Meet me at the Arts Hotel…
I am celebrating 30 years of inaugurating it as director.
¿Nostalgia?
Six magnificent years crowned my life as a hotel director, in the year 2000.
A hotel manager, what does he do?
Get the customer to repeat. Every day you ask yourself: “What will I do today to help my customer improve their experience?”
An example.
A family was leaving the hotel and was just arriving at the plane… and they had lost the child’s teddy bear!
Oh.
It did not appear. They left without a bear. Already on the plane… the boy saw his teddy bear in his seat!
Miracle! How did she do it?
We found the bear. A motorcyclist took him. I pulled my strings. And that family has always returned to the hotel, of course!
How many years were you a hotel manager?
For 47 years, from 30 to 77 years old.
How many hotels did you manage?
Sixteen. Sixteen changes of house.
And his favorite was…
The Ritz Carlton Cancún: 600 employees and 365 clients.
Do you remember your first hotel?
As director, the Princess (Free Port Island, Bahamas, 1972). I made my debut as a receptionist in 1959: Palace Hotel, Lausanne.
How do I get there?
At the age of 17, I asked my father for my emancipation: my father’s signature was essential to travel abroad.
Where did you want to travel?
I wanted to leave Barcelona for Europe, I didn’t care about the country.
To do what?
To live my life and seek my future.
What did dad say?
At the farewell dinner he told me: “Lluís, you have something that can benefit or harm you: you are handsome.”
Was she exaggerating?
I was offered to play myself in the James Bond film Golfdinger: I managed the hotel in Nassau (Bahamas) and I declined out of discretion. Today I regret it!
What did your father do?
Pharmacist. My father’s father invented the Milan eraser.
My respects!
My mother cried on the platform when she saw me leaving on the train, with money for three months.
What plan did you have?
Rather dead than come back!
To work!
In Lausanne (Switzerland) I stayed in a pension. I devoured everything with my five senses! Already almost bankrupt, a pensioner colleague encouraged me to ask at the Palace Hotel. I joined as a receptionist apprentice.
What did he learn?
The basic thing is to have good teammates. They were two interesting years, with many anecdotes…
Count one.
One night some guests complained about a loud party in the suite of King Farouk of Egypt. “Go up and tell His Majesty to reduce the noise,” the boss ordered me.
Oh.
“How much is this hotel worth?” the king’s secretary snapped at me: “The king buys the hotel: the complainers, let them go!” It was five million 1959 dollars.
Did you buy the hotel?
In the end no. He single-handedly paid all the clients’ bills.
He will have lived more stories.
Like that of the Dalai Lama, here: Hotel Arts.
What happened?
He stayed for a week in 1994, with twelve people. He asked for orange sheets and curtains. But she slept on the floor.
Very austere.
He left without paying the bill.
That?
Five million pesetas.
Oh, Dalái.
I took a toll on Casa del Tíbet and other institutions: no one took charge! I wrote to Richard Gere.
The actor and Buddhist!
He responded in a kind letter… with a check: Richard Gere paid the bill.
You will have met personalities…
Michael Jackson, Julio Iglesias… But I must be discreet.
Who has impacted you the most?
Bill Clinton and Luciano Pavarotti.
As a hotelier: how do you see Barcelona?
It has a bright future if it attracts people with cutting-edge technology and money.
The secret to a hotel’s success is…
A good location, lots of hospitality… and soul!
What golden advice would you give to a hotel manager?
Surround yourself with professionals who aspire to your chair: they will give you wings! If you surround yourself with mediocre people, they will be the lead that will bring you down.
