With an extensive career in the MICE world, Ernesto Miranda tells us in this interview about his main lessons, the importance of the human factor and the secrets of disruptive events.
Jul 31, 2019
I strongly believe that my passion for Hospitality comes from Ischia, the little island in Southern Italy where I was born. Ischia is devoted to tourism, beauty and guest’s satisfaction … so am I! Then, at the age of 19 I graduated in Accounting and I decided to follow my passion. I started my career in Jolly Hotels, holding different positions until I became a General Manager. The most valuable lessons I have acquired (and appreciated!) throughout these years in NH Hotel Group are stability, freedom of expression, internal growth, networking and internationality.
Talking about the people I met and worked with, the main key learning is the importance of the value of every single gesture. I mean, from the time spent with a client to understand his needs to the punctual attention of transforming a detail into a surprise; I think that every single detail really makes the difference in transforming a comfortable stay into an extraordinary one. And this is something I learned throughout these years, to overcome expectations.
Differences between clients are various, as the hotels are very different in terms of positioning and client expectations. At NH Collection Milano President, every day is different! In fact, we work daily to make little, and medium-long term improvements. As an example, we tend to invest in outstanding details that can improve the stay of our repeat clients, to surprise them when they are back.
Working at NH Milano Congress Center is completely different as it is a hotel which is mostly devoted to the organization of meeting and events. So, every day there is an “ad hoc” situation to manage because an event has a limited duration in time. The result of an action is immediate while at NH Collection Milano President it is something that develops over time, so more long-term oriented. Moreover, the NH Milano Congress Center guests need primary services such as clean rooms, fast check-in, good breakfast, free and highspeed wi-fi as it is mostly corporate-oriented; while the Milano President ones are heterogeneous, so more exigent and demanding.
A part of basic services, such as free wi-fi, parking and strategic location. It is worth considering that meetings and events customers are always searching for the best technology. But there is another factor that can really make the difference: the “human factor”, and at NH Milano Congress Centre we were completely devoted to this! In fact, the NH Hotel Group hotels motto “Always Yes!” – even if, of course, we cannot consider it as a trend – surely represents something that customers are striving for, more than ever, when organizing a meeting or an event. “Always Yes!” means a cohesive team that always finds the best solution for the client.
The human aspect makes the difference. The powerless thing is to see the customer as “a blank sheet of paper”. A relationship is fundamental. Working across with the team is the only way to meet the customer’s expectations. An example that I remember is when during the event organized by Fiat Professional at the NH Milano Congress Center some vehicles did not fit through the door. The hotel team based on more than 10 people got into the car to push it lower by weight. It was not enough, so the event organizers thought of deflating the wheels and finally pushed the vehicle into the meeting room. Always Yes!
In my opinion, there is not a disruptive event. I mean, nowadays, events are organized according to precise indications given by the customer. Technology companies, for example, require certain technical characteristics in order to satisfy the participants. Perhaps, I would speak more about memorable events when organizing an event that not only satisfies all the client’s needs but also overcomes them. This is for me a memorable event (or, call it disruptive!) because matching every specific requirement of a customer is not something easy!
Instead, I remember a very unusual occasion where we surprised a client. We were asked to set up the Duomo Suite of NH Collection Milano President for a dinner because a man wanted to propose marriage in a different location … the wow effect was amazing!
We have been thinking a lot about trying to make NH Collection Milano President a different 5-star hotel in the Milanese scenario and I believe we found something truly creative! Earlier this year, NH Collection Milano President did an extraordinary collaboration with Street Art In Store – the first Italian Art Gallery exclusively dedicated to graffiti and street art. Thanks to the “Do you love Street Art?” exhibitions we are really proud to bring Street Art and national and international artists into a 5-star hotel … this is something we can call “out of the box”!
