Italian Hotel Group was born in Pistoia (Italy) from the experience, gained since 1971, of professionals in the tourism sector who, through a multi-year development plan, have created a hotel group that is proposed to the whole national and foreign market offering diversified services to the tourism sector.
We met the SPA Manager of the structure “HG Abetone e Piramidi”: Francesco Filomeno.
We gave Francesco our usual interview that helps us to understand the strategies of a fascinating but very complex profession.
SA – Francesco, describe your current position. Who are your clients? What are their expectations?
FF – I am in charge of planning, managing and communicating with clients. I therefore have great responsibility for corporate objectives and the choice of resources, with decision-making autonomy, in the management of everything related to the SPA. It is very important for us to know the clients, to listen to their needs, their characteristics and their behaviour in order to meet their expectations.
SA – How have you improved the services offered by your spa since you started managing it? How have you optimized times and costs?
FF – Motivation in doing is based on transmitting INNOVATION, CREATIVITY, PASSION, you have to believe in order to involve and, above all, transfer EMOTIONS. Choosing the best collaborators, the most effective treatments, the most active products, the most efficient promotional strategies, but above all you must never stop informing and training.
“SENSUALITY”.
IS A RITUAL LIVED IN THE SPA SUITE
SA – Describe once you have introduced new policies, procedures, equipment to your staff.
FF – Eliminating time-consuming and unprofitable treatments, replacing them with new treatments, arousing curiosity and innovation such as, for example, the couple massage that I have personally created: “SENSUALITY”. It is a ritual experienced in the Spa Suite. It deepens the relationship giving the possibility to see the other person from different perspectives, and finds its peculiarity in the setting and in the climate of intense complicity that makes the couple live its specificity.
SA – How do you supervise staff training?
FF – It must be the improvement of the operator’s quality of life and well-being, highlighting how the identity of “worker” is consolidated by the expression of unity and sharing of the emotional and cognitive aspects of the work group. Among these aspects we would like to mention some of them: feeling helped in the difficulties, recognised in their abilities, well regulated by the rules shared by the group, stimulated towards solidarity, participation, autonomy and creativity.
SA – How do you inspire loyalty and trust in your staff?
FF – Telling real experiences that can help us go down new paths and support a different approach to work, life and society based on values such as sharing, empathy, growth and freedom. Refresher courses and comparison training as well as a continuous exchange of knowledge with other professionals.
SA – Describe once you have worked with your staff to improve the service of your spa.
FF – Together we proposed a new treatment, comparing everyone’s ideas.
SA – Describe once you have received negative feedback from a member of your staff. How did you handle it?
FF – A team works well if all its members operate with the same mindset and if they are clear from day one. So, I try to moderate and ask the right questions so that everyone understands what is really important, for the project and for the client.
SA – You expect a large group of people to check in at the same time. How do you plan the reception?
FF – I work more by appointment, in which case you get help from the rest of the staff to welcome you. We take great care of the guest at 360 degrees, from the moment he approaches the reception, to the explanations of environments and treatments, he is accompanied and feels within a global experience.
ANOTHER NEW FEATURE IS THE
BABY SHOWER
SA – What successful promotional events have you organised for your spa?
FF – We organise bachelorette parties in the evening, with the SPA for exclusive use and we also prepare a buffet with food and drinks in the relaxation area; another novelty is the baby shower (the pre-baby party) which is very fashionable and, in that case, ad hoc treatments are also reserved for the mother-to-be, to be done during or after pregnancy.
SA – How do you handle guests’ complaints?
FF – I try to understand the problem and try to come up with a new solution so that the customer does not leave unsatisfied.
SA – Describe a time when you have had to solve a problem with an extremely angry guest.
FF – The key is to be able to break the ice, get them to quickly settle into a place they don’t know, help them relax. First the smile, then the right music, a scent in the air.
A startup expert mainly in the holistic field, for over 15 years Francesco has combined his work in the 5-star Hospitality sector with his great passion for the Spa & Wellness world. Attention to detail and guest satisfaction are the basis of his philosophy. In recent years his strong passion for the holistic oriental discipline has led Francesco to attend training courses around the world, including Morocco, Maldives and Thailand, where he was able to experience first-hand the ancient origins. He deeply loves his work and strongly believes in the well-being and future impact it will have on the life and evolution of humanity.