INTERVIEW - GUILLEMETTE NOTARANGELO, FOUNDER OF BLOSSOM PROJECTS: A SCENOGRAPHIC VISION OF THE GUEST EXPERIENCE (France)
“In luxury, the experience is 360° and suffers no error; full attention to detail is required in all departments” according to Guillemette, who relies on her own experience in the luxury hotel industry. |
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INTERVIEW - GUILLEMETTE NOTARANGELO, FOUNDER OF BLOSSOM PROJECTS: A SCENOGRAPHIC VISION OF THE GUEST EXPERIENCE (France)
“In luxury, the experience is 360° and suffers no error; full attention to detail is required in all departments” according to Guillemette, who relies on her own experience in the luxury hotel industry. |
Category: Europe - France - Interviews and portraits
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Interview made by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2023-05-15
With more than 20 years of experience in the luxury hotel industry, Guillemette Notarangelo has worked as a sales manager, then as a sales and marketing manager for the IHG and Ritz-Carlton groups.
She made a major shift in her career in 2018, when she trained as an interior designer in Geneva, before launching Blossom Projects. A project that she leads, supported by a team of experts, and where she uses her experience in the luxury hotel industry.
From scenography to strategic advice, Blossom Projects brings to its clients a transversal vision of hotel management and a holistic approach to the guest experience.
From operational implementation of projects to team training, Guillemette Notarangelo explained the missions of Blossom Projects to Journal des Palaces.
Journal des Palaces: what is the purpose of Blossom Projects?
Blossom Projects is a consulting firm for luxury brands. We cover a wide range of aspects of the guest experience.
This involves scenographic work, targeting the awakening of the five senses as soon as the guests arrive.
- Regarding the visual aspect and touch, we act on the interior decoration, through the choice of fabrics and floral compositions in particular, and through everything the guest will touch or see, including the staff uniforms.
- The choice of the ambient fragrance, the olfactory identity of the establishment, will have an impact on the sense of smell.
- The sense of hearing is stimulated with the implementation of musical playlists, which we work on with a specialist agency.
- We obviously play on the sense of taste through the entire catering section.
We also offer operational advice, thanks to our team of experts in the F&B, spa and accommodation departments.
Finally, we have developed a specialization in the recruitment and training of department heads.
We train staff in the codes of luxury, attitude, gestures, but also in sales.
What is your vision of the guest experience in luxury?
In luxury, the experience is 360° and there is no room for error. Attention to detail is deployed in all departments.
In the context of your mission as a trainer, you mainly focus on the fundamentals. What do you consider to be the fundamentals of the luxury hotel business?
The basis of the hotel business is hospitality, the art and pleasure of receiving guests.
To achieve this, you have to look after your staff, even if it seems basic. A new generation is either not very interested in our professions or does not stay for long. To retain them, we have to pamper them. We can no longer see these careers as unrewarding.
If we want to attract young people, they have to be able to work in a magnificent place, and that goes on behind the scenes. If they work in a palace, but the staff restaurant is not good, it is meaningless. How do you explain to them that they work hard to please their guests, but they are not considered?
If the hotel does not belong to a large international group, which can offer overnight stays in its hotels, other benefits should be offered. This could be training, a central management body, etc.
How does this impact on the guest experience?
To improve the guest experience, it is essential to work on the approach of the staff to the guests.
Happy staff want to please. They intend to spread their well-being to future employees and then to guests.
Nowadays, websites and social networks allow guests to dream and fantasize about their stay even before they arrive at the hotel. If, when they arrive, the staff are not competent or not happy to be there, the dream will fall like a soufflé, and the guest will not come back.
What are your current assignments in the hotel industry and elsewhere?
Lately, I have carried out executive recruitment missions for fine hotels or groups of hotels in France, Switzerland, and Morocco.
I also deliver sales and marketing training for a major luxury car brand, which appreciates my hospitality background.
In addition, I work on deploying the French anti-ageing cosmetics brand Olivier Claire, which is already established in some very fine properties in France (Four Seasons George V in Paris, for example), and which is expanding internationally.
Finally, I am lucky enough to work at the prestigious Sup de Luxe Paris school, where I introduce, among other things, the world of luxury hotels to Bachelor 2 students.
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