THE
SPIRIT AUTUMN 2014
PROMOTING AN INNOVATIVE CULTURE THE FESTIVE COUNTDOWN THE NEW WEDDING BLOG TO CHAMPAGNE AND BACK CRAFTY CONCIERGE THE SOCIAL SCENE A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TALENT & DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
TH E
SPIRIT AUTUMN 2014
The Corinthia London Colleague Magazine Crafted In-House For You, By You
CONT EN TS 2
WELCOME Renaud Grégoire, General Manager
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TO CHAMPAGNE AND BACK A Story of Adventure and Development
4
PROMOTING AN INNOVATIVE CULTURE Mirko Cattini, Hotel Manager
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THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF CARE AWARDS An Exciting Announcement from Eva Nicol
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THE FESTIVE SEASON Countdown Christmas in Style
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TALENT & DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES National Waiter’s Day Corinthia’s Got Talent Operational Coach Recognition Evening
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CRAFTY CONCIERGE Discover a different side of London
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A BIG CONGRATULATIONS Promotions of the Season Oh Baby!
10 GET SOCIAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA Feedback from Tripadvisor 12 #HASHTAGS RULE Corinthia London on Instagram
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THE SOCIAL SCENE Football Tournament 2014 Ping Pong Tounament Great Corinthia Bake-Off 2014
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THE NEW WEDDING BLOG Say “I do” With Love from Corinthia London
AN HR UPDATE Wild Memories from Clare James Meet Mark, Learning & Development Manager HK Topstars Autumn 2014
THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE 1
A message from our General Manager My Dear Colleagues, Â
As I embark on the next step of my journey as General Manager I am reflecting on how far we have come in positioning Corinthia Hotel London as one of the top five star luxury hotels in the capital. It is evident that the hotel is now strongly anchored within the city and that our reputation for providing service excellence is going from strength to strength. I would like to congratulate all of you for your individual contribution to this success, our consistent high scores on our Guest Satisfaction surveys, TripAdvisor and the regular flow of positive feedback I receive from our guests directly are testimony to our commitment and passion to be the best in everything we do. With the arrival of many new five star hotels in town which are competing for the same market share, the excellence of our service proposition must continue to be a clear priority in this very competitive environment. 2 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
Your genuine interest and passion to make our guest experiences unique and memorable must remain the top focus. I am confident that you as a team are passionate and well equipped to support our common goals. As we enter into the festive season I would like to thank you for the extra efforts that you will be making in this particularly busy time of year where we have a great opportunity to delight our guests and make Corinthia Hotel London the place to be during this season. In 2015 the outlook on the market is a positive one at this moment in time. The London hotel occupancy will be supported by several large events taking place in the city (the Rugby World Cup being one of them) which will certainly assist us in achieving our targets for next year. In addition, there will be many new exciting projects here at the hotel which I will update you on in more detail in the near future. Thank you once again for your continued efforts and dedication. With my Best Wishes,
Renaud GrĂŠgoire General Manager
WELCOME TO THE AUTUMN 2014 ISSUE Autumn 2014
THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE 3
I have spent the past few weeks observing daily activity throughout the hotel, meeting as many of you and our guests as possible and learning about our hotel’s systems, tools, and the latest trends that drive the London luxury hotel market. Of everything that I have seen, heard, tasted, touched and felt, one thing stands out – when I look at you impassioned in what you do. Whether it is painstakingly aligning that last hydrangea in the centerpiece, meticulously shining a wine glass to a sparkle or carefully folding a newly pressed shirt to virtually eliminate creasing.
PROMOTING AN
INNOVATIVE
CULTURE
A message from our new Hotel Manager
I say with confidence that the Craftmanship of Care that I was told about when I was about to join Corinthia London is alive and well in each one. This truth inspires and drives me to work with you to continue to deliver memorable touch points for our guests every time. London has been dubbed by experts as the darling of luxury development. Hotels, restaurants, spas, bars, clubs and similar establishments work hard everyday to create innovative products and services that aim to redefine modern luxury and win customers. As hoteliers, we constantly ask ourselves, what then sets us apart? What will guarantee a successful, sustainable future for our business?
Dear Colleagues, When I open my window in the morning, the air is undeniably crisp - it has cooled enough that it reminds of the shifting season and the yuletide celebrations that are just around the corner. What an exciting time to be in this bustling city! After more than eight years of working in Asia, I am thrilled to be back in the heart of London. I am ecstatic to be part of the amazing team that is the lifeblood of this fantastic hotel. To each one of you, thank you very much for such a warm welcome to the Corinthia family. 4 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
Hotel Industry Magazine dove deep into this question and provided this statement as their answer, “The guest experience and the culture that surrounds it is the hotelier’s ultimate competitive advantage.” When I read that line, I thought to myself, “Great! The Corinthians know how to make memories and deliver it through their personal crafts, we’ve got this in the bag!” But, is that really all that there is to it? We know that the answer is no because our industry is not static. Our industry evolves everyday, guest needs change as lives and schedules become more complex, with more and more considerations weighed with every guest’s purchasing decision.
As part of the leadership team, it is our role to ensure that whilst we create the experiences, we do it in the most effective and most efficient way. We need to be at the forefront of being stewards of a profitable business. It is also in our mandate to ensure that we drive a culture of constant learning and innovation. To allow this, we all need to embrace that the most successful craftsmen remained successful only with an apprentice-like heart; one that is open to new ideas, new ways of thinking and more importantly, new ways of doing. In the next few months, you may see a few changes in our systems as we work towards efficiency – in both time and resources. Having worked my way through hotel operations (I too, was once a bright-eyed nineteen year old mopping a bar floor every single night) I know that altering daily routines can be bumpy for some. If you find yourself in this predicament, please do speak up and tell us why you think a change implemented in your area of responsibility could be done better. I encourage discussion, and would happily listen and engage in conversation with you. On a final point, I’d like to stress the importance of an innovative culture to our business. Innovation is a buzz word that some people say is too vague, and too complex to be practical. Truth is, it does not have to be a complex idea – sometimes it is a simple solution to a constant challenge that has been sleeping under our noses for the last three years. The key is to share information and not be shy about voicing our ideas. I look forward to hearing about your ideas and working more closely with you. Best regards
Mirko Cattini Hotel Manager
Autumn 2014
THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE 5
COUNTDOWN
THE FESTIVE
SEASON IN STYLE
The warmest welcome, wonderful celebrations, lavish lunches, festive dinners, roaring fires, and decadent Day Spas – all our colleagues have been working very hard to craft a fabulous festive season. Here’s a little glimpse of what we have planned to countdown Christmas in style… Oh we cannot wait! For full details of all our festive offerings, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, overnight stays and sumptuous dining, visit the festive section on our website at corinthia.com/london.
GIN GE RBRE A D DÉCOR & DEL I GHT Our favourite edible ten-foot gingerbread tree returns this year to take centre stage at Corinthia London. And we are making our love of gingerbread bigger and better this year with edible advent boxes for each day of Christmas. Each will contain special treats for the little ones, whether they’ve been naughty or nice. The Guest Relations team will also be telling all our favourite festive stories in The Harrods Shop from 5pm to 5.15pm every evening from 1st December to 24th December 2014.
C H ESTNUTS IN THE GARDE N LOUNGE Chestnuts roasting on an open fire… but Jack Frost won’t be nipping at your nose with a complimentary glass of mulled wine and mince pies in front of a roaring fire to keep you warm. To spark the festive cheer we invite you to come all ye faithful to The Garden Lounge from 6pm - 7.30pm on: Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th December, Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st December
THE PE RFEC T GI F T ‘Tis the season to be jolly - and we need you to be our Corinthia London elves! Spread some Christmas cheer and help us sell our Corinthia London gift vouchers. From luxurious overnight stays to indulgent Day Spas, our range of gift vouchers has something special for your special someone. This year give a gift that will last long after the bows and ribbons are gone - give a Corinthia London gift voucher. As a special offer, we are giving select customers 10% off their gift voucher purchases throughout the month of November – a gift for giving and a relief to get your shopping done early and out of the way! 6 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
E SCAPE T HE FESTI VE FRENZ Y WI TH E SPA LIFE AT CORI NTHIA Christmas parties, festive markets and fabulous feasts‌the festive season can be busy! Escape from it all and recover in luxury with ESPA Life at Corinthia. Whether you need to revitalise, detox, retox, treat or retreat, we have crafted the perfect range of decadent Day Spas for you. And when all the parties are over retreat and relax after the festive season with our January Detox Day Spa.
A SUM PTUOUS FESTI VI-TE A Have yourself a merry little Christmas with our festive-themed Afternoon Tea in The Lobby Lounge. Enjoy a selection of our favourite festive finger sandwiches, including the all-important roast turkey and stuffing with fresh cranberry compote. Follow with warm scones and a selection of festivethemed fancies. To add something extra special to the festivi-teas, delight in the sounds of a chorus of carol singers from 3pm to 6pm on select dates!
WIN G YOUR WAY TO L A PL A ND This year, we have crafted the most spectacular Santa & Stay package for all our guests & their little ones. What better way to give your little one the ultimate Christmas then with a trip to Lapland? Here are all the details for this fabulous festive trip.
THIS IS A 2 NIGHT STAY PACKAGE FOR A FAMILY OF 4 RATES FROM ÂŁ4,000
Arrive at Corinthia Hotel London the night before take-off and reside in family style with two connecting deluxe rooms taking the first flight out to Lapland the following morning from Gatwick Airport. Upon arrival put on thermal snow suits and boots where a sleigh transfer awaits to take you to a countryside location. Enjoy unlimited husky and reindeer sleigh rides, visit a snow igloo, experience snowmobiles and tobogganing and most importantly experience a private family meeting with the man himself, Santa Claus - tell him what you want for Christmas before returning to the hotel on the last flight home for another sumptuous night of sleep followed by breakfast the next morning. This once in a lifetime family experience is available on the following dates: 5th December at Corinthia London, 6th December travel to Lapland 12th December at Corinthia London, 13th December travel to Lapland 19th December at Corinthia London, 20th December travel to Lapland 21st December at Corinthia London with 22nd December travel to Lapland Autumn 2014
THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE 7
SAY
“I DO”
WITH LOVE FROM CORINTHIA
LONDON
Claire Bowpitt, Senior Social Occasions and Wedding Executive at Corinthia London, is the author of the blog and says, ‘I have come to realise that when planning a wedding, most couples are influenced by social media to help decide the details of the day. A well visited blog or article from a trusted source will be where you seek advice.’ This new and digital approach shows attention to detail along with the practicalities necessary for organising a once in a lifetime experience whilst addressing a number of concerns. This blog ultimately strives to be a helpful tool to those looking for a seamless celebration. Social media including the Corinthia London’s Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram feature heavily, with Claire available to offer advice using the hashtags #withlove and @corinthialondon. The ease and accessibility of the blog, combined with Claire’s enthusiasm, allows brides to consider a variety of details and wedding trends needed to organise their special day. Using our industry knowledge and pool of amazing suppliers, this blog brings you ideas, tips and insight from some of the best contacts in the business! From brides, to bridesmaid’s and even grooms, visit
WITHLOVEFROMCORINTHIA.COM for all your ‘Bridespiration’...
#WITHLOVE @CORINTHIALONDON 8 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
CO RINT HIA L A U NC HE S “ W IT H LOV E F RO M CO RINT HIA LO ND O N” Corinthia Hotel London is thrilled to announce the launch of the first five star hotel wedding blog, “With Love from Corinthia London”. Designed and built in-house to provide couples with ‘bridespiration’, finer details, anecdotal advice, and past experiences, this blog captures the essence and elegance of Corinthia London.
Crafty CONCIERGE
Discover the London you won’t find in any guidebook Oh no mum, not another museum! The concept of the Crafty Concierge developed out of hearing that phrase once too often, teenagers who don’t want to be dragged around the latest gallery, parents who want to enjoy the exhibition, not to be made an exhibition of. In light of which, the Crafty Concierge Facebook page offers a selection of off-the-beaten-track, predominantly London activities aimed at the savvy teenager. In-the-know places to go, secret sights and activities, and the places true Londoners hang out. Guests are encouraged to comment on posts of activities they have enjoyed, and to post their own photos and recommendations.
Here are some of our Crafty tips this Autumn / Winter - go on… get out there and explore!
Have you been to any wacky events around London recently? We encourage you to share any weird and wonderful London experiences you’ve had with our Social Media Editor, Julia Eccles, who will be happy to share with our guests as Crafty Concierge. Autumn 2014
THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE 9
GET SOCIAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA ADVIC E FO R T R AVE L L E R S F RO M T R AV E L L E R S Did you know TripAdvisor is one of the leading user-content generated travel websites in the world? It provides reviews, travel-related content, and interactive forums. With over 100 million monthly unique visitors and over 75 million user reviews and opinions there is no surprise it is one of the most famous and well-known travelrelated websites. This makes it important to us! If our guests are going here for information we must make sure we do what we can to ensure the information on TripAdvisor represents us as the 21st Grand Century Hotel we know we are, and we do that by doing what we, at Corinthia London, do best – providing exemplary, genuine service over and over again!
So far Corinthia Hotel London has gained success on TripAdvisor with over 1,200 reviews, and over 1,000 of them are excellent. We are also ranked #9 (at time of print) in London, and have been awarded The Travellers’ Choice Award in 2014. We are doing fabulously so far but know we can be #1! We need you to help us continue to climb the ladder… So continue to practice the Craftsmanship of Care every day and we have no doubt we will get there!
10 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
Here are a few of the great reviews we’d like to share with you...
Autumn 2014
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#HASHTAGS RULE
#CORINTHIAMOMENTS #CORINTHIAHOTELLONDON #CORINTHIALONDON
12 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
Instagram, an online photo / video sharing social media platform, is one of the fastest growing social media platforms on the web at the moment with over 200 million monthly active users. With the thought that a picture tells a thousand words, we joined the Insta-trend with @corinthialondon this summer and we have already amassed over 850 followers! From Friday Flowers to a collection of cocktails, our Instagram page showcases the best of Corinthia London with hashtags used to describe the photo. For the hotel, Instagram provides an outlet to enhance the brand’s personality and a way to better relate to and connect with guests. Sharing through social media is a fantastic opportunity for our guests to craft their own stories and incorporate us in them so why not make our consumers our celebrities! We want to hear and see what they are doing – we want them to be our brand ambassadors! So get with the picture (literally) and start sharing our hashtags like #corinthiamoments and #corinthialondon with them. These hashtags will also soon be integrated into all our marketing collateral and we encourage you all to encourage our guests to use them and share the beauty of Corinthia London with all!
Here is a look at some of our favourite Instagram photos so far... Autumn 2014
THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE 13
WILD MEMORIES FROM CLARE JAMES Dear Colleagues, I still cast my mind back to a lovely sunny evening in August in the wonderful surroundings of London Zoo, the venue for our summer party this year. We arrived to cocktails on the patio, we feasted on a lovely BBQ on the terrace overlooking the partygoers at “Zoo Lates”, we enjoyed a bucking bronco, garden games and the queue for the tarot reader was, as ever, very long. The caricaturist, face painter and ice cream factory were welcome additions this year, as were the late evening hot snacks and popcorn. Our Talent Team have already shared memories of our “Corinthia’s got Talent” finalists (Gabriele we are expecting to see you on X Factor….) and who could forget the Glambassadors (yes they really were finalists on the TV show “Britain’s got Talent”) who had us roaring with laughter. My lasting memories were of the 1am partygoers still dancing to the disco, I seem to remember bottles of Champagne being sprayed over everyone... and perhaps that is where the story should end, for certain - a great time was had by all and we look forward to planning the next one. I have included here a selection of snaps from our colleague summer party for your enjoyment and invite you to read about all our upcoming HR & Talent initiatives on the following pages. Should you have any questions, please remember our door is always open.
14 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
MEET M A RK OU R LE A RNING & D E V E LO PM E NT M A NAG ER Hi Everyone!
MARK MURDOCH
Many thanks for welcoming me to Corinthia Hotel London. I have been here three months now and really hit the ground running with the help of such a great team looking after our guests. I am looking forward to bringing my experience, alongside learning from the great team here, and creating some great training initiatives for the hotel.
My background is in the Airline industry where I flew as a Flight Service Manager for Air New Zealand and most recently British Airways. During my time in these airlines my role involved travelling a lot, that meant a lot of overnight stays in hotels. What I found in many of the hotels I stayed in, is that the product was much the same; comfy bed, clean room, and a good selection of restaurants with good drinks. The hotels that really stood out for me were the ones that did just that little bit extra - just remembering my name and welcoming me back gave me a sense of belonging and a sense of comfort in knowing that they were showing a genuine interest in me. I remember one hotel that stood out for me in my whole 16 years of flying was actually in Africa. The hotel was pretty shabby and certainly not a 5 star property but the people were genuine and sincere, and they always remembered the room I preferred. What made it my favourite hotel was really the staff and how genuinely interested they were in their guests. I want every guest we welcome to have that same experience and I look forward to ensuring you have all the training you need to make each and every one of our guests feel special.
We have some exciting initiatives coming up in 2015 so watch this space!
HK TO PSTA RS Did you know Corinthia London, The Langham, The Royal Garden and The Landmark have all joined forces with Umbrella Training and Springboard charity to offer a brand new house-keeping apprenticeship scheme? It’s the first time that all the hotels have joined forces to offer such a great opportunity to some young people to develop their skills with on-the-job training for a career in housekeeping. It’s a 12 month programme and all the hotels will play their part in training the teams on a monthly basis teaching new skills such as the standards in housekeeping and moving into more specialist fields such as: Carpet/Marble/Wood/ Stone Floor Cleaning, Floristry, Customer Service, Fabrics and Tailors - to name just a few modules. The recruitment was tough with some stiff competition and it was really difficult to choose from so many candidates. I am happy to say we have our 2 apprentices that joined the hotel at the beginning of September - Congratulations to Rumi Begum and Naim Hague!
Autumn 2014
THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE 15
TO
A Story of Adventure & Development
CHAMPAGNE & BACK...
BY GIANNI SCANDALIATO, SOMMELIER First of all I would like to extend a very big Thank You to Corinthia Hotel London, who have given me the opportunity to develop my knowledge about wines and Champagne throughout my time here. I discovered my passion and love for wines just one and a half years ago in Massimo Restaurant & Bar where as a waiter I served the best wines from around the world. As my time at Corinthia London progressed and my love of wine and Champagne became more visible, I was lucky enough to be promoted to Sommelier in The Northall where I embarked on a new challenge. As a sommelier at Corinthia London we invest time and knowledge in establishing and building personal relationships with unique small artisanal wine producers and some of the world’s most iconic labels to offer our guests the ultimate extensive wine list. As part of my quest to continue providing this, I embarked on a trip to Champagne, France to spend time with our preferred supplier, Champagne Moutard. The Moutard-Diligent family can trace its roots in Champagne back to 1642, and its vinegrowing history spans centuries. The family first produced Champagne under its own name in the 1920s, and today farms its own vineyards in the Côte des Bar region and buys grapes from other local growers. Their fascinating line-up of wines includes the “Cuvée des 6 Cépages”, made using varieties like Arbane, Petit Meslier and Pinot Blanc that are permitted, yet rarely seen in Champagne. I spent 5 days in Buxeuil in September shadowing one of Moutard’s sons, Alexandre. I finished there during the harvesting week which gave me an extra chance to learn more in-depth details about the process of Champagne making, which I have to say was harder than I expected as I asked to be involved in the manual work. The Champagne region was beautiful and the trip itself has helped me to further develop my understanding and knowledge in my field. I would like to extend a big Thank You again to Corinthia London and share a few photos from my trip with you – I do hope that the next wine trip will be soon. 16 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
Corinthia London launches
THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF CARE AWARDS AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT FROM EVA NICOL, HR MANAGER It gives me a great pleasure to announce that we are launching our brand new colleague recognition programme – The Craftsmanship of Care Awards! This programme has been designed to recognise our colleagues for their outstanding service, hard work and their unconditional efforts to make Corinthia Hotel London a company that guests desire to stay at and where colleagues aspire to work. Within the upcoming weeks, to further embed our “Spirit of Corinthia” we will be launching and rolling out a specially crafted award programme where we will reward those who exceptionally display our Craftsmanship of Care values each day. Nominations and voting will take place at the end of every month with two categories to go for – Heart of House and Front of House. We invite all colleagues to nominate their fellow colleagues for either category via their Head of Department. Once nominated your HOD will fill out a nomination form detailing how our values of Authenticity, Understanding, Passion and Precision are showcased everyday by the nominee. These will then be given to our Executive Team to choose our 2 stars for the month. Both nominees and winners will receive fantastic prizes for their dedicated display of Craftsmanship. Furthermore, all our monthly winners will be put forward for the Craftsperson of the Year Award. We look forward to sharing all the details of this exciting new initiative with you within the upcoming weeks – but for now get thinking on who you would like to nominate!
HA R D WO RK PAYS O F F A note from Anett Vachter – Junior Housekeeping Supervisor I started working at Corinthia London in March 2013. It was a great opportunity for me and I was grateful to be part of the team. I began working as Room Attendant and it was very challenging at the beginning because of the very high quality that was expected of us. Since then I have come so far and learned so many new things, as well as, worked very hard. This in turn meant that when an opportunity became available for the position of Junior Housekeeper I was ready and willing to go for the next challenge. You cannot imagine the joyous feeling after I was told that I was successful, all thanks to my hard work, determination and Corinthia London giving me this opportunity. I have now started my training as Junior Housekeeper and I am really enjoying my new role. Autumn 2014
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TALENT & DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES N AT I O NAL WA ITER’S DAY On Thursday 25th September, hotels and restaurants from across the UK came together to celebrate National Waiters Day in Hyde Park. Fred Sirieix, the founder of National Waiter’s Day describes this as a day to celebrate all Front of House staff and inspire people about careers in Hospitality. With events and activities hosted by Springboard, we selected our graduate management student, Sebastian Koewius, to represent Corinthia Hotel London as an exceptional waiter in The Northall. Sebastian took part in a race that involved balancing a plastic cup of water on a silver tray and crossing the finish line without spilling any water or breaking the cup. Although Sebastian did not come first (out of 140 participants this would have been a challenge!), he made Corinthia proud as he crossed the finish line with the cup, the water and the tray all perfectly in place. Well done Seb!
CORI N THI A’S GOT TA LENT As part of the ongoing Corinthia Couture initiative this year, we encouraged all of our colleagues to step out of their comfort zones and reveal their personalities through talent. We believe that talent can be seen everywhere throughout the Corinthia London with our Craftsmanship of Care and we were delighted to bring these values to life during the Corinthia’s Got Talent auditions. The auditions served to highlight a deeper layer to our hospitality industry - the layer of individuality. We wish to inspire and encourage all colleagues to utilise their own sense of this word during the creation of a unique and extraordinary customer experience. While all contestants were stars, our panel of judges had to select a top three ahead of the Staff Summer Party at London Zoo where they were due to perform. It was our guitarist, Gabriele Marzo, Senior Sous Chef in Massimo Restaurant & Bar who won the Corinthia’s Got Talent initiative, taking home a prize of £1000 in Virgin vouchers after a truly outstanding performance. The second prize was awarded to Joe Gower, our Grade 8 student intern from Bournemouth University, currently working as a waiter in In Room Dining. The third prize went to Linda Ozola, in ESPA Life at Corintha after performing a beautiful dance from Latvia. We would like to take this opportunity again to thank all colleagues who took part in Corinthia’s Got Talent. As Oscar Wilde said:
‘Be yourself, everyone else is taken.’ 18 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
O PE RAT IO NA L COAC H RE CO GNIT IO N E V E N I N G On Friday 5th September we brought all of our wonderful Operational Coaches together for a recognition evening in Massimo Restaurant & Bar. Our OC’s were able to enjoy the new menu as a huge thank you for all their hard work throughout the year. We have now launched an Operational Coach Buddy System so that all Operational Coaches have someone to share and discuss training ideas, ensure training records are kept up-to-date and learn from each other’s experience and understanding of the OC role. Moving forward, all training will be streamlined across the Hotel and SOP training updated in a central tracking system on the shared drive. Monthly quality meetings will be held by Mirko Cattini to discuss the focus areas according to Market Metrix, IQ, Review Pro and other guest feedback reports. It is fundamental to achieving our goals that standards are met through frequent and thorough SOP training and henceforth all training records will be checked by Livvy Wharam on a weekly basis. The role of the Operational Coach has become more important than ever and we will be encouraging our colleagues to work together as a team to drive service excellence forwards. Thank you for all your hard work so far – it’s incredible to see the progress we have made in just 3 years.
Autumn 2014
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A BIG CONGRATULATIONS T H I S S E ASON’S PROMOTION S At Corinthia London we know the importance of developing from within. Here we have highlighted all our colleagues who have received internal promotions since our Spring/ Summer Edition of SPIRIT.
A big congratulations to all our colleagues! NAME
DIVISION
JOB TITLE
Aleksejs Belokons Kitchen Production Chef de Partie Aleksejs Sarando The Northall Assistant Restaurant Manager Alexandru Tand Banqueting Banqueting Supervisor Alfredo Cirnigliaro Massimo Restaurant & Bar Wine Waiter Andreas Wunderer Kitchen Production Junior Sous Chef Andzelika Stankeviciene ESPA Life at Corinthia Spa Attendant Anett Vachter Housekeeping Supervisors Junior Housekeeping Supervisor Bettina Williams Executive Office PA to General Manager Christina Patchett ESPA Life at Corinthia Senior Therapist Dae Keun Kim Kitchen Production Senior Chef de Partie Danielle Giles Executive Office Operations Co-ordinator David Kiss Massimo Restaurant & Bar Waiter Diogo Pinheiro Oliveira Front of House Reception Supervisor Dusan Adamov Room Service Room Service Supervisor Elvinas Araminas The Northall Waiter Evangelia Maria Ntantou Reservations Reservations Agent Fabio Pezzini The Northall Bar Supervisor Francesco Sciancalepore Engineering Room Technician Gabor Peto Housekeeping Supervisors Junior Housekeeping Supervisor Gabriele Marzo Massimo Restaurant & Bar Senior Sous Chef Giancarlo Ventimiglia Kitchen Production Demi Chef De Partie Gianni Scandaliato The Northall Sommelier Guillermo Caballero Bakery & Pastry Senior Chef de Partie Ilidio Tarouca Stewarding Back of House Manager Ilona Cege The Northall Host Ivett Magyar Room Service Waiter Jacob Pinder Massimo Restaurant & Bar Waiter Jasmine Gussmann The Northall Host Jean Philippe Richard-Charman Front of House Reception Supervisor Joanna Small Sales & Marketing Senior Events Sales Executive 20 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
Leigh Farmer Engineering Assistant Manager Engineering Leonel Duarte Ferreira Room Service Senior Night Waiter Linda Ozola ESPA Life at Corinthia Senior Therapist Louisa Tudor Room Service Room Service Manager Manoj Manickan Kitchen Production Banqueting Head Chef Margareta Chiciudean Laundry Laundry Supervisor Nuno Santos Goncalves Kitchen Production Senior Sous Chef Nuriddin Ashurov Finance Accounts Assistant Piret Peet Sales & Marketing Event Management Executive Ramesh Kumar Sharma Kitchen Production Demi Chef De Partie Renaud Gregoire Executive Office General Manager Rosanne Davison-Scott ESPA Life at Corinthia Senior Spa Sales & Reservationist Ruben Martinez Paz Evening Room Attendants Turndown Attendant Rufat Mustafin The Northall Commis Waiter Shirish Darade Kitchen Production Sous Chef Tania Da Silva Ribeiro Fernandes Rodrigues Room Service Commis Waiter Vaseekaran Jeyapalan Finance Junior Accountant Corporate Viktorija Vaskyte Room Service Room Service Coordinator Vladimirs Storozenko ESPA Life at Corinthia Spa Attendant Yago Arias Doamo Bakery & Pastry Senior Chef de Partie Yiming Zhao Sales & Marketing Sales Manager - Asia Yolanda Lopez Favorecido Kitchen Production Chef de Partie Yukie Kohara Bakery & Pastry Demi Chef De Partie Zita Vinet Guest Relations Guest Relations Officer
O H BABY! Our last edition of SPIRIT also saw the introduction of some new Corinthia tots – all of who were too cute we couldn’t help including our new babies again!
Say hello our new little angels – and Congratulations to all our Mummys & Daddys!
MARIA TURCANU Natalia’s baby
HARPER GRACE COUSINS Darren’s baby
BENJAMIN ISAK ADAMOV Dusan’s baby
ADAM AHMED Ildiko’s baby
Autumn 2014
JAI SACHIN MISHRA Alpana’s baby
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THE SOCIAL SCENE F O OT BA L L TO U RNA M E NT 2 0 1 4 Six years ago the Hotel and Catering Challenge Cup was no more than a few people playing football in the park with jumpers for goal post; it grew to 10 hotels in Hyde Park and then 72 hotels, restaurants and suppliers were included too. From all across London the teams have been competing for the title. This year the Corinthia London Football team entered the tournament joining with over 80 teams taking part, representing over 1400 players and all fighting for the 6 trophies. Our Corinthia London Football team battled through the group stages to reach a wonderful quarter final stage. It was a glorious day in Chiswick and our brave squad didn’t have an easy job to do, but they have done an amazing job and we are truly proud of our team. Huge thanks to the following players: Samir Sayah Essayah – Baxter Storey, Ilidio Tarouca – Stewarding, Bogdan Banescu – Concierge, Rene Joie – Concierge, Diogo Pinheiro Oliveira – Front Office, Scott Lewington – Concierge, Ruben Martinez Paz – Housekeeping, Joe Potter – Engineering, Ramit Mahajan – Housekeeping and Sem Suarez Iniesta – The Northall. And of course not forgetting the two lovely supporters who came to cheer the team; Zaleena Ali and Brenda Buhagiar from Finance.
P I N G P O N G TOU R NAMENT As summer faded away, the HR & Talent looked indoors to play and planned a fabulous Ping Pong Tournament at Bounce on Chancery Lane. The event saw teams battle it out and crowned Hany Malak from Finance and Tomas Duro from Massimo Kitchen as the ping pong tournament winners! Our Runners up also deserve a mention as they were also unbeatable (well until the last match of course) Gennady Mikhaylov from Marketing and Giuseppe Bertolone from Massimo Kitchen. All in all we had about 40 colleagues who came to play and support - Thank You everyone!
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G R E AT CO RINTHIA BAKE OF F 2 014 Eight home bakers took part in our first annual Great Corinthia Bake Off that tested their baking skills as they battled it out to be crowned the Great Corinthia Bake Off’s winner. Our amateur bakers were assessed by our esteemed judges who inspected their bakes to the detail. The judges this year were: Kimberly Lin – Head Pastry Chef, Mirko Cattini – Hotel Manager, and Louisa Tudor – Room Service Manager. Each baker had to fill in a form to enter this year’s competition and as a gift received a Great British Bake Off utensil set. Prior to the Bake Off competition each contestant had to send pictures of them baking their signature dish which they all brought on the day. Judging was tense; each contestant had to explain what they baked and how they baked it. Following the explanations the judges went around each cake and scored each one. It was hard; it was so hard that they had to announce a runner up prior to announcing the winner. Whilst Alex doesn’t bake frequently, when he does he makes a mean carrot cake and this time it was shaped as a bunny! Well done Alex Ching from Purchasing who was this year’s Corinthia Bake Off Runner Up and was awarded with £40 Love2Shop vouchers for his tremendous effort. As is tradition, there can only be one winner and this year’s winner was Ilze Makaronidu from Sales who dazzled our judges with her honey cake. Ilze has been baking for 30 years and was taught by her grandmother, although her signature bake is apple crumble, she completely stole the show with her beautiful honey cake and some tricky bees. Crowned the Great Corinthia Bake Off winner, Ilze will enjoy a 2 hour masterclass with our amazing Head Pastry, Chef, Kimberly, as well as a £40 Love2Shop voucher. Thank you so much to all the other contestants and colleagues that attended the first Bake Off competition and of course a big Thank you to our judges too!
Autumn 2014
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TO DISCOVE R A L L O U R U PCO M ING I NITIATIVES AT CO RINT HIA LO ND O N PL E A S E VISIT COR INT HIA .CO M / LO ND O N 24 THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE Autumn 2014
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