4: In conversation with Floris van Es, General Manager Star Lodge Hotels & City Center Lodge

In this episode of the Hotelvak podcast series, we profile Floris van Es, the visibly enthusiastic General Manager of Star Lodge Hotels and City Centre Lodge Utrecht. An important personal event in his life determined how he would shape his career in the hotel industry. He talks very openly about what that event was and how it gave him the energy to make something of his life again and focus passionately on his work.

We talk to him about what hospitality really means, but we also present him with some true stories from the hotel sector. How would he deal with them? Because... working in the hotel industry doesn't just mean knowing how to deal with guests, you also need to have your own management in order and know how to motivate your employees in the right way. After all, your team can make or break your image!

We also asked Floris for a special anecdote. Too hilarious for words, because sometimes you don't know (or do you...?) what you might find in a hotel room. So, what did a guest (accidentally?) leave behind?.

Floris is also active in representing the interests of the hotel sector in Utrecht. In doing so, he consciously seeks cooperation with the government. Can you focus on attracting more quality tourism to the city in this cooperation? And how do you do that? Floris explains.

It turned into a conversation in which Floris spoke candidly about his personal life and also demonstrated from a business perspective that he had a well-founded vision of the profession. He also wanted to end this episode with a number of interesting tips and suggestions for all listeners who also work in the hotel sector.

In addition, we asked him – of course! – the question posed by our partner Lightspeed: which is more important? A quick digital check-in or a warm smile at reception?