All articles by Ky Nikitha
Ky Nikitha
Plenty of fish in the sea
Driven by a love for the ocean and concern for marine conservation, Ángel León has long promoted sustainability from his flagship Aponiente base, and within three other restaurants, including one housed in the Hotel Gran Meliá Sancti Petri. He tells Tina Nielsen how this approach has garnered four Michelin stars and why he is on a mission to open diners’ minds when it comes to teaching us how much we have left to learn about the bounty of the sea.
What’s cooking?
In a dining scene experiencing constant reinvention, shifting guest demands and a shortage of adequately skilled labour, an ability to design both restaurant and kitchen spaces that are simultaneously appealing environments and easily reconfigurable is a must. Patrick Kingsland hears from food and beverage directors, and kitchen designers, about the opportunities that arise from meeting this challenge head-on.
A clean conscience
With recent protests focusing attention on both the climate crisis and hotel working conditions, operators have no margin for error when it comes to minimising the environmental impacts of housekeeping. Isabel Ellis talks to Debra Patterson, The Savoy’s sustainability manager, and Christian Lond, head of procurement for Denmark’s Brøchner Hotels, about balancing environmental and operational concerns.
Generation bliss
Reams of materials have been produced outlining how hoteliers can better appeal to the dominant millennial demographic, but little of the conversation has surrounded what this generation is demanding from the spa and wellness space. How does one entice younger guests through wellness and how big a selling point can it be? Abi Millar talks to Irene Forte, group project and wellness director for Rocco Forte Hotels, and Simona Migliniene, project manager at spa and wellness consultants The E77 Company, to find out more.
Lobby for change
Transforming the check-in experience and designing more dynamic social spaces is a focus across all segments of the hotel industry. While some are swapping the traditional front desk for apps and tablets, others are focusing on getting guests out of their rooms and bringing in a more local clientele. Will Moffitt discusses the vital ingredients that go into making the lobby a destination in its own right with Hasan Yigit, vice-president of Jaz in the City, Jérémie Trigano, CEO of Mama Shelter, and Jay Stein, CEO of Dream Hotel Group.
Attention on tech
Hotels used to be known for in-room tech, with features that were unimaginable in the home. Now, it is the hotel industry that has to catch up, as technology becomes integrated into our everyday lives and needs an upgrade at an unparalleled rate. With connectivity key, Abi Millar speaks to Joshua Sloser, senior vice-president of digital product and innovation at Hilton, to discover what operators are doing to harness guest-owned technology in-room and if there are still areas with the ability to wow.
A career of a lifetime
With 25 years at the helm of Pandox, Anders Nissen has navigated financial crises, market transformation and two IPOs, establishing the Swedish company as one of Europe’s largest and most influential hotel owners. Patrick Kingsland hears Nissen discuss how he draws on a lifetime of experience in hospitality, the challenges of managing brand relations and why one will always find valuable business lessons out on the sports field.
Step into the breach
In November 2018, in what could prove a paradigm-shifting moment for the hospitality industry, Marriott International reported the second-largest data breach on record. With the UK watchdog already having announced plans to fine the hotel giant £99 million, what lessons has the sector at large taken away from this crisis and what is happening to data security questions as regulators clamp down? Patrick Kingsland investigates.
Set the tone
Held in the midst of headlines dominated by the collapse of a historic travel player and a hardening attitude around the need for fundamental behavioural adjustment to tackle climate change, as well as continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit, this year’s Hotel Investment Conference Europe felt markedly different in tone and outlook to that of recent years. Was this a welcome to the downturn? Hotel Management International travelled to London’s Hilton Bankside to find out.
City planner
Head of UK at OYO Hotels and Home for a little over a year, Jeremy Sanders is helping lead the Indian operator’s push into Europe, following its incredible success across large swathes of the Asian hotel market. Prior to joining OYO, Sanders co-founded the Italian fast food chain Coco di Mama with a childhood friend at just 26 years of age, eventually selling it to private equity-backed Azzuri in 2017.