INTERVIEW – AMANDA ELDER, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, KEMPINSKI HOTELS: “SOMETIMES GUESTS DON'T WANT TO STRAY TOO FAR FROM THE COMFORT OF THEIR KEMPINSKI HOTEL”
Responsibilities, vision of guest loyalty and guest experience, projects and objectives: the Chief Commercial Officer talks about her mission within the Swiss hotel group. |
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INTERVIEW – AMANDA ELDER, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, KEMPINSKI HOTELS: “SOMETIMES GUESTS DON'T WANT TO STRAY TOO FAR FROM THE COMFORT OF THEIR KEMPINSKI HOTEL”
Responsibilities, vision of guest loyalty and guest experience, projects and objectives: the Chief Commercial Officer talks about her mission within the Swiss hotel group. |
Category: Worldwide - Industry economy
- Interviews and portraits
- Hotel projects - Interviews - Industry leaders
Interview made by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2024-04-05
With more than 25 years of remarkable professional experience under her belt, Amanda Elder is a benchmark in the luxury hotel industry. The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Kempinski Hotels, who joined the Swiss company in 2014, operates from Dubai, from where she has overseen global commercial strategy since 2018, as well as sitting on the company's management board.
Before joining Kempinski, the Australian made her mark by holding key positions within major hotel groups, and moving from China to Vietnam, Belgium, and Switzerland.
Among the most emblematic missions of her career are those of Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, then VP Sales, EMEA for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, with a two-year stopover as General Manager of the St. Regis Shanghai Hotel. After a stint in Australia with Marriott International, she joined Kempinski in 2014 as VP Sales & Marketing in China, before moving to Fairmont Raffles Hotels International to take up the position of VP, Sales & Marketing, Europe and returning to Kempinski, in Switzerland, to take up the position of Senior VP Business Development.
Revenue management, guest acquisition and loyalty, aligning owners' expectations with the company's strategy, digital marketing and distribution strategy are just some areas in which she leads Kempinski Hotels' commercial dynamic. Her international experience serves the strategic vision of the Swiss group.
Amanda Elder shared her vision of Kempinski Hotels with us, and gave us an insight into the group's commercial strategy.
Journal des Palaces: What are your key responsibilities as CCO of Kempinski?
Amanda Elder: It is to set the strategy for our company in terms of commercial outcomes. It is an interesting mix of customer interaction, revenue management, public relations, communications, and marketing. We have a global team spread in many countries to ensure we take regional nuance into account and consider the needs of different customer segments when we make our decisions.
Essentially, we want our guests to understand what the brand will deliver, no matter where they travel to in the world. It is my role to align the commercial pillars and have the company follow that direction. I also see it as my responsibility to drive motivation and inspiration within Kempinski and have an open dialogue with our hoteliers.
You have worked for major hotel groups such as Fairmont, Marriott, and Starwood. What are Kempinski's specific features and strengths in terms of business development?
I see that we are very entrepreneurial in our approach and very open to best practice from all over the world. The company is European in the way it approaches things, and this is very different to the way American companies tackle business development. We are small, and we know each other by first name, it's a very positive commercial culture and this extends to our relationships with our customers.
Kempinski's loyalty programme, Kempinski Discovery, offers “creative experiences” and “personalised adventures”. How many travellers are currently members of the Kempinski Discovery programme? How do you create new propositions to surprise your guests?
We have over 26 million members, and we are constantly evolving those “once in a lifetime” experiences globally across the 45 brands of the Global Hotel Alliance, which Kempinski is a founding member. We have also realised that sometimes guests don’t want to stray too far from the comfort of their Kempinski Hotel, and so we see wellness and fitness experiences, culinary and cocktail experiences as being equally important.
The Discovery dollar currency which has been recently introduced also brings another element to our loyal guests where they can reduce their stay by crediting previously earned dollars, while also taking advantage of the unique array of experiences we have crafted.
How do you see the future of guest loyalty in luxury hotels?
Discerning guests expect that we know who they are and what they want at any time. That is the essence of luxury. We also have to understand that the persona of somebody can change significantly depending on the reason for travel. If we use the loyalty programme to capture and deliver to our guests’ individual needs, then we have succeeded. To me, this is the future of loyalty in luxury hotels.
What are your next projects as CCO?
We are continually questioning the way we speak to our guests and so there are several projects around the content on our websites and apps and development of tools in emerging markets.
I am particularly excited about our growing presence in the development of Kempinski Residences.
The Group currently has 83 hotels and residences in 36 countries, and is developing 27 projects. Could you mention some of your flagship opening projects for 2024 and beyond?
Here are the next projects in the pipeline: We are expanding in Saudi-Arabia with a hotel in Yanbu followed by properties in Makkah, Madinah and Riadh, we have three safari lodges in Tanzania under construction: Kempinski Msasa Lodge Lake Manyara, Kempinski Longosa Lodge Serengeti, Kempinski Kitbong Hill Tarangire.
We are moving forward with our first hotel in Brazil, Kempinski Laje de Pedra, and we have a wide range of residences to be opened in the coming years - in Dubai, Turkey, Armenia.
And very important for us: We just re-opened the famous Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden, which was closed for the past year for a full renovation and has come back last month as a new iconic jewel in the heart of the city.
What are the group's growth ambitions today?
Currently, we have 83 hotels in 35 countries under operation and our development pipeline contains 34 hotels and residences, which is quite a lot. Of course, we would like to grow, and we are growing, but not at any cost and not by taking new properties which are not suitable for our brand.
Kempinski has just doubled its presence in Dubai and taken over two luxury hotels. Since January, we have been operating The Boulevard Dubai and the Central Avenue Dubai under the Kempinski flag. These are really great hotels, and we want to set new standards.
We recently signed another ground-breaking contract for the management of luxury residences in Dubai Marina. The Kempinski Marina Residences will bring freshness and vibrancy to the Dubai skyline.
Furthermore, the US market, where we are not yet represented, seems extremely promising. We are planning to enter the market there with an outstanding project in Miami and then want to concentrate on four or five important locations, such as New York. We certainly won't have 300 hotels in our portfolio and will also part from one or two hotels as part of our focus on outstanding luxury. Instead, we want to go to London and Paris, to the metropolises.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in the luxury hotel industry?
I would say follow your passion, it's a wonderful industry with the most incredible people in the world who will be your colleagues. You must be ready for long hours and travel to all parts of the world, to stay in your own backyard and expect to grow is limiting yourself.
Ensure that your life partner is someone who will support you, as this is key, not only in hospitality but in all careers - that being said, the demands of hospitality means it's evermore important for your significant other to understand what you are doing.
Question everything, including yourself to raise the bar and deliver each and every time - always follow up and remember where you started, no matter where you end up. Be authentic and genuine.
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