeah, I mean, in the Condé Nast Reader's Choice Awards last year, we were in the top 20 in Europe. Um, in Europe and then, uh, the top, uh, 12, 12th in, um, Southern Central Europe. So it's Central West Europe. So it's really. You know, we have really moved the needle from being good hotel in Malta to we're really pushing forward, you know, being recognized, um, on a European and international level.
But so when I said, I want to do it my way, it was because I [00:16:00] had been telling people for so long as part of this service culture development. And yes, we had some great wins, but we also had situations where we didn't do as well as we should have because there wasn't the engagement. So what I meant was that you have to allow me to implement a service culture that is going to re energize the of the Phoenicia, Malta.
And he said to me, look, Robert, I want to take this hotel back to being, you know, the, the, the locals feel that it's the best in Malta, that it's where everybody wants to be, that it's got this great energy. Cause over the years, and obviously with COVID and with all the sorts of things that happened, um, whilst this hotel was, has been here, you know, there's, Certain things that it was good, but it just needed a bit of a push [00:17:00] with regards to creating that internal energy.
And that's, that's what I meant. So he really, I think he was sort of wondered sometimes at, to start with what I was doing when I was starting to really involve and engage the team members at all levels. Um, but as we started to celebrate the successes and see the financial results. Not just grow, but really soar, um, you know, we were, we became a very good team and he really, he really does understand now the correlation between having a strong culture within the hotel and financial success.
Dan: So I've been in hundreds of hotels, maybe more, uh, thousands, well, hundreds of different businesses, maybe more than hundreds of hotels. And there's something [00:18:00] about the culture, whether it's a business or a hotel, or that you can, you walk in the doors and you can just smell it. You can feel
it. It's immediate. It's present. I have. It's there. It's there. Different tactical ways of doing that in businesses. I'm sure many general managers have different ways of doing, of implementing that in hotel. Obviously, it starts with having the people, but when you, you said something to the effect of, uh, engagement, employee engagement, GM engagement, and you got to really, I think you said, believe, or I was
Robyn: got to
Dan: Kool Aid, but it's like, you have to believe it has to be almost like you're speaking a gospel of
some
Robyn: it has to be true.
Dan: How do you do that tactically? Like as the general manager, you take over, you're doing it your way. I assume you didn't have a wholesale change of people. What were the tactical things that you did as a general manager with your teams to change that culture?
Robyn: Yeah, and I can say it started with a degree of cynicism [00:19:00] about, you know, me, you know, engaging them, telling, you know, informing them what our vision was, how we're going to get there. We needed everyone to come along with us. Um, you know, I implemented employee engagement surveys, which had not done before.
I implemented a strong sense of, um, I think it was, It was more showing the employees that we cared, but cared genuinely, like, um, appointing, um, a person who's in charge of employee wellness. So she's there if, you know, for example, we have over 30 nationalities in the hotel. Many of these people are away from their family, going through hard times.
We have Ukrainian refugees who are now working for us. People going through tough times, and Taryn is there to You know, be someone to lend a shoulder to speak [00:20:00] to. And also if they're going through particularly tough times, we might, you know, get people to help them, um, to really show that we care. We are a family.
We don't just say that. And guests say to me, I don't know what it is, but everyone is so genuinely happy. They all seem so genuinely happy to be here and they talk about it. And. It's because we have spent a lot of time really being true to this purpose. And it's how, you know, I am there. I don't spend my time behind a desk.
I, it's out, not just talking with the guests, but talking with the employees, being part of the team. And it had, you know, during COVID when I just was starting and it was, It's so tough to get people to work and Malta was one of the, um, safest countries, if you [00:21:00] like. So it's, it's the, a lot of the routes opened very early, particularly between France and Malta.
I think we were one of the first islands to open up. So it became very busy and we didn't have the staff to be operating the busy breakfast, especially when you had the masks and. People couldn't touch the buffets and all of these sorts of things. So, you know, myself and the management team, I said to them, we have to be there helping.
And so we were there every morning. Um, but that's when, and then when the team started to see that, ah, she's, she's, you know, it's not just words that she's speaking and she is, does mean what she says, and she does keep her commitments. And then to start to feel like part of a winning team because we started to really, uh, be, you know, we really started to, you know, [00:22:00] receive that success.
And then people around Malta, what are they doing at the Phoenicia? The Phoenicia seems to be, you know, everything's happening. I don't know what they've done. But it really was about just being true, not just, it's not just words. Because Honestly, service culture, it can't, I'm not saying it's easy to deliver.
The words are easy to say, you know, we've got these values. What does it mean? What does it mean to deliver a value of caring? What does it look like? What, how does that person, you know, that, you know, person from, um, Ukraine who's come in and feeling, you know, Where are they in the world? How do they really, truly know what caring means in our culture, unless we really reinforce it, not just by showing them, but doing it ourselves as well.
Dan: and that's kind of where I want to go into the doing, because there's a [00:23:00] gentleman who's a hero of mine. His name is Vern Harnish. One of my many heroes. Um, he's like this, uh, entrepreneurial guru, right? And he always, I don't know exactly how he says it, but he's like, I can tell you the strategy of any business or the vision of any business by looking at the calendar or the daily agenda of the CEO or the general manager, so to speak. So when you're saying it's not just words, if we were to look at it in practice, tactically, what would your calendar look like on a daily basis? So that the people know, like, so that your teams know that you're You truly care, you are there, you're invested, you've drank the Kool Aid, and you're, you're all talking about it and building this culture.
Robyn: Yeah. Well, certainly not having a lot of meetings. Um, so obviously we have our briefing, um, but we're talking about, not just talking about the guests, but we might be introducing new employees. Um, you know, so we're [00:24:00] making sure that we're getting, it's not just a, uh, it's one, um, a briefing for managers that other people are a part of that.
And then it's very much me being in, um, our team members. work and doing multiple walks around. Um, we have a monthly general manager's breakfast where various members of the team are invited to have breakfast and share any ideas or concerns, or just, you know, experience the breakfast so that they can talk to other guests we have.
employee of the month, both on stage and backstage. you know, it's really about stopping and talking,
uh,
to the employees. I think that's a lot of what I do.
Dan: that's what I was picking up from you earlier, is that it's almost like, and I love how you said when I asked you that, the last question, it was just, well it's not having a lot of meetings. [00:25:00] What I've, what I've garnered from speaking with you, it's about making sure that you have the time so that you can pause. And give a genuine sense of caring and engagement with your managers and frontline employees. Um, and a lot of that comes down to having super clear vision and values, like you said. So before we started going down this road of like how you actually Change the culture and, and, strengthen the culture. You mentioned that fi like there's metrics, there's culturally there's, through employee engagement surveys, you, the numbers are, are better and improving and trending the right way, but financially, so I'm curious about that because like I said, when you go into a hotel or into a place of work and you can smell, you can sense that they've invested in the culture. There's an ROI on that, but how do you measure? It's very difficult to measure. It does increase the value of a business, but when you look at all the [00:26:00] changes that you brought into Phoenicia, if you were to look at the top 20 percent of those initiatives, how, how do they tie to a P& L?
Robyn: Sure. So I would say since we brought our employee wellness person on, which was around two and a half years ago, um, It didn't happen overnight, but it has happened where you can see that. So first of all, our employee engagement has increased significantly, but our guest engagement. So we are in the top quartile of leading hotels of the world's, uh, guest satisfaction results.
Um, and that guest satisfaction started to really, improve. And you can see the [00:27:00] correlation with that and our average rates and therefore our, and our RevPower performance. Um, and to the extent where in many hotels, when your average rate starts to increase, your quality goes down because the people don't perceive the value.
there And it happens, you know, it's quite a, a usual thing. But for us, As our average rate was increasing, so has our, uh, quality, our overall satisfaction and our MPS scores. So what we're doing is we are, you know, and we're, it's, it's honestly, I, it's like a nag for me. We have to deliver this personal experience.
I mean, this hotel is 77 years old. So as you know, with historic hotels comes some historic issues with. In regards to, you know, the size of the [00:28:00] rooms, it is smaller than some of the more modern buildings. But, if obviously they've been refurbished over the years and, and they've got great views, some of them don't have as good of views as others.
But, for example, we were just full, bursting at the seams over New Year. You know, the guests were saying to me, Robyn, it's just I don't know what it is, but there's an energy here where I feel I want to come back to. And, um, it is because the staff are not, you know, I'm sure you've seen places where, you know, they're like robotic and it doesn't feel real, that smile and good morning, have a good day.
It's about allowing them to feel themselves. We have a doorman from South Africa, Craig, And he just engages with the guests and he gets mentioned so often, but he tells them his war stories of when he was [00:29:00] in the, the army there and why he's moved from South Africa and just makes them feel special. And, you know, we get so many people mentioning some of the staff and, you know, writing letters and give my best to Craig or Rose or whoever it might be, but we have team members who are truly engaged with where we want to go.
Speaker 4: Hey everybody. We've been doing this podcast for over three years now. And one of the themes that consistently comes up is sustainability. And I'm just really proud to announce that our sponsor Berman Falk Hospitality Group is the first within our hospitality industry to switch to sustainable and recyclable packaging, eliminating the use of styrofoam.
Please check out their impact page in the show notes for more info.
Dan: the fact that they're writing Craig and your other staff
letters, to me, that's become the most important metric in all of The businesses I'm involved in, in the sense that it's unsolicited, positive guest feedback, because you can't
go [00:30:00] after it. And in order for, in order to get that unsolicited, unsolicited, positive guest feedback, you have to be doing all of those other things correctly.
Robyn: Yes.
Dan: And that is like the most sublime feeling when someone goes out of their way to say, thank you for. Doing that or solving that problem or whatever, your team is so awesome. And, and it's, I wish I could say, yeah, it just happened, but it takes years and years and years and years
of work
and exercise and practice. So on the consulting side of, in your life, because I also think it's so cool that you can. Do two things at once. Um, and I think for those listeners who are just kind of wondering, Hey, what can I do? What, what else can I do? I might want to make a change. Robyn's pretty amazing in the sense that she's the general manager, very busy of this beautiful hotel, but also consulting with other hotels and businesses, and I know we've been speaking about hotels, Robyn. What's in a way that you've consulted just a [00:31:00] business, um, in the ways of service culture and, and your ideas of hospitality and what kind of improvements did you see? Like, what was a big challenge? Give us a story of like a challenge that you saw at a business, not necessarily a hotel. You came in and gave them an exercise routine, if you will, and gave them a pot of Kool Aid to drink. What was, what was the challenge and how did they overcome it? What was the result?
Robyn: well, um, probably with a telecommunications company and, uh, going through some, they had joined two companies and there was a quite a bit of, um, I wouldn't say, you know, like obviously people that would be with one company for a very long time and new thoughts and, you know, a new vision and people thinking that why, you know, What was wrong with our old, the way we're doing things and been there for a long time, but there was a definite need to change and [00:32:00] rebrand.
Um, so bringing those, uh, all of those parties together and using the basics of hospitality, both in, you know, in their customer care, um, for example, in the workshops, you know, it was a case of, well, why would we have the technicians join the. The work, the service culture. I'm like, are you kidding? They're the ones that are out there with your, you know, the guests really hearing about what's going on.
And, you know, it's important for them to feel engaged in your vision for moving forward and, and bringing those guys in to the workshops was amazing because they really were, they had a lot of passion and a lot of knowledge and a lot of, um, insights into, you Why perhaps there was the issues with, uh, the customers, um, feeling that they weren't being given the best customer [00:33:00] service or, um, you know, why they couldn't deliver on the promise that the agent had given to the customer, knowing that, you know, if they come in and get of a morning at a certain time and get their, um, all of the resources they need for the day.
There's going to be traffic, so you have to allow for traffic. So there was a lot of points that came up in the workshops that really helped them to bring the technicians and the internal customer care together and deliver a improved service for the customers of the telecommunications company. And they've, you know, that was done, you know, that was quite some years ago that I delivered that, but they still talk about it and still, um, have implemented this same program because let's face it, hospitality at some level is there in every company you deal with.
I've dealt with [00:34:00] iGaming companies, telecommunications, um, transport, um, general consultancy. I've spoken to legal companies and it's always about this element of How do we lead in the best way to engage our team members, to feel part of the overall organization, to give the best service to whatever you are dealing with, which is going to lead to ongoing loyalty, which leads to financial success, wherever, whichever business you're in, small or large, that's sort of how it works.
Dan: So thank you for sharing that because I think that this is why we have so many entrepreneurs listening to this show as well. Um, because I do truly believe that hospitality makes everything better because again, like you said, you're showing someone [00:35:00] you care for them. And that is gonna, by taking that pause, skipping that beat. engaging, you're building a relationship and it creates less turn, less customer turnover, less guest turnover. Um, it increases, uh, all and, and net promoter scores within the business, like outside the business. I just think it's a win win win for everyone. You shared a story with me recently. You had someone from Four Seasons who I think arguably, Four Seasons is probably one of the best brands in the luxury space as far as how they do it. Like, they do a really fantastic job, all their properties. One of the, so a higher up at Four Seasons came and stayed at your hotel.
And how did that come to be? And what, what was the, like, what was your experience of that when they were there?
Robyn: Yeah, so, um, Malta is obviously, um, big cruise, a center for cruising, and so Four Seasons will [00:36:00] be, will have launched, it's not necessarily that the boat has sailed, but they've launched their cruise division, and, um, they, they, one of their head offices is, is here, and so we have welcomed quite a few of the Four Seasons.
Leaders, if you like, over the last few years, and we had, um, a gentleman who's president for operations. And he, you know, it, it, I agree with you, Four Seasons is like a, as far as culture and guest experience is, um, a company, I think that we all recognize as a leader. And providing that real personal attention.
And they, another example of not just saying it, but doing, really implementing the processes to show that they really do care about the employees as well. And, um, he was saying, you know, how impressed he was. I mean, we're a little, [00:37:00] we're 132 room hotel in Malta. And just like you, this gentleman will have stayed at thousands of hotels and some amazing hotels.
Um, as part of Four Seasons. So to me, that was like, you know, having someone like that comment on the experience was, um, really inspiring for me that we are on, definitely on the right track and, you know, you can be, um, you can be a little hotel in the middle of nowhere. And if you are delivering and being true to your vision of delivering the highest level of customer service.
Um, you can really, uh, make such a difference. And I think this is what I say to something else. You know, we are part of leading hotels of the world, which is, you know, some amazing independent hotels. One of the other [00:38:00] points and challenges, if you like, so I've come from Starwood, which is 240 hotels in Europe, Africa, Middle East.
Even more now under Marriott, but so the people that are working for those hotels feel like they're part of something bigger. So if they do well, they have the opportunity to move to other countries and transfer around the world. So in these smaller hotels like this, where you're independent, one of the challenges is, you know, that, that development opportunity, that growth opportunity.
So you really have to inspire them as to why, why does it matter if they, you know, deliver the best experience. Where are they going to go to from here? But what I sort of constantly tell them is, you know, if we're going to come to work in a great place, you know, we want everyone to feel proud. But also it's as you move into other hotels in your career, or maybe you stay here, why not be part of [00:39:00] a winning, a winning culture?
Why not be part of a culture that you feel proud of? And being part of a hotel that has a story like this, and that last year, you know, the awards sort of kept on coming. You can put that on your CV and it can help you move into other positions in other hotels. So, um, Yeah, that's another aspect of my passion is developing and inspiring these younger people or people that are newer to the hospitality industry to stay within the industry and that there are opportunities to grow.
Um, it's a, that's something that I feel very important,
Dan: Um,
and I know it keeps coming back to the people, right? Um, Malta, I don't know, I'm just looking up the, it's got a half a million people live in Malta. Okay. So how, and you mentioned you have [00:40:00] some people from Ukraine, some from Tunisia, which is right across the way, and maybe some from Sicily, um, some probably, I'm sure also from
Robyn: about. Yes. From Africa. Yes, yes, yes.
Dan: like you're, you're in the, literally in the crossroads of the Mediterranean. How do you, Attract. I, I heard how you, you keep employees, you're engaging them, you're giving them something to, to believe in and have pride culturally in the hotel, but how do you attract people to work at your hotel?
Robyn: I think it is, we have one of our sort of goals is to be recognized as the employer of choice and not just within the hospitality industry on the island, but as a company. And in fact, in December, we won an award by the local, by the Maltese business organization as For our excellence in the workplace.
So this was something that as well, we're very proud of because it [00:41:00] was a goal for us and very much a vision. It was about the employee wellness that we focused on, but also, um, our owner, once he saw how things were going and the importance of keeping these valuable members on our team, he introduced us.
It is the first in Malta and. I haven't heard of a great deal of owners, at least in hotels like this, every six months. So in July and December, at the end of June, at the end of December, he shares 12 percent of his incremental gross operating profit with the team. And that's above and beyond any other bonus or anything like that.
And it's shared equally from the stewards to myself. Everyone gets the same amount. That [00:42:00] has, you know, that sort of is a symbol of
Dan: Whoa.
Robyn: his caring. And think,
Dan: Wait, so it's pro rata, each person, no matter position gets the same amount of money,
Robyn: yes,
Dan: That's unbelievable.
Robyn: No, it's really, and to be honest with you, it's, I think it's, um, the team of, you know, obviously when we, and the thing is we pay it on, you know, in July and then in January, so they don't have to wait 12 months. And. It really has, um, it's now, this is the second year and, um, that has really, you know, I think honestly, I, this inside out approach, you know, if you, if you engage your internal employees, they are going to be like a mirror to your guests.
And if they feel happy, if they feel special, like it's not just your hotel, [00:43:00] I'm not just talking about the hotel guests. That you want to make them feel like they're the only one in the room. We want to make our internal customers feel like that as well. So when I'm talking to them, you know, Carmel from front office comes up to me and she's got some health issues.
You don't just sort of, sorry, Carmen, I can't talk right now. You take the moment to talk to her and empathize. And then when you see her again. Ask her how she's doing. Not, don't worry too much. You know, let's take it as it comes. You know, the, it's, it is how we treat them. They will treat others.
Dan: That's really remarkable. I have a, so the owner of the hotel, the Scottish gentleman, um, does he own many hotels?
Robyn: well, no, he has another hotel, but that's a franchise. And then he is looking to expand the Phoenicia brand, But he is very much an entrepreneur, a very successful entrepreneur.
Dan: Um, that's really remarkable to do that pro rata. [00:44:00] And I guess that that would have a, how many employees are at the hotel?
Robyn: So we have 200 full time equivalents around, you know, sometimes it goes up, but about an average of 200 because we have quite a big food and beverage operation.
Dan: That's amazing. Oh, wow. Um, if you were to look out into the future based on your whole life experience and where you are now, um, and all the different things that you have going on, um, and this passion that's kind of running through you with hospitality, what is exciting you most about what you see in the future?
Robyn: Ah, that's interesting. What's exciting me? I think it is about the trend for the guests looking for experiences rather than the traditional hotel. They, they want, and it's also about they're willing to explore more. [00:45:00] They're willing to, um, they're willing to maybe stay in, you know, very different types of accommodation. Um, they're looking for that special experience rather than just coming to a hotel.
It's not just about the hotel. It's about the experiences that we can create to showcase the destination, to showcase the culture, to showcase the communities. I think that would be something that I think, because it does get more exciting as well for the people within the hotels, like, you know, we've developed this.
experience where we, the chef is very good with seafood and he, uh, we have the, the little fishing vessels here in Malta like, I guess, a little bit like what you'll find in Venice, but in a smaller way. And so you're taking the guests out with [00:46:00] the chef to do some fishing and come back and cook their fish with the chef and the guests love it, you know, and so it's about helping.
We had in November, our food and beverage manager comes from Umbria, and his father is a truffle, professional truffle hunter. And we went down and found some white truffles, came back. We had a special truffle dinner, but the guests loved, what they loved most about it was, The experience of talking to the people that went to the farm and what they did with the dog, looking for the truffles and how they found them and all of these sorts of things, to the extent where the guests saying, Oh, we want to come too next year to look for the truffles.
So it's, people are wanting something different.
Dan: Yeah. I'm, I'm picking up that a lot as well. Um, question. So when I was a kid, I read the count of Monte Cristo. I know that's a couple [00:47:00] of hundred miles North of you. Um, but Malta has a storied history from, you know, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the, uh, Carthaginians, the Romans, that everybody was there at some point or another. Um, when you're doing a renovation or tearing open some walls, what are some big surprises? Have you found any big surprises? Well, you wouldn't tell me if you found a buried treasure, but what are some of the interesting things that you find as you're, like,
Robyn: No, actually there was a very big surprise. So with the spa, the Phoenicia Spa and Wellness, which was only added Let me think, um, three or four years ago, when they were excavating, they started hitting something that they said, Oh, this, this, you didn't think there was anything here. And so obviously, because we are neighboring a UNESCO site, anything like that, anything done to the hotel, you have to have [00:48:00] the,
uh,
heritage. Yes, it has to be a heritage, uh, Malta. And then so the historians were called in. And it turned out that this was an actual fortification back to the Knights of St. John, so thousands of years ago. So, um, and I'm sure you'd be aware of then the whole plans needed to change for the spa to incorporate this wall.
And also, because it had been underground for thousands of years, The actual, um, um, humidification, you know, the air, air, how you treat the air in the spa is also very different because we need to be aware of, um, looking after this treasure. So now when we take people to the spa, you know, you look down and you tell the story of this wall, which now runs into the spa.
We [00:49:00] found runs under that part of the hotel, but then right through the, um, the city of Valletta. And so, yeah, obviously you need to be careful of where you want to go. to dig around the property because there's, you know, you never know what you might find. We have tunnels that lead through into, um, into Valletta from our Bastion Pool restaurant, um, and there's areas on the property where we can't do development because they are protected because of their sort of national treasure, if you like, with regards to the history of Malta.
Dan: So, for what it's worth, I was just looking up the Knights of St. John, and they were actually the Order of the Knights of the Hospital, or Hospitaller. I wonder, I don't know, I haven't done any
research, but I wonder if there's any, any connection.
Robyn: well, there's, yes, I mean, there's a lot, it's a very interesting, um, story. I mean, one of the experiences in the, we go to Inquisitor's Palace [00:50:00] and the curator of the Heritage Malta, he did his thesis and he's a wealth of information about the, uh, the food and the wines and the socializing of at this era.
So he has done incredible research and developed the, what the, the meals that they would be preparing and the recipes and the ingredients. And they prepare the meal as the Knights of St. John or the Inquisitor of the palace would have prepared and what wines they would have drunk and how they would have stored it.
And he tells this story, which is so engaging throughout the dinner. Um, but yes, it's, it's fascinating. And, um, I think, you know, the history of Malta, it's so rich and That we have many people who come just to, you know, engage and learn more about the various aspects of the [00:51:00] history of Malta.
Dan: Um, well, you've, you've like created an itch in me to get out to Malta and, um, I'm just very intrigued by the hotel, your perspective, how you're educating and learning and, or, and teaching others and really just, you know, living hospitality from the heart, and I appreciate you so much for that. Um, if people wanted to learn more about you or Hotel Phoenicia, what's a, what's a good way for them to get in touch?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so sure. You can, um, look me up on my LinkedIn and send me a message or the Phoenicia malta. com. Um, we, the hotel is. It really is, um, a wonderful place to sort of just step into Malta and some great location and it's actually becoming Malta as a destination is becoming very much more a place to come to for Americans.
Um, so there's a lot more [00:52:00] Americans actually coming to Malta. It was at one stage more the British, but that's changing a lot and we're getting a lot of other nationalities. It's coming to explore Malta because it's only a, you know, it's a, an hour's ferry ride from Sicily. Um, and you can literally drive onto the ferry and then drive into Malta.
It's actually not so difficult to get to.
Speaker: And I'm a big United Airlines person. I feel like they said they just started making a flight to Malta as well.
Speaker 2: They have, they're looking to Aer Lingus, what you can do is they have created a connection from the States and then you can go through customs in Dublin and then come on to Malta from then, but the American Airlines or United American, they're, I think they are both looking at Malta and they're currently looking at the number of Americans, which is obviously increasing in order to make it.
Um, a destination for them. They have to have a certain [00:53:00] number of travelers, and that's, I think we're getting close to the number required for them to start to, to consider a direct flights from the States.
Speaker: Wonderful. Well, either way, flying through Dublin isn't so bad either. So, um, or wherever I'm sure there's a hundred flights from all over Europe in there, but, um, I just want to say, thank you so much for your time, Robin.
I really appreciated this so much in hearing your story. Yeah, I really appreciate you and I know our listeners will appreciate you and just see that thank you for sharing it Like you there's not one path. I think that you're a real Example of how there's many paths to I don't know have a really enriched and rich life.
So thank you for sharing
Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
Speaker: Thank you. And thank you to all of our listeners. If this changed your idea about your career path or hospitality or made you think a little bit different or you think that anyone else might [00:54:00] appreciate hearing Robin's perspective, please share it along. We grow by word of mouth and by good ratings and people who like and subscribe, so please be sure to pass it along.
Thank you all very much, and we'll catch you next time.
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