WE ❤️ HOSPITALITY - Raymond Santamaria

The last year has been terrible for the hospitality sector. Most businesses have seen extreme financial challenges and its reputation as an employer has been severely affected. We are now hearing from many, many of our clients about their fears for the future from staff shortages to skills gaps and top mid-senior talent moving to other sectors.

Krishnan Doyle is sharing his conversations with service industry leaders and operators on all that is good about hospitality & catering with the purpose to improve the sector's reputation as one of the largest employer worldwide but also as a great place to develop your career. 

How did you get into hotels & resorts?

Through the kitchen! I’ve spent my career within the F&B side of hospitality and fell in love with hotels whilst launching high-end coffee systems with Nestle Professional. We set up a showroom in Mayfair near to Park Lane in order to be closer to our customers, so we spent a lot of time in and around some of London’s most prestigious hotels. Since then I have had the good luck to work with many hotel groups in the UK and internationally, including Travelodge, Meliá, Apex Hotels and Marriott amongst others.

Do you think it is important to have studied a related topic to be a success in the sector?

It certainly helps. Whilst the hotel sector frequently professes to want to attract expertise from across the spectrum, my experience is that prior qualifications from a known hospitality school or direct experience in a similar role is a prerequisite. Personally I think this is a little blinkered and leads to the service experience in too many properties feeling exactly the same as each other, regardless of the brand that’s on the building, However that shouldn’t stop you from applying even if you don’t have formal qualifications, you just need to be persuasive and creative in your application! My motto has always been to hire for personality and train for skills and I think that mindset will be a more prevalent attitude going forward.

Which leader / figure inspired you and why?

I’ve always admired what Robin Hutson created with The PIG group of hotels having such a huge focus on food and done in a quirky, imaginative way. And also hailing from Glasgow, I admire what Ken McCulloch created with the original Malmaison Hotels, the one in Glasgow being an old haunt of mine whenever I needed to impress a date!

What keeps you in the sector and why do you enjoy working in it?

For me there is a magic that can be found inside a truly wonderful hotel, a feeling of escapism or an atmosphere that offers endless possibilities. The pursuit of recreating that magical moment in a bar or restaurant setting keeps me hungry for more!

Tell us about the development / training that you give to your teams and management

For us, we win or lose based on our creativity and our strategic nous. So it's really about being informed and educated on what is happening in the market and deciphering the lasting trends from passing fads. We make it our business to keep on top of the latest developments on the culinary, technological and marketing side, whilst at the same time picking up on any major societal shifts around the globe. We have developed a range of tools and models that we can utilise when creating strategic or commercial plans so that helps to keep us sharp. From a service point of view we place a lot of emphasis on it feeling natural and personal as well as informed, so lots of knowledge on the product side, the origins and sustainability, lots of communication across functions, specific product training - wine, food pairing, mixology etc. - and daily briefings. Finally, everyone needs to live and breathe the numbers - we're all in it together! 

What advice would you give to those starting out in the sector?

Work hard, play hard and go for it. Hospitality can be an extremely rewarding sector if you have the right attitude. It exists everywhere so it can take you around the world in a way few other industries can. Be prepared to start at the bottom and get involved in as many parts of the operation as possible, this will give you an idea how the whole jigsaw comes together and will stand you in great stead. There are endless chances for development and promotion due to the sheer dynamism of hotel and restaurant operations, with people moving on all of the time, so you're never too far away from a new role opening up. Finally say yes when you are offered something new that will challenge your capabilities - don't overthink it, just learn on the job, give 100% and befriend the smartest guy or girl in the team!

If you could go back and tell yourself one piece of advice as you started your career, what would it be?

Don't wait for the perfect time to follow your dream. If you have an idea and a vision that you believe in, make it happen before you have too many responsibilities in life!

If you would like to take part as a leader in this thriving sector, get in touch with Krishnan (krishnan@corecruitment.com)