Julia Krebs: Inspiring young minds to join the hospitality field

Julia Krebs

And I think that’s the transversal value of our industry that you can learn so many things about yourself as well as about others and that you can apply that almost anywhere in your life, whether it’s in your personal life or then later on in your career and if you should decide to switch into a different sort of area of hospitality. So it’s just a matter of which path would you like to follow.

Sebastien Leitner

Welcome to the turn now. This week, I get to introduce you to Julia Kreps. Julia is a senior lecturer at Les Roches International School of in one of my favorite destinations, Al Marbella, Spain. I get to meet Julia in person, and we spend about an hour or two in a beautiful garden talking about travel and hospitality and the future of hospitality. I thought this conversation was so great that I invited her into the turn home to talk about the challenges of teaching a young generation what hospitality is all about, but also what the potential is of a student coming out of a hospitality school and what roles they assume and what challenges they may face themselves. So with that, I can’t wait for you to discover Julia and her challenges, opportunities, and her story.

Julia Krebs, welcome to The Turndon. It’s a pleasure to have you here. Thank you for joining me today. You’re joining us, from Marbella, Spain, one of the most beautiful locations for a school. Is that fair? What’s the temperature outside?

Julia Krebs

Twenty five degrees today. So I a bit hotter than usual.

Sebastien Leitner

Stop. Stop. Don’t don’t continue that statement. Julia, I wanna start this podcast with, our typical question, which is what is keeping you up at night these days? And, you know, feel free to go anywhere you’d like.

Julia Krebs

Okay. Well, physically speaking, it’s my three year old daughter that keeps me up at night. We’re going a bit through a nightmare phase, but that’s fine. All good.

But apart from that, I think sometimes I keep going over things and thinking about a certain stage of the industry that we’re in right now where you hear sometimes quite a bit a lot. Maybe it’s just me that feels a bit, overloaded with that sort of statements that the industry is still lacking staff. We have staff shortage. We don’t have enough talent. We are not able to deliver the service that we want to because sometimes we need to shut down certain outlets because we don’t have enough staff to operate them, etcetera, etcetera. So I’m a bit worried about that sort of, negative image, let’s say, that we’re getting to an extent, which might not be justified for all hotels and all destinations. But I feel that we’re still hearing a lot about that, in end of twenty three, beginning twenty twenty four. So, yeah.

Sebastien Leitner

Okay. And I think you probably have a very deep appreciation around that because your background is in no. Yeah. Teacher, educator, But not all of that? Yeah, teacher, educator, lecturer. That’s all good. So if we rewind quickly the clock, you started working in hotels I assume at some point? Walk us a little bit through your career.

Julia Krebs

Yeah, I started when I was sixteen. When I just finished, was kind of German high school, let’s say. And I was like, oh, maybe I’m interested in fine, if it’s your passion or something that you want to do for the rest of your working life, at least for your career. So I went, into the Hilton in Maida City, and I was working in housekeeping. And then after a while I switched to front office and, then I decided to stay there because I was more on the guest relation front office part, still appreciating the housekeeping side of things.

And, then I was working a little bit as well in Belgium, and then I took a turn to Switzerland because I was like, okay, that still seems to be my thing. I am enjoying myself and I see a path here. So I said, okay, let’s get a degree. Done that from Switzerland. Then I moved on. And I was very lucky and fortunate to be recruited directly from campus, to Southeast Asia, which was always one of my dreams. I wanted to go to Thailand and all these beautiful places. And not just as a tourist. I really wanted to go and live there, and experience it because I was so intrigued with the Asian culture. And I was like, well, if you really want to get to know it, you have to go and live there.

So that’s what I did for the majority of my career. I was lucky enough to be with the same company, which is that time it was Orange Express. Now it’s rebranded to Belmont, as we know it, as part of, LVMH. And there they just moved me around to different destinations. Was very fortunate. And I then grew up from there into the different positions, guest relations, front office, rooms division, etcetera.

And then as it always turns out, you, you meet someone special in your life and you want to settle down. And then the turn the turn came to come to Mabia because that’s where my husband is from. And, then after being here in Mabia for a little while, Les Roches was looking for, lecturers to teach obviously from their experience in the industry. And that’s how I came five years ago, a little bit more than five years ago, to the Dutch now BA.

Sebastien Leitner

That’s fantastic. So you’re still living your passion by, I guess, educating young students around what hospitality should be around. You’re focusing on rooms division, I guess, from a class perspective? Okay. Excellent.

Julia Krebs

Depending on the semester obviously there’s different areas you need to cover whether it’s a bit some practicals to do housekeeping demonstrations in front office etcetera. And then as the rooms division path, as we call it, grows, it goes into sometimes I mean, different subjects that we share here with the other teachers into rooms division management and then revenue management or project management, etcetera. I mean, the field is very, very broad.

And that’s the beauty of the faculty here because everyone has their own background, their own experience, and all these unique examples, that make this teaching experience for our students very, very valuable. So we’re not really teachers in the academic sense. I like to sometimes say, I don’t wanna sound make that sound bad. Because we just don’t have the academia, career behind. We have the pure experience, and how to obviously tackle certain problems and how to solve business related issues. So that would make, teaching very special.

Sebastien Leitner

Yeah, and also as a student, the experience and the knowledge that the students are getting in the classroom. Fantastic. So let’s go back to your original sort of statement. What’s keeping you up at night, right? So, and I want to double click and and and understand sort of where you’re coming from and and how you’re determining this. One of your statement was, you know, that hotels or the hotel companies you talked to are still, you know, reporting that they’re understaffed. They’re not trying they’re they’re not finding enough talent in order to fill all the vacant positions. And as a result, if I understood you correctly, service is impacted, the quality of the service is impacted and it leads to often, a difficult decision as an hotel owner operator to say, I need to shut down an outlet, or I need to shut down a restaurant, or I have less revenue opportunity than I used to have because I don’t have enough staff. Is that what did I paraphrase that okay?

Julia Krebs

True. Yes. I mean, I think it’s already a lot better than it obviously used to be, a little time ago, unfortunately. But I still think that it’s still talked about a lot because maybe HJ has obviously have found their own ways to cope with that and and get around it. But I don’t think that in some cases, we are we are living up to the full potential just yet and the full hospitality delivery and value, of what obviously our industry stands for. And obviously, that’s just providing the service to the guests, tailoring it, customizing it the way they need it, in whichever way, shape or form the hotel decides to do that because not everybody follows the same path. And that’s perfectly fine because everybody has their own identity and brand.

But thinking about it a little bit here as well, keeping the student perspective in mind that at the same time that’s beautiful for them now because there’s a lot of opportunity out there and they might have sometimes trouble now choosing which path should I take and which offer should I go for. But maybe the pipeline in terms of talent was a little bit shortcutted for some hotels. So already having people in place that can now grow within the organization and work their way up, so to say, in becoming the next assistant manager or manager x initial department that they’re in.

So that is something, that I worry a little bit about, not necessarily in the current context that there’s not enough opportunity, obviously, all the opposite. But I just have a worry that it might impact a little bit the reputation that the industry is having. It might not be a crisis in such yet, but I sometimes feel we’re slithering off path a little bit, that direction.

Sebastien Leitner

Do you see this shortage of staff happening across all quality levels of hospitality or is it something that is more pronounced in, let’s say, luxury or four star, three star segment? Like, do you see it happening, I guess, through all accommodation types?

Julia Krebs

Mostly, as generally speaking, I would say yes. Probably we need to differentiate a little bit like by area or destination. Maybe some might be more impacted in the lower segment and some might be more impacted in the upper segment because it depends as well how developed the destination is and how many five star hotels there are already, etcetera, and how many brands.

So that’s what contradicts me sometimes a bit when I read about all the openings that, companies are planning to do. That obviously they’re actively recruiting and they’re on top of these kind of things. So that I’m just hoping, let’s say, in that in that sense that they have that overall holistic view and and sort of path and track there in place to get these people, on board whether they are moving people within the company or hiring new talent.

That sort of thing, is happening. Like, again, obviously I see that we see that firsthand here in school with our career department and, the offers that they’re able to present to the students which are wow, like a few years ago that might not have been on the table and MIT in revenue for example or in corporate management etcetera. So it’s very beautiful. And I’m so glad for the students that they get these kind of opportunities now, whereas, and I don’t want to sound negative, a few years ago maybe it would have been just a Woom’s division, MIT, or just an EMB MIT. That sort of thing.

So they have all these opportunities now. So that’s that’s why I’m reflecting back on them. Like, so if there are so many of these, why is that? That there are some and they should be the shining golden apple, that’s only a few selected guests. So if that’s, like, a lot, then I’m just wondering so that there’s somehow, a gap. So that’s what I’m thinking about.

Sebastien Leitner

That is astonishing. So and we have to take a moment and acknowledge that a career in hospitality is more relevant than ever before. Right? It almost sounds like And and you see it first time because your graduates have not only one or two offers as they graduate, they, they often have multiple offers already on the table to go work where they desire. Is that fair?

Julia Krebs

Yeah. Pretty much. They have, plenty of opportunities to interview and speak to different companies, whether it’s on campus or obviously online interviews. And they get to pick and choose quite a lot of very interesting offers. I was just talking to a few of them recently because, they they obviously were talking about which offer should I accept, which one should I go for, etcetera.

And then there’s a lot of interesting destinations that they can now, venture into. And as I said, a lot of new created programs to an extent maybe as well that companies have been shifting the focus, operational, yes, but also more into maybe corporate management, and that sort of world, on its own. Which is a very nice step into the industry professionally and not, obviously that because we know MIT is usually to a very good position within the companies. And then they can obviously move around even more, and they obviously get a certain job security as well with that.

And if even if they just, let’s say in brackets, complete the MIT and then decide to do their own business, which we have a lot as well. We have a lot of students with entrepreneurial spirits. And they kind of know already that they want to do their company later on. So or some even are starting to work on it a little bit while they’re still here studying or finishing their studies. So then they go out and become in different areas of the industry and not everybody leads, their path leads to into hotel or restaurants. So lots of different opportunities as well. And that’s very nice to see.

And I love to see that that we have that more and more. That the students are, open and not afraid, let’s say, to go out and and do their own business. And that’s very nice to see when they then come sometimes back to visit or they send you a little message and say like, look, whatever I was doing This is where I am now. Exactly. That’s where I am and that’s what I’m doing. So that’s all I’m doing. That’s awesome.

Sebastien Leitner

Just from my own understanding, you mentioned an acronym that I wasn’t familiar with or I associated with the school. But when you say MIT, what do you mean? Because I am so-

Julia Krebs

Management and training programme. Yes. So whichever company- Thank you. I’m speaking Chinese now to you. So the MIT programs, the management and training programs that companies offer whether I mean, the big names that they have, whether it’s Four Seasons or Hyatt or maybe you name it, Accor, etcetera. So all of them have their own specific programs where they take you on board, for usually around eighteen months. So at least a year, usually up to eighteen months.

And like I said, it was before a bit more operationally based. So it would you would go into F and B, Orum’s division. And now they are diversifying that a little bit, and you can do a revenue slash reservation, MIT or CSM marketing and, events. Or even some, they go into, like, kind of strategy, and like I said, corporate office sort of way. So I have a student that she’s now going and she’s going to be, assisting the GM. So directly, into that sort of position that you’re directly in the Frightening. Frightening touch point. In head sports. Yeah. Exactly. And thrown into the deep end. So these are the exciting ones.

Sebastien Leitner

And just for for our listeners to understand, this is part of the, I guess, student experience when you when you are a student at Les Roches, right? There is the, the, content that is taught in class. And then the students leave off campus, if you will, to work at reputable hotels, hotel schools, sorry not to enter hospitals, hotel companies, left and right in order to gain, I guess, practical experience. Is that Sure. Am I describing this correct?

Julia Krebs

Correct. Yes. So So there’s a balance between the academic semesters and the practical semesters. And depending on the programme, there’s, a minimum requirement that they need to fulfil in terms of practical weeks. And that should obviously give them enough, good exposure to have operational understanding, but if also possible, some managerial insights, so they can, when they graduate from here, already have a very good holistic helicopter view, let’s say, of, a hotel or even restaurant operation.

We have some students who go and work with, restaurant management companies, etcetera. Obviously, there’s a lot of opportunities, or events and so on. So they get that experience. So they apply the knowledge that is taught to them in a classroom, which we try to make it as lively, interactive, physical if you will, as possible. But again, it’s always within, the let’s call it the bubble of the school and there’s always a safety net and there’s that support. So at some point it’s time to venture out into the wild as I say sometimes, and, make us proud in a different way, not just with grades and attendance in the classroom, let’s say.

Sebastien Leitner

Yeah. I’m curious, you know, your school is located in Southern Spain. What’s the furthest your students, I guess, travel to to do their, I guess, management training?

Julia Krebs

Well, as far as you can probably guess, wherever you want to pinpoint the map more or less. They I mean the beautiful journey is as well that they have already chances to transfer between the different campuses because we also have one in Switzerland and and then we have also sister schools and and say that sort of network. So they can already do different semesters in different countries if they like to. And then the practical experience, we had a student, she just came back to France. She was in Bora Bora, for example. We have students that go, I don’t know, to Australia, to Asia like myself for example, South Africa, actually almost anywhere. There’s no geographical restriction if you will.

Sebastien Leitner

Not really, no. I mean sometimes, there’s a bit of a challenge that says to get certain work visas aligned, but it’s just usually it’s a matter of process and time. But other than that, the world is their oyster. So they graduate, They’re faced with multiple interviews with multiple job offers. How do we, as an industry, make attractive again for, I guess, young students? And I’m thinking of, you know, the ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen year olds, right, that are starting to wonder what career they should choose. Something inspired you to choose a career in hospitality, right? And I’m sure it didn’t happen at the age of fifteen or sixteen. It probably happened a little bit earlier. How do we inspire, I guess, young kids, sorry, for lack of a better word, I have two boys, so I’ll use that sort of simple term. How do we inspire them to choose young adults, to choose a career in hospitality? What what do we need to do as an industry in your opinion?

Julia Krebs

I mean, for me, what what mesmerized me was when I went to a few of the hotels in my city, mainly just like, I don’t know, when we sometimes had people visiting and they would stay in a hotel or sometimes you would just go to eat in a restaurant, right? You’re just an outside guest. And then always that atmosphere, that sort of wow when you walk into the lobby. Like the sliding door or the revolving door kind of brings you in and then there’s a certain smell, then there’s sometimes obviously a difference difference in temperature or whatever. And you can already see people working at the desk, and then there’s people going and helping with luggage and all this this kind of mini world cosmos that is sort of unfolding in you and you’re just like now joining them, in that sort of experience.

So if we think about youngers, who obviously eventually it’s difficult to say we’re fifteen, sixteen, seventeen what would I want to do for later on. So I think, I probably have to give credit to my mum specifically here in my case there because she was always sending me for a week or two, sometimes more in summer to do different jobs, you know, or different internships or mini jobs, that sort of thing. And she said, okay, you go into all the different whatever you wanted to do. One time I went to the library and and another time I was working in a restaurant and things like that. She said, so you just test out all the different things that you are thinking about. So you see the real life, somewhat real life job experience so you can decide better. So you know what you’re kind of getting into. Even though it’s obviously quite a soft experience because when you go there as a youngster, you don’t do their full on sort of work.

I think that’s very important. So maybe it’s somewhat responsibility of parents, maybe also of general school institutions to guide students through practical experiences or exchange. We have that obviously sometimes here as well. Obviously, we have high school students coming to visit us. But just for a day to see, like, what’s university life like and what is hospitality university like. And they go a little bit around and they talk to some of their students and then they have lunch with us. And just for them to see if they somehow feel connected to it. And then later on, of course, there’s there’s different conversations about that. But just for them to kind of see and get as max much exposure as possible, I would say.

And trying to connect that somehow with your interests. Something that sparks you every then every day thinking like, okay, I it’s not that I have to necessarily always force myself to do it. We have all bad days, that’s fine. We’re not talking about that. But on a normal average setting, when when Julia wakes up in the morning and she gets dressed and she goes to work, like, is that is that fine with me? Like, that’s still, kind of let’s say a warm feeling inside, right? So that’s the typical like whether it’s a passion for hospitality or any other industry and field for that matter, if that’s still there, then you can Kingiboine. Then you’re in the right place.

Sebastien Leitner

But it also sounds like, and you gave already some examples, Not only have the roles become more diverse, right? Especially as you leave the schools, like you may get offers in, in revenue management earlier on, in corporate development, in, you know, I guess corporate management, maybe even earlier on. But it also permits you to basically work and travel or, I guess, move around almost on a global level, still to this day. This is still an industry that is very international, very, something that allows you to, in, like, in your particular case, you know, pack your bags and head to Southeast Asia.

Julia Krebs

Yep. Yep. Yep. Definitely. And I think that’s the the key to our industry to to somehow try to put that into a student’s mind or into a young person’s mind. Right? To to plant that seed and and show them how far I could reach and how far I could take them, whether we are physically speaking into different destination. But also things along the way, the journey, things that I learned about myself or how I discover things about my character, living in these different countries, experiencing those different cultures and, having those kind of exchanges, not just with guests obviously, but also with the locals, with the staff.

And not just growing in my career but also as a person. Transversal, value of our industry that you can learn so many things about yourself as well as about others and that you can apply that almost anywhere, in your life. Whether it’s in your personal life or then later on in your career and if you should decide to switch into a different sort of area of hospitality. It’s always going to be something that will, will never yeah. Present the roadblock, I guess. It’s never going to not let you move on and move forward. So it’s just a matter of which path would you like to follow.

Sebastien Leitner

Yeah. I want to talk a little bit around technology and especially also some processes. I remember myself, I was interviewing for a role as a apprentice in a hotel school, in a hotel in Germany. That was a few years ago. And as a requirement for me, to actually get the job, they required me to learn how to type super fast. Right? There’s a typical class you have to select because they were using typewriters to issue invoices every morning. Right? There wasn’t a PMS as such, right? There was, it was a luxury hotel in a very large German city, but they were not using an on premise or I guess the cloud didn’t exist at the time. Schreipmaschin kurz, which is the German word for-

Julia Krebs

Yeah, it’s teirainter.

Sebastien Leitner

And I’m sure you’ll appreciate that, to type as fast as possible or at least a certain hit rate you have to reach so that you can almost live issue an invoice at checkout for when the guest is ready. Did you get the job? No, no, no. I think that was a shocking experience. And I said, no, I don’t want to work where there is not even a single computer at the reception. And I was always a nerd, so apologies for that. Now what I why I brought it up is, like, technology has evolved at least in the last ten years, like, crazy. Right? Like, we moved we moved our PMS systems into the, cloud. Right? It has allowed us to innovate and revolutionize the role of the receptionist. Right? Like, a lot of the things that a traditional front office agent now has previously done, which is, you know, take a registration card, enter it into the, PMS system is now done by the guests. You know, they have mobile apps, they can do all these things. I saw your, I guess, hotel room at your school that where you showcase the latest technology that is available, which is astonishing. What technology items in your opinion are hot right now? Are you teaching, that you feel are fundamentally changing how we experience hospitality?

Julia Krebs

Yeah, like you said when you were visiting us, I think it was almost a year and a half ago, right? More or less? Correct, correct. And we give you the two on all of that and that room kind of really embodies, what we’re trying to achieve. So yes, it’s there, to teach students the basics of housekeeping. So yes, they will have to get into the housekeeping uniform and we obviously teach them about certain cleaning principles and all of that. So they have that basic understanding. And of course, appreciation for housekeeping department. I definitely want to mention that.

But also, yes, to talk about technology. Not just obviously how do I clean a touch screen, for example. What kind of chemical should or shouldn’t I use not to damage it? But also like, okay, what kind of technology does the guest interact with? What does they what do they face? And what do we use, let’s say, in the back to monitor the business, to to run the business, to connect it, create synergies and all of that?

So it’s important for us to show that when it’s, like, an in room tablet. How does the guest make a room service order, and how does that actually end up in room service? And then there’s actually a kitchen order, and then food gets delivered, and then there’s an invoice that then goes into the bill and all of that. Technology system, is sometimes, new to the students and obviously, very interesting to learn about how this all kind of, spiderweb, like, connects to to everything.

So for them to have a basic understanding of that. But also more importantly, how do we as a hotelier or manager, owner of the property, use it to run the business, to make a business decision? What is my latest revenue output? What is the most popular, dish of my room service menu or my pool menu? And why do people use that? And, yes, we can use technology a lot for that to do an online check-in or pre check-in, and then later to have an app to order by the pool if they they don’t want to call for the pool boy to to place their order, etcetera. Because some people just prefer to type rather than to sometimes speak to someone or they’re in a meeting, and they don’t want to obviously, go out from there.

So all these different aspects on how it changes service. So not everything has to be always specifically in an order to achieve a certain standard. I think that’s very important to make them understand. Because the the students are in the beginning. They’re very good in learning the steps. Okay. Greet the guest. Ask for passport. And and do all these things. Which is important, but at the same time is how do we now incorporate technology and play around with it to make it somewhat interactive but not using it against us in the sense of that we’re cutting out the service and that we are not having the interaction with the guests anymore.

And that’s where usually I come in with, a very strict voice and I say, okay, look, guys, we can show you different cloud based platforms and technology connections, which we will all use and and have to use. So the more we familiarize you with them and let you play around the system and and do things with it, the better. So then when you go for your practicals, you don’t shy away from it. You’re not worried about it. But at the same time, it’s always think about how does the guest feel about it? How do they use it? And what do they get out of it? If it’s be going too complicated and too long for them to place a wrong service order, don’t do it. It’s not going to work because it’s just going to make the guest frustrated. And then from there, we have to solve complaints and issues that we would ideally not have or that we’re trying to avoid by using technology.

So that balance is very important because thinking of our students now that they are generation set, technology obviously is the first thing they love to jump at. And it’s in a nice way, pulling them back a little bit and talking about, okay, hospitality is a lot more about people. And the interaction and relationships between, us and the guests. So that’s important. Now they don’t forget about that.

Sebastien Leitner

Fascinating. I’m curious. You brought up a point that, you know, the students jump at technology readily or easily, right? What are they teaching you? Right? I mean, you’ve been in this industry for a long time and but, you know, have you and I’m sure you may or may not have been in a situation where they’re actually telling you new things that you feel maybe we as an industry or the older, adults, right, have not yet embraced as much as they are potentially embracing something.

Julia Krebs

Sure. I think that they are very good because obviously they’re very used to technologies and making it work for them. That’s obviously something I’m always impressed with that even if something is never perfect, but they find ways around it and they find ways to make it work for them. When you use something, when you will use an app and after three, four, five times you give up, it’s like, okay, delete. I move on. I don’t want to use it anymore because somehow it’s not working for me. But they, I don’t know, do trial and error in in a different way, I guess. They approach it differently. So somehow they tweak it and they make it work. So they find different connections between different technologies or different ways to connect them.

And then, for example, one idea that I just think about now, we had a student, probably a couple of semesters ago graduating and his idea, his heart really heartfelt project was to develop an app that will allow customers, in this case for flights, to say I, will pay for my luggage based on the weight. And whatever is left in my allowance, I will kind of donate to the airline. So they can put cargo on the plane, for example, and they can make money with that. But in return, I get certain benefits whether it’s not necessarily always money back, but points or upgrades, access to the lounge, etcetera, etcetera. So you wanted to connect all, the airline membership systems, but purely on the luggage.

And to an extent, of course, also when we look into c o two emissions and all of that, making lanes more sustainable and and and obviously travel in itself. So that was his hardship project, when he left from here. So that’s something that maybe I personally would never have sort of thought about. Yeah. You sign up for the mileage and all these kind of benefits you get, but you don’t really think about, okay, if I have only seventeen kilos in my language, but I’ve got a twenty three kilo allowance, what happens to those extra kilos?

Sebastien Leitner

Fascinating. But you almost Yeah. I like it because it almost sort of incentivizes you to bring less on the trip. Right? And and it’s potentially one way of promoting sustainability, right? Because a heavier load or heavier luggage will require more fuel to carry, right? And etcetera, etcetera. So what can we create an ecosystem in which we incentivize travelers to leave that extra coat or leave that extra pair of shoes at home and, you know, travel with what is really needed.

Julia Krebs

Fascinating. Now I’m curious if I want to revise that as well. Like how much allowance should we actually allocate stories that airlines wanted to charge by weight of the passengers at some point or maybe that was just Sure, why we stand up like in a bus holding onto a railing. I hope we’re not getting there too soon.

Sebastien Leitner

No. You talk a lot about maintaining the human touch, even, you know, with with a lot of the new emerging technology, with the apps, with the sort of digital check-in experience. I guess I’m going there with for two reasons. One is, how do you define the the human touch and hospitality? I’d love, you know, your your definition. And also, you know, how do you how do you promote this amongst your students, if that if that makes any sense?

Julia Krebs

Yep. I think human touch is I mean, it’s not always obviously related to a physical touch, but how do I, overcome, bridge certain interaction obstacles sometimes with a guest. Obviously, that could be pure technology wise if something is not running smoothly and we need to sort that out. But also in the way we obviously now engaging with guests. And it becomes, important to always kind of reflect back for a second and become kind of, to an extent, a mind reader or at least a people reader in in terms of, okay, what stage is the guest in right now? Sort of emotionally speaking, are they very stressed? Are they in a rush? Or are they super relaxed and happy? And obviously, what sort of is their yeah. What is their story right now? Their situation, their environment. If they’re traveling alone with someone, with kids and all of that. So you always adapt it.

So, in my career was always important that in the company that I worked for, like I said, that we, yes, we had standards and certain things had to be followed, but we were always so free as staff or managers to customize and adjust. So it didn’t matter if I asked you for the passport in the first two minutes or at the very end, just before I give you the key or even in in your room or however the guest obviously were feeling for because some they won’t directly talk to you about what should I do and what is the experience like? I’m the first time in Asia and some are okay. I’ve been before. I know the stuff. Like, just give me my key and I’m off. So we could always just make it so personal in that sense that we didn’t have to, not necessarily skip all the steps, but let’s see, rearrange them and sometimes come back to the guest.

And some of the things is that’s what I was trying to teach the staff, in the hotels. I didn’t have to teach them service and smiles and be happy and accommodating to the guest. That was all there and it was beautiful. But it was more like, okay, look, now we have a family here with three children. Why are we forcing them to go for a check-in in the lobby? Doesn’t make any sense. They’re not listening to us. They’re trying to control the kids that just got off a plane. We need to get them out into the holiday mood. We need to let them calm down and and all of that. So directly, room check-in. Let’s go. We go in the room. The kids are somewhat together contained. They can already jump on the bed and play with the teddy bears. Parents now have a minute to just calm down. We do a brief check-in and then we say, look, you settle in. And whenever you have time later, come to reception or call me. I’ll come back and we talk about whatever else that needs to be done. So that sort of like and they’re like, oh, yes. Thank you so much. Like, in the other hotel, we had to stand there for fifteen minutes until all the papers were completed and all the formalities were done. And we’re just so happy to be here now and relax for a minute, eat something, have a shower, and then we’ll get back to you.

So I that’s, taking that hassle away from them. I think that’s the in that particular example, for example, the the idea. So these kind of things I think is that’s what creates the human touch because that creates that real connection because you really have anticipated, understood the guest, and his, her, their particular need in that moment. So that is usually, for me, was the greatest joy that I we saw in their faces, in their eyes. Yes. You get me. Thank you so much.

Sebastien Leitner

So so you’re teaching mind reading or body language reading? To an extent, yes. Sometimes I say, look, people, we are sometimes like a psychologist or we are sometimes like, like I said, a mind reader or even a magician, etcetera. Like, it depends what you need to which role you need to assume and jump into to get the guests to where they need to be, not just in terms of place and destination, but, in their experience and their they have state of mind, etcetera.

Julia Krebs

Yeah. We have to talk about the the two letter acronym that the world talks about changing how we do business, how we do work, the AI component to it.

Sebastien Leitner

But before we go there, I had an experience to speak traveling, via the US. And it was one of the first experiences that was completely digital. Right? Customs agent did not see my passport or my boarding. They took a picture of me, and they knew who I was, where I was traveling to. I’m the same at the gate. Right? Like, I guess I’m asking this for two reasons. Do you think such technology will ever make it to hotels? Where, you know, we no longer ask for credit cards, for passports. We just take a picture of Juliet Krebs. We know who you are, what your preferences are, what your are, what your payments, what your nationality is, where you’re coming from, where you’re going. We know everything. Now in, in North America, specifically in the US, a lot of that is driven by security concerns and making sure that there’s seamless and to a certain extent, you know, addressing shortages with staff potentially. Right? Do you see that happening in hospitality anytime soon? This type of ish. I guess digital guest profile to an extent, right?

Julia Krebs

I mean if you look at Dubai where they now have the e signature as in like your thumbprint. And that’s how you sign for your Everything. Or whatever. Yeah. So they just you take that and then you just go kind of going back to middle ages without putting it on on paper and and all of that with ink. But that sort of approach, it could potentially reach us. Yes.

And, because obviously, if it’s already in the airport, it’s already in the industry. It’s already part of the journey. It could be implemented into hotels. It’s always, like you said, a security issue, or a, a need for data security, and that sort of thing. That’s probably the the, the first key point to overcome and look at.

I’m not sure how this will, let’s say, make the guest journey more enjoyable to the extent, Okay, I have communicated my preferences. They know everything about me, so to speak. Got it. But then if we don’t, again, step up to the plate and deliver the service and the world that we’re promising, so then it would be and I’m exaggerating right now. I’m just being very negative. Another way to store data about our guests and we’re not really using it. We’re not doing much with it. We’re not actually, focusing on what Customizing, tailoring. Yeah. How do I get something out of it?

I think AI will help us. I’ve been in the sales marketing revenue approach because it will help us to track more, an online journey of a customer. How do they actually reach us? Because sometimes it’s still to an extent difficult to track your different campaigns, and where the guest actually, eventually are coming from because they could see an ad on Instagram and then they remember your your ad and your name. But then later when they book you, they go to any known OTA or do your direct website directly. But you don’t actually have the confirmation that initially they saw you on your social media, for example. So that might be easier for us to, to track the marketing budget and make sure that we are spending the money right there and getting the guests in that we really want to.

How this will eventually be incorporated into the actual service when the guest is in the hotel, there, we need to probably carefully evaluate different opportunities it might bring us. It probably will be there sooner than later, but maybe less in the actual directions that we do.

Sebastien Leitner

Fascinating. Well, Julia, I I really appreciated, you know, the time we spent together. Before we wrap it up, I I’m curious, you know, you’ve been in this all along, and, you’ve you’ve probably seen a lot of properties and a lot of, when you travel yourself now, is it a vacation rental? Is it a hotel? Like, help me understand what, where are you staying? Where are you indulging yourself? What is the vacation to you?

Julia Krebs

I think it depends who I’m going with. That is my priority, to make sure that everyone’s needs are met and and obviously that they’re getting the experience that they want. Now as the mother speaking, I’m sorry, but it’s just hard to approach. Sure. If I would go just me or with my husband, sort of just us, we would definitely go for a nicer, hotel and that sort of thing because we we do love to experience it ourselves and indulge a little bit if we would go more for family, and that sort of thing.

So sometimes, yes, it’s a vacation rental as well because sometimes we enjoy also this sort of privacy. And it’s not that we cons constantly and again, exaggerating, needing the service and, and that sort of thing. Just having a bit more on our own pace. And even we do obviously require certain things, you can always request services. So it really depends on on who I’m going with. I make them more the priority and, in most cases actually my husband is the one choosing the hotels that we come to. It’s sort of, it’s a bit of his sport and hobby, to research and then he presents me with a little selection and he’s like, no, but this one, that one. And then the usual sort of thing and I said, you decide.

Sebastien Leitner

For somebody working in this, it must be an inspiration as well. Like, you you may I mean, you could argue that a vacation in a hotel in your particular case is almost R and D. You’re doing research while you’re because you’re observing the services being delivered. You’re, you’re pro you’re probably relaxing a little bit differently than a typical hotel guest. Is that fair?

Julia Krebs

Yes. Yes. I had a particular experience one time with my aunt. We went somewhere and she was like, so are they doing this right? And is this correct? And should the class be here and that? And I’m just like, please can you stop obsessing about all service procedures because I can’t. Like I’m and now I’m looking for every single mistake that they’re doing. And it’s just, yeah winding me up a little bit. So yes, sometimes it does happen. But I’m better now. I can disconnect from it better now.

Sebastien Leitner

So you’re not always a teacher. Julia Krebs needs a holiday as well from time to time. On that note, thank you so much for joining me today. This is a great conversation. Look forward to seeing you again in Spain at twenty five degrees Celsius, which apparently it is there right now. I’m sure it’s sunny and there’s a blue sky as well. Thank you again for joining me today.

Julia Krebs

Thank you so much, Sebastian. Appreciate it. Take care.

Sebastien Leitner

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