Search

×

‘You never knew who was driving the Ferrari’

Milan native Marco Novella joined Oetker Collection’s Lanesborough in August, succeeding decorated hotelier Geoffrey Gelardi. His formidable résumé includes stints at Rome’s St. Regis Grand, Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo and Venice’s Gritti Palace. 

Marco Novella, managing director, The Lanesborough, London
Marco Novella, managing director, The Lanesborough, London

 

HOTELS: What’s changing the luxury experience for your guests? 
Marco Novella: It is definitely technology. It is definitely the availability in terms of time. It’s their time – it’s not our time anymore. It’s their time, when they want it, when they expect it… They will hardly compromise on service. 

H: You’re paying attention to F&B. 
MN: I dine out maybe five nights in the week, and I always try new places. I’m always eager to see how a new chef is doing or to see a new design to see how people react to it. 

H: How do you manage younger employees? 

MN: You engage them on a different level. You have to be a bit more playful, a bit more fun. You have to give them a lot of space. So one of the things I’m doing is to really involve them in almost any decision process, rather than just impose on them things to do. You have to give them sort of a freedom to move. (With more than 300 employees), I spend a lot of time with the team. 

H: How has the GM’s role changed? 
MN: I think they need to see you as part of the team, rather than just someone who tells them what to do. So rather than building barriers, you need to make them feel like they are an important part of the story. 

H: Any advice for young hoteliers? 
Don’t start here unless you are very motivated!… You don’t work in hospitality for the salary. I think hospitality at this level is something else. You must have a passion for people. You must have a passion for service. You must have a passion for what you do. If you’re a great chef or a great cook, it doesn’t matter what style of food you cook, but you put yourself into it for eight hours a day, 10 hours a day. 
H: How do you stay inspired? 

MN: I travel. I meet people, I engage with people. I like people to have the sparkle in the eyes and that you can see that they have interesting stories to tell. Personally, I don’t just focus on the hotel life and on the hotel business. I think there is so much that we hoteliers can learn looking outside of our industry. 

H: Any important lessons learned?  

MN: (At the Hotel de Paris), exactly 20 years ago, I was looking at all the beautiful cars driving around the square and all these massive Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces – and all you could see is very casually dressed people getting out of these cars… And I learned, never judge a book by the cover. You never knew who was driving the Ferrari.

 

Comment