Good afternoon Tessa! Thank you for the warm welcoming at this wonderful unique place in Bali. Could you please give us your story of how you got where you are today – how do you become General Manager at Bvlgari Bali Resort?
Good afternoon! Thank you Lana for being here, first of all, it's a pleasure to have you here. So how did I get to be here? I feel like it's been a long love affair with this property. I was always kind of destined to be here, I think. I started my hospitality career with AMAN Resorts, at their flagship property in Phuket, but I would travel a lot to Bali, because it was opposite high seasons. So I would support the properties here. And I would frequently come to Il Bar and enjoy the sunset and have aperitivo. But I finished with AMAN after 8 years of working there and I started a consultancy business and have the luxury of consulting for AMAN, for LVMH, Cheval Blanc, for Ritz-Carlton and, again, at this property. And this sort of led me to the point of being this General Manager at Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Thailand and, subsequently, then I came here to lead the property here, and that was 2.5 years ago now, so very happy to be reunited with this property.

Indonesian and Italian cultures are quite different. Do you find it difficult to make the adjustment and how do you cope with that?
I think it's an incredible synergy on property, and the aesthetic is very much defined by the marriage of Italian and Balinese. We have the elegance in terms of our architecture and design – that feels very much Italian. But, equally, we have the inspiration from the Balinese artistry, and the beauty of their history, and their culture, so it works very well together, and I think it creates an environment of refinement but also relaxation. From a physical standpoint I think it works incredibly well, from a design aspect it works beautifully. From a software aspect – I think the team do an incredible job. I think Balinese are inherently very caring and we definitely… All of our authenticity and caring for our guests. Bvlgari creates great foundation and culture, whereby the team know how to respond to the level of expectations of the brand. All sort of European expectations but with that Asian kind of flair and attention to detail and sense of care.

Have you already faced a real challenge in terms of guest relations management?
I think there are always challenges to one degree or another. There are so many variables involved, but nothing so significant. I think that, again, the team are encouraged to be empowered. We have our butler service here, which really lends itself to a very attentive service. So any potential issues which may arise – the team are great in that kind of handling and resolving those issues. And, again, the environment that we create – you know, from gardener to General Manager – that there is that level of empowerment, that level of ownership that if we see something that could potentially be off, that we intervene and ensure that the guest is taken care of. I think that anything that comes from a place of genuine, caring compassion never escalates to such a degree, so… we hope.

What is your management style?
I should ask the team! My management style… I'm very involved. I like – as much as possible – for the team to anticipate, and it's a very overused word within the industry, but I always say to the team that if a guest has to ask, it's already too late, but, constantly evolving, I would say.

Is the client always right?
Yes, I mean, to a degree, of course, but I think we do a great job of appreciating their expectations before the guests arrive. You know, we're a luxury exclusive resort and an incredible destination associated with such an established luxury brand - the expectations are exceptionally high. So I think we're already quite good at anticipating guest needs.

How do you continue keeping surprising your clients?
I think it's this constant evolution that when we've reached the precipice how can we even push that a bit further, and push ourselves to the next level as we had done so last year when Covid hit; missing many of our guests, especially the regular guests who would visit 2-3 times a year. One of our butlers who was desperate to engage with one of our regular guests again, sent a bottle of their favorite wine to them in Geneva, hand-delivered with a card and a QR code printed on it , and when scanned there was the video of the butler hand-delivering the bottle saying: "We miss you, come back", so you can keep reimagining it, even in this challenging situations.

Who are your clients? Are they families coming to visit you, or they can be groups, honeymooners?
Now everything's been turned on its head a little bit so we are excited to see how it will develop – traditionally, it's more couples, we get a lot of honeymooners, and a good amount of combination stays – the guests who will stay in Ubud and then stay with us, and then stay in Seminyak, and that's kind of the beauty also of Bali overall where travellers can tick all the boxes in just one destination. We are seeing an increase in requests from families, which is why the mansions have become so popular, so we're looking forward to see how it develops.

One of the biggest trends in recent times has been wellness and retreats travel, and to my mind, Bali is the perfect destination example. What hospitality and travel trends do you expect?
I think that the wellness component will keep developing – and it's something that we're very strong in. And we have our spa, with daily yoga sessions, or for workouts, the gym. I think that will continue to be a trend. But I also think that people who've been confined for such an extended period of time – there's a frustrated sense of wanderlust– people are desperate to explore. Bali is it's renowned for its surf breaks, and even if you're an expert in surfing or it's the first time you've ever gone surfing, you have that opportunity to be in that great outdoors again. We also have the benefit of golfing close to the resort. Culturally, we have Uluwatu Temple. There's so much to offer, just in this area of Bali alone.

What is exactly changing right now in the industry? How the current situation is going to impact the hospitality sector?
I think a lot has changed already. We took a lot of measures last year, implementing, new cleanliness protocols, hygiene… I think that's going to be very important for guests – to have that level of comfort and reassurance when they start to travel again. And also I think with that that'll be a natural attraction to more established brands where they feel that level of support and assurance that they're going to be well taken care of.

What about flexibility?
Yes, exactly – last year we started to see, already, that with booking flexibility, cancellation, moving of days we have to create an environment that really supports the resurgence of travel. And gain the confidence again of the traveler, that if they are committing financially to come and see us, then we are committing to them with the knowledge and understanding that things can change.

What is your personal definition of luxury today?
I think there's definitely a level of expectation with luxury which goes across the board. My personal appreciation of luxury is understated luxury. I like simplicity, I like authentic materials. I want to walk into a room and feel the curtains are a 100% silk, for example that there's nothing synthetic in the materials. In terms of architecture, I like symmetry and, really, sometimes less is more, and beauty can be just in the view alone. And the same goes from the service end, as well. That it's an understated service, not an over-service, that there's a subtlety to it that I appreciate.

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