Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1140832
11.07.19 10 INTERVIEW Maltese hotel brand amongst Business Today catches up with omas Kochs, Managing Director of Corinthia London, a Maltese export known for its rich heritage and currently standing as one of the English capital's most luxurious and exclusive hotels PHILIPPA ZAMMIT Could you tell us more about the fascinating history of the hotel? The history of the building is indeed fascinating. The building has only been in operation as Corinthia Hotel London for eight years, but there is a long history behind it. In 1884, it first opened as a hotel, 'The Metropole' but was soon a taken over by the gov- ernment during the First World War. After the war, it briefly opened as a hotel again in the wonderful time of the 1920s where ballroom dancing and midnight celebrations took place. This didn't seem to be its destiny, be- cause in the 1930s it was taken over by the government again and was shut down as a hotel entirely and housed the Ministry of Defense soon after. For many decades, the building was owned by the government before Corinthia acquired it when it was up for sale. It is very interesting when you look back, because it wasn't actually the amount of money or the finance that made us win the bid, but the loving restoration plan that showcased what we were planning to do with the build- ing to reinstate it as one of London's finest hotels again. It has since been beautifully restored and reopened in its full glory. What does the Corinthia brand stand for and what does it represent? As a brand, Corinthia is a family-in- spired business with timeless fami- ly values underpinning the spirit of Corinthia. Our founder, Mr Pisani, is still alive and has been running the family business since the 1960s. The spirit of Corinthia is something that is very prominent in the brand, which represents a number of things. Warm hospitality is of course at the heart of our brand. Corinthia London is a modern grand hotel where we put a lot of emphasis on our services and believe a good welcome is part of the luxury and hos- pitality experience. We want to give our guests the best possible experi- ence we can. The brand also stands for refined luxury and exceptional product and you'd realise this by looking at our guest room product as well as other design welcoming, inspiring spaces throughout the hotel. We've worked with inspirational designers who have helped us bring our brand identity to life through the unique and luxurious design and precious materials used throughout. When you visit Corinthia as a guest, you always experience something that you wouldn't have expected. For example, even though you'd expect to find a spa in a hotel, you wouldn't expect it to be spread over four floors with 17 treatment rooms. The spa is set in a space of iconic beauty, offer- ing beautiful facilities where you can spend hours on end. The same applies to the food, restau- rant and bar portfolio, which are all key ingredients in our hospitality. A new generation of diners is constantly looking for unique and authentic din- ing experiences. At Corinthia, there is always some- thing to discover and this is some- thing that sets us apart from our com- petition. Even though our guests get to expe- rience something that feels very Brit- ish, at the same time, they get to ex- perience something unique that won't necessarily be found in other hotels. Why should a business traveller choose the hotel? There are many reasons to visit Corinthia London. If you know what you like and if you would like to travel in style and enjoy a hotel that feels rel- evant but is also very reassuring when it comes to luxury 5 star services, I think Corinthia London is a wonder- ful choice. The hotel is centrally located in the heart of London, with all the major landmarks a few minutes away… the river, wonderful museums, an array of restaurants, galleries and theatres. Everything is on your doorstep. If you travel on business, it is very conven- ient to get to you your meetings in no time. The hotel has been designed to meet the needs of both the business and leisure guest, offering a range of ex- ceptional amenities to meet the needs of the twenty-first century traveller. Meetings and events are key to the success of any business, that's why we work closely with you to meet our guests' every requirement. Corinthia is equipped with a Busi- ness Centre, including six spacious meeting rooms providing flexible space for meetings of up to 25 dele- gates in boardroom style, each featur- ing the latest technology, including drop-down projectors and screens, and fast, free Wi-Fi throughout. We've also recently unveiled 11 new spacious suites that include a large liv- ing room and work area, enabling our guests who are travelling on business to host meetings, dine as well work in a more relaxed atmosphere. What about your occupancy rate targets? How do you plan on reaching them? The guests of course always see the front of house elements; the smiling receptionists and the busy waiters who make sure everything is being catered for. There is also a commer- cial side to hotels. We employ revenue management teams as well as market- ing teams. A robust revenue manage- ment strategy is of the utmost impor- tance, helping to optimise results. The revenue management side of busy London hotels is really a very healthy combination of driving occu- pancy and having a fairly flexible rate span. I'm mentioning this because not every city operates like this. If you look at Paris, for example, it is more of a rate driven city, whereas London is more of an occupancy driv- en city. Here, we are aiming to achieve an average occupancy of 70-80% over the year, which is in fact very busy because even though you think you always have 20% of your inventory empty, if you look at the busiest times of the year like January, the weekends and bank holidays, this is definitely not the case. We've spoken about our product, which we always want to keep in pris- tine condition, so we need to have