Igor Gondár, director of Hotel Zlatý Kluchik: "In recent years, we have been more HR professionals and psychologists than hoteliers - the positive thing is that we are still not psychiatrists."
Just as Zobor is a natural dominant of the city of Nitra, the Zlatý Klucik hotel is a dominant hotel. An excellent restaurant, quality services, above-standard accommodation, luxurious wellness and much more, including romantic weddings, lounges and complete congress equipment. Not to mention one of the best views Nitra has to offer. From the hotel's terrace, you have a panoramic view of the city spread out below, which is especially magical at night. The four-star hotel Zlatý Klucik with the attribute Superior will satisfy even the most demanding customer. If you are looking for a romantic escape from reality, a place for a wedding, corporate events or just a delicious dinner or a relaxing massage, you would be hard pressed to find a better place in the region.
Since our last conversation with the current director of the Zlatý Klucik hotel, we talked seven years ago, during which time a lot has happened. From career challenges, life changes to the pandemic years at the end of which there was an offer for the vacated chair of director Zlaté Klucik. Igor Gondár is a seasoned manager with many years of experience behind him, who has many successful projects that he helped start and set up processes all over Slovakia. On this sunny day, we will talk about the hotel industry, the challenges that the entire segment is currently facing, but also about his life and work at Hotel Zlatý Kľúčik.
Covid has left traces across the entire gastronomic and hotel segment. How did you manage the pandemic as a person who sits mostly in the director's chair?
Paradoxically, quite well. Through covid, I worked as a project manager and later the executive director of the RAJ zdravia Ayurvedic center in Bratislava, while the most difficult period caught me in the pre-opening phase. I didn't have to solve problems like many of my colleagues in the purely hotel business. Those who persevered deserve credit. I am grateful to the owners of the RAJ health center for the "headwind" in which I was able to endure this difficult time.
Why such an atypical project as an Ayurvedic center?
I like challenges, although I don't like the profane word itself. However, I can't name the dynamics, or rather the adrenaline, that propel me forward and give me ever new motivation. In addition to the corresponding assessment, I also need the knowledge that I can move things forward and that my presence in the project has meaning for internal satisfaction. For the owner, employees and clients. For this reason, for the last 10 years I have been almost exclusively working on new projects or some form of reboot. I usually have a contract with the owners for 2-3 years, where we determine competencies and goals. Once they are achieved, my role ends and the project is taken over by the "long-distance runner", who is better able to cope with the routine.
RAJ zdravia is a yoga-Ayurvedic center, which also includes accommodation, a lacto-vegetarian restaurant, a fresh bar, a SPA and a shop. Compared to a standard hotel, however, these are complementary services to Ayurvedic therapies and physical activities. The primary focus of the center is longer-term treatment stays and programs. Since I worked mainly in wellness and spa hotels in the past, it was not a completely atypical project for me. Rather, the expansion of know-how in the field of Ayurveda and a holistic approach to health. RAJ health is exceptional in this.
Hotel Kľúčik in Nitra has become your next project. Why did he appeal to you?
With its currently unused potential and deformed reputation. In the post-covid period, this hotel needs new impulses aimed at further improving the quality of services and improving the economy. A few years ago, there was a media lynching of the hotel, which significantly damaged its reputation. Good partnership relations and public trust are built in business through quality services and a pro-client approach. Therefore, I perceive any assessment as destructive or even dangerous. For an individual, a company, and the whole society.
How do you perceive the hotel today?
Last year there was a change of owner, management and several investments. We renovated part of the rooms cat. Standard (a quarter of the total room capacity of 44), modernized the reception area, the lobby bar and Restaurant Cle d'Or and Frenchie Terrasse. The hotel is located in a highly attractive environment at the foot of Zobor with a panoramic view of the entire Nitra. The space is architecturally very well managed with a high sense of detail. The hotel has modern conference facilities - the Louis XIV Congress Hall with a capacity of 150 guests and the Louis XIII Meeting Room with a capacity of 20 guests, all equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The hotel grounds include an exclusive wedding pavilion with a capacity of 120 guests and a garden for outdoor wedding ceremonies. High-quality gastronomy with a concept that combines French cuisine with Slovak tradition has a long-standing tradition. The hotel is the holder of many gastronomic awards. The themed Oriental Luxury SPA and a fitness center with professional equipment are at guests' disposal. The high standards of services provided by the hotel staff are a matter of course. All of this makes Hotel Zlatý Kľúčik the flagship of the hotel industry in the Nitra region and is also a space for self-realization of smart and passionate people.
Is Zlatý Klucík also a "start up"?
No, because Hotel Zlatý Klucik has been on the market for 30 years. In this case, it is a restart, which is a little more difficult than starting "on a green field". Assembling a team of people of your own choosing is more rewarding (though not easier) than working with people whom you inherit, so to speak, from previous management. Everyone usually has their own stereotypes and ruts that are harder to let go of. It is important to follow up on the good things from the past, and to integrate new procedures in the case of wrong ones.
To what extent can the project be restarted with the original employees?
The prerequisite is the transfer of new energy and positive motivation to the original employees. In biblical speech - "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be new dough". In a restart, even more than in a start-up, not only professional and human qualities are expected, but also a healthy level of enthusiasm and enthusiasm for the project is essential. Being competent is not enough in this case. In Zlatý Klucík, I think we have succeeded in this first step in the last 6 months. In addition, some new and old-new employees joined the team. After a two-year "exile", chef Viliam Beňo returned, having previously worked at the hotel for 12 years and was also behind its successful gastronomic concepts. We hired Zuzana Antalová from Hotel Lomnica for the position of marketing manager. We replaced the positions of reservation, event and sales manager from the original lineup. Seeing the new employees pulling together with the original ones is amazing, as well as seeing resigned people wake up in the post-covid era.
What does the new director actually mean for the hotel itself?
New expectations from everyone. From the owners, employees, guests and the director himself.
There is a certain degree of uncertainty associated with this, but for people who want to change things for the better, this is a positive phenomenon. In the best case, the hotel director will come from hotel operations or hotel marketing. In the worst part of finance... I am always amused by the statements of new managers (even in the professional media), who as "globetrotters" know the operation from the side of the guests and are therefore 100% ready to manage it competently. And they don't doubt it at all...
Are we in a position today that we can afford to make layoffs in this segment?
Everyone is replaceable to some extent. The question remains, how qualitatively, quickly and therefore at what price? With each change, it is necessary to assess the time required to acquire and integrate a new worker, as well as the degree of risk of his staying. Of course, there are situations when a manager must not be afraid to make such a decision even today. Otherwise, the employee senses it, the manager becomes a prisoner of his employees, pressure comes not only from above (from the owners) but also from below (from the employees), and over time it leads to anarchy among the employees and disgust and even frustration among the managers. However, dismissal should always be a last resort. A specific problem in a restart is legacy workers who have not internalized the change, who corrode the team from within by spreading negativism and "verbal poison". Such "union predators" cannot have a place in the team, because they destroy the efforts of everyone else. In such a case, the manager must be principled in the same way as in the case of theft, alcohol or other gross violations of work discipline.
Speaking of working with people, what should a good manager be like? And what are you like?
Simplification, he must be a leader. Professionally competent, strict and humane at the same time. Positive motivation is increasingly needed, especially in the younger years. Hotel management is no longer just about knowledge of hotel operations and management procedures. It includes a wide range of knowledge and experience from other areas as well, such as marketing, economics, accounting, law, HR and psychology. I will say a little arrogantly that in recent years we have been more HR professionals and psychologists than hoteliers. On the positive side, we are still not psychiatrists….
Well, what I am specifically, you have to ask my colleagues about that 😊.
With what goals did you enter the hotel?
I took over the hotel after covid, when measures really had to be taken to cut costs. For this reason, there was a lack of standard middle management and functions that should not be cumulated in a hotel of this category were also cumulated. Therefore, the first goal was changes in the organizational structure and in the overall organization of work.
Conceptual marketing and active sales, which we started working on since September of last year, were absent from the hotel. The goal is a gradual increase in sales by 50% within three years with the corresponding EBITDA, further recovery of the sales structure by increasing the share of sales for accommodation to the level of min. 50% of the total volume, increasing the average room occupancy to 55% with an increase in ADR of 20% in the identical time period. This presupposes further improvement or expanding hotel services and significantly improving the pro-client approach. To change the experienced mental attitude "We are Zlatý Klucic and the guest must be grateful when he can use our services". Realize that today's guests can spend their money elsewhere and the competition has not rested on its laurels in recent years. And a specific goal, a kind of icing on the cake for this hotel, is the restoration of its credibility on the part of the public.
What is important for the success of this project?
The basic recipe is the same for every project. Success = destination + service + marketing. The quality of services is affected by the already mentioned investments, the personnel side and, in case of restarts, also innovations. Today, marketing, especially the digital one, means a separate professional discipline in hotels together with revenue management. In our hotel, the marketing and reservation manager is already working on them conceptually in cooperation with external specialists. We cannot directly influence the attractiveness of the destination. We try to help her with our own contribution in the form of quality accommodation, gastronomic and wellness services, even if this is not always appreciated by the residents.
Is it an ambition to go to five stars?
Not. A quality four-star hotel is better than a five-star hotel that does not meet this standard. For services in the 5* standard, it is necessary to have guests who are willing to pay the corresponding price for it. Such a demand, which reflects on the attractiveness of the destination, is, in my opinion, exclusive to Bratislava. That's why we want to continue on the path of honest 4*. The unified European classification of the Hotel Stars Union platform allows this hotel category to be labeled Superior. And although Slovakia is only an observer, not a full member of the HSU, and there is currently no regulation of the categorization at the national level, we adopted this designation to differentiate ourselves from the competition.
How was last year's season?
Good, but not so good that it can't be better. The hotel recorded a total increase in operating revenues of 22,8%. However, the task to be solved remains the unhealthy structure of revenues with the dominance of revenues for catering services, lower occupancy of rooms and the average price per room. In the structure of overnight stays by nationality, the share of foreign guests increased to 50,38%. This is related to the representation of multinational companies in the region, but also to the high demands on the quality of services by foreign guests.
What news are you planning in the near future in Zlaty Klucík?
Since the beginning of February, we have been changing the breakfast concept from a standard buffet breakfast with front cooking to a French country buffet, to which the interior of the Frenchie Terrasse is also adapted. Under the name Golden Family-LunchTime, we are reviving very popular family Sunday lunches in the past with a traditional way of serving. In the spring, we plan to relaunch another successful gastronomic concept from the past. Under the name Golden Grill Party, it will be an all-you-can-eat dinner with grilled specialties on the summer terrace with a panoramic view of the city. In addition to the classic model of changing the seasonal à la carte every first day of the year, the Golden Menu, designed primarily for business clientele, changes on a weekly basis. Twice a year we continue the successful Live-Cookings from the past, while one of them is always organized as a benefit event. We donated the proceeds from the last one, which took place in November last year, to support the civic association Pomóhajko z Drázoviece. For 2024, we have also prepared new stay packages and themed events in accordance with the hotel's philosophy, such as Golden Randez-Vous, Golden Vitality, Cherchez La Femme and Golden Etiquette. During the summer, there is a cooking school with Vil Beň under the name Golden Culinarie or a wedding exhibition Golden Wedding Show, which we want to organize also in cooperation with our suppliers. During the autumn months, we want to return to the successful theater performances in the band with the subtitle Golden Theater and at the end of the year to the Advent concerts Golden Christmas Melody. Based on my experience from previous projects, since October last year we have launched traditional Asian massages and Ayurvedic therapies at Oriental Luxury SPA, which we provide in cooperation with external therapists from India, Nepal and Bali. We are currently the only one in the Nitra Region for relaxing (non-medical) Ayurveda. However, we are preparing other news that are necessary for the restart of the hotel. We recommend interested parties to follow our website www.zlatyklucik.sk or presentations on social networks.
Why do young people especially not want to work in the catering industry or the hotel industry?
In short, a lot of work, less free time, money and social contempt. I don't want to generalize, but a large part of our "millennials" want to have a job, money and free time at the same time, and they want it now. Insolence is called healthy self-confidence, there is a lack of humility and patience to work hard and to sacrifice something to achieve the goal. The mentality of society is such that manual work is actually a shame. This is a problem in many industries, but it is most pronounced in tourism. There is a lot of manual work here, work is done on Fridays and holidays, the economic pressure is lower compared to other industries and therefore wages are lower. Subsequently, a lack of interest in the industry is already evident in secondary vocational schools. And so a cyclical problem arises.
How do you motivate your employees to reduce the turnover rate?
Money always comes first. It is true that every price (even the price of work) is always an equilibrium, i.e. balance between supply and demand. Since the demand for work in the hotel business and rent in the catering sector is significantly higher than the supply of qualified labor, the pressure to increase wages is also increasing. Often without any rational basis in labor productivity. Therefore, in personnel plans, I always count on at least identical salary evaluations as in the case of competitors in the region. Specifically, in Hotel Zlatý Kluchik, it is 10-20% more, which corresponds to our expectations. In second place is positive motivation. Each of the employees must have the opportunity to participate in decision-making and operation within the scope of their competences. I don't assign tasks "from the table", I learn to listen, communicate a lot and sometimes, for the benefit of the whole, even change my original decision. Integrating employees into the joint decision-making process is even more important for new projects and wherever we want to achieve positive change. In third place is a healthy working environment and good relations between colleagues. Therefore, I assess each new team member not only from a professional point of view, but also from a human point of view. I try not to get into conflicts if the employees can resolve them themselves. On the other hand, I always categorically take action against slander and intrigue. I am paving the way for complete openness "between the four eyes". To strengthen relationships at the workplace, I organize teambuilding four times a year (joint skiing, afternoon by the water, hiking and Christmas party). Where the job classification allows, I try to fill the positions with employees of approximately the same age. In fourth place is the possibility of professional growth. We organize regular trainings especially for employees in the catering department. In fifth place are the employee program and other benefits for employees and their families in the form of discounts and selected free services in the hotel. It's all so simple, yet so complicated.
In the beginning, we talked about how you managed Covid. In what state did the corona virus leave the hotel industry in Slovakia?
Covid left damage from which several operations have not recovered. Some smaller ones, and especially those that did not have financial support from other sources, could not handle the situation and the market was slightly reduced. The drop in sales in combination with the increase in energy prices and the increase in the price of labor were literally the last nail in the coffin of the industry, which even before the pandemic showed low added value. Many quality people left to work in other segments or abroad. We lost some foreign guests who did not return for the pre-covid period. This is a problem at the national level. While the number of overnight stays by domestic guests in hotels and guesthouses in September 2023 reached the level of the tourist record year 2019 (according to data from the Slovak Ministry of Education), the drop in overnight stays by foreign guests was almost 13% in the same period. This should be a reminder for us whether the quality of our services and/or the attractiveness of the destinations corresponds to the prices, taking into account the quality-price ratio of competing facilities abroad (not taking into account our costs). Young Slovaks already consider themselves Europeans, have no language barrier and are used to traveling "on their own". At the same time, they compare and do not forgive anything. A relatively large proportion of overnight stays in traditional destinations are still recorded by guests from the Czech Republic. Slovakia is also interesting for them because of its geographical and linguistic proximity. Many of them are "resident recidivists" who have worn out sidewalks since the time of the common state. In the same way that the drop-out of younger generation home guests may grow, this nostalgia of Czech guests will not last forever either. In this context, a memory from a recent skiing trip in Kaprun resonated with me. It is already a common standard to see cars with BA license plates (or others from Western Slovakia) in Austrian ski resorts. But seeing cars with license plates KK or PP is at least thought provoking. If we do not work on the quality of services, pro-client approach and together on the attractiveness of destinations, the number of cars in foreign destinations may increase. Telling ourselves that we have beautiful mountains or quality spa springs is not enough.
Article author: Kávičkari.sk/ Rudolf Sladkovský