How a life of travel prepared this hotelier for this period of no travel, dogs and all
THERE was a moment during Covid-19 when Fernando Gibaja wanted to throw in the towel. It was the very first day when Capella reopened, and breakfast turned into a nightmare. “Honestly, I think it was the most difficult days that I have in my life. There was a moment that I was thinking like, I quit, I cannot do it. It was really tough.”
It learnt its lesson fast though and 24 hours later, changed the way it served breakfast. Now, breakfast is working like clockwork. “Ask any general manager, or any food & beverage director, we never thought in our lives that we could do 400, 600, 700 breakfasts, a la carte – we never thought of that,” says Gibaja.
It is this period of firsts, experimentation and adaptation that has kept the Madrid-born hotelier energised the past 20 months.
From a period of uncertainty – not knowing what would happen when the pandemic first happened – to now its greatest period of creativity, Capella is enjoying healthy increases in average daily rates and RevPar, thanks to the huge array of activities and experiences that its team has put together to tap the staycation market.
“We have more than 40 activities that we have done over the past few months. I’m very lucky to have a team full of creativity, motivation and willing to do things. You cannot believe the strength of the people when it comes to creativity – honestly, it is magnificent.”
He adds, “We have guests who have been with us over seven to 10 times in one-and-a-half years, to the point that many people were asking, what are the activities that you’re going to have because based on that, I will make my booking.”
One market it has garnered a reputation for is its “Pawcations” where guests bring their “furkids” for villa stays. Being a dog lover himself, Gibaja says, “I always say to the team, if you want to win the heart of the family, look after the kids as well as the fur kids.”
Imagine, he says, a beautiful bed prepared for the fur kids, with their name on it, as well as amenities. “We treat them like another member of the family.”
This move from just selling a room to creating experiences has been a trend in the making for a couple of years, he says, adding that the idea of luxury has come to mean different things today. In the past, he says, it was about service and recognition but now it’s about having excellent WiFi, privacy and timing.
But as much as the industry is talking about contactless at this moment, due to Covid concerns, Gibaja says people are ready to return to physical events and to be with people. “I think people are so tired of virtual meetings – the amount of requests that we have for groups to do physical meetings and events in the hotel, you cannot believe it.”
In this episode, Gibaja also shares the lessons he learnt from a Paolo in Mexico, his secret walk with his dog, Kala, in Sentosa which kept him sane, as well as where to find the best seafood in the world.