Luxury Hospitality Magazine – Sarah Borges de Sousa
Can you share some of the key lessons you’ve learned throughout your 24-year career in luxury hospitality that you plan to bring to your role at InterContinental London Park Lane?
- Consistency is key. Showing up doing your best day in and day out puts you ahead of the most
- Always put yourself in the other person’s shoes (this works with clients and colleagues) and try and to understand where they are coming from
- Ask yourself ‘why?’ This follows on from putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. If you ask yourself ‘I wonder why they did that’, you will have a better understanding of their situation and perspective
- Get excited when a problem shows up or a client challenge arises. You are either going to learn how to overcome a new challenge and take a guest relationship to the next level by resolving it.
What attracted you to join InterContinental London Park Lane, and how do you envision leveraging its unique location and features to enhance its market position?
InterContinental London Park Lane is such an outstanding hotel with a rich history of welcoming clients and dignitaries from around the world. Our location is truly phenomenal and for me it is the gateway to Royal Parks, Mayfair and the start of Park Lane. We are the global flagship for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, part of the world’s largest hotel group, IHG. It’s a privilege to be a part of such a dynamic global hospitality company that is a home to some of the world’s most trusted and successful brands and one of the industry’s leading loyalty programmes.
Can you discuss a particularly successful sales or marketing campaign you’ve led in the past, and how you achieved its success?
I successfully repositioned a hotel in the past, growing the RevPar 23%. This was done with a clever PR strategy, new approach in our sales strategy and exquisite visual content.
Given your extensive experience with leading luxury hotels, how do you plan to differentiate InterContinental London Park Lane from its competitors in the luxury market?
InterContinental London Park Lane opens doors to a world of fascination by being a true gateway to the inspiring diversity of London through a modern British lens. The unrivalled expertise of our team enables guests to feel truly ‘in the know’ from their very first interaction with us. Together with our clients we are bringing incredible occasions to life and we pride ourselves on being the backdrop to incredible stories.
What are some of the innovative initiatives you are considering to maximise the hotel’s performance during the busy holiday periods?
InterContinental London Park Lane has remarkable history and we are known for providing outstanding service in all segments of our business. We invite people into a world where great things can happen, sometimes the very best moments in life. We know how to transform an ordinary occasion to extraordinary, with style and originality, and we will continue to bring these incredible occasions to life together with our clients. We are planning to launch a winter edition of our terrace as well as exciting festive offer to come too.
How do you plan to integrate the hotel’s existing strengths, such as its location and dining options, into your overall sales and marketing strategy?
Our location, Number One Park Lane, is a massive strength, with an enviable view across London’s ever-changing cityscape. The hotel has a diverse range of dining options for our guests to choose from, including Theo Randall at the InterContinental, plus a summer terrace pop-up, Theo’s on the Terrace, which offers a slice of Italy in the heart of Mayfair. The hotel is also home to the Wellington Lounge and cocktail spot, Arch Bar, whilst this summer, we have also welcomed back our Lebanese pop-up, Najma Lebanon, which has proven very popular with our guests over the warmer months. We are continuously building on our success across the hotel by launching fresh, new offerings, including our most recent addition of the Elizabethan Royal Tea, our new signature afternoon tea which pays homage to the late Queens and has allowed us to partner with some prestigious Royal Warrant holders to deliver a refined dining experience. As the seasons change, expect to see some more changes across the hotel as we look to festive menus and promotions, plus a new winter terrace on the horizon.
What challenges do you anticipate in your new role, and how do you plan to address them to ensure continued success for InterContinental London Park Lane?
As a high achiever, there is always an expectation of yourself to know the new business inside out on a day one. Of course, that is impossible. Luckily, over time I have built up strategy to manage this. I am lucky to join a truly knowledgeable and professional team.
With your background in global sales, how do you plan to attract and retain international guests at InterContinental London Park Lane?
We are very lucky, in addition to having a strong on site property sales and marketing team, we are represented by extremely well connected and talented ‘Luxury & Lifestyle’ Global Sales team, who will continue to extend our reach and drive new customers to our hotel.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the hospitality industry. How do you plan to incorporate sustainable practices into your sales and marketing strategies?
Across IHG we endeavour to preserve our planet for all generations to travel and explore, whilst also supporting communities around us. ‘Journey to tomorrow’ is our sustainability commitment with the initiatives such as waste management, carbon reduction and water conservation. We have embarked on a 10-year action plan to ensure the beauty of travel, right now and long into future. Guided by IHG’s purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good, InterContinental London Park Lane works to help shape the future of responsible travel in London – supporting our people and making a positive difference in our local communities, while working towards preserving our planet’s beauty and diversity for generations to come.
Can you share your approach to team leadership and how you plan to inspire and support your team at InterContinental London Park Lane to achieve the hotel’s ambitious goals?
I believe in empowering your team to win, set a clear vision, create the plan and then support them with the tools and training that keep them performing at their very best.