Leaders Magazine No 2/2009

Michael Specking General Manager Hilton Prague Hilton Prague Old Town Photo Vladimír Weiss

An interview with Michael Specking General Manager Hilton Prague Hilton Prague Old Town OUR INDUSTRY IS Based on Personalities Michael Specking 51 has been promoted to the position of General Manager of the Hilton Prague Hilton Prague Old Town He joined Hilton Prague as General Manager in July 2007 from Hilton Dusseldorf where he was General Manager from 2001 Michael Specking is a graduate from the University of Munich with a degree in Economics and Hotel Restaurant Management He has been working in the hospitality industry for more than 25 years His extensive career path with Hilton includes various positions at the Hilton Munich Park Hilton Abuja Nigeria opening Hilton Ankara Turkey opening Hilton Dresden and Hilton Dusseldorf as General Manager and most recently General Manager of Hilton Prague where he completed a major refurbishment Michael Specking is married to his wife Claudia Both enjoy having three children Leaders Magazine II 2009 61 You have worked at several Hilton hotels in Germany Could you compare these managerial positions Both countries have their own challenges and opportunities What I see as opportunities in the Czech Republic is the high degree in skills on which one can build future managers great willingness and personality which are even more important than skills Our industry is based on personalities The Hilton Prague Hotel has just undergone a large reconstruction What is its result and how was it completed Do you prepare any new projects Recently major renovation of all guest rooms has taken place The project was divided into phases over the period of three years to minimize disturbances to our guests The total investment reached 21 million Euro Five new meeting rooms with a total area of 120 square meters for up to 130 delegates were built and the total number of meeting rooms at the Hilton Prague reached 38 Other of the recent renovation projects focused on the hotel arrival area the landscaping of the entrance area was redesigned with added greenery and new trees One of the latest highlights is the Cloud 9 sky bar lounge which opened in August last year on the hotel rooftop after a nine month construction Speaking about the results we have now an upgraded product which is at customers expectations We have future project in the pipeline which is the further construction of additional meeting facilities since Hilton Prague in particular is ideal for large group business In this context how would you evaluate the new Cloud 9 sky bar lounge located on the roof half a year after its opening Cloud 9 sky bar lounge is a great enhancement to the Prague bar scene It has excellent signature cocktails created by one of the best Czech bartenders Roman Uhlíř it has a unique grazing food concept unbeatable views of Prague live DJ’s at weekends you name it No doubt it has gained its reputation amongst the local crowd which of course was our aim We have some 80 of the local Prague clientele This may be due to the fact that the prices are on the same level as in the other Prague bars the corporate identity is different from the Hilton and we are marketing it as a non hotel bar Next to the Hilton Prague Hotel a new hotel the Hilton Prague Old Town opened What is their relationship and could you compare them The Hilton Prague is a group and meeting hotel on a large scale whilst the Hilton Prague Old Town focuses on the same segment in a smaller size In fact business at the Hilton Prague Old Town is better than expected In terms of positioning having said the above the two hotels do not compete but complement each other For large events it also gives us more flexibility when participants of one event can share capacities of both properties What are the specific features of both Hilton hotels in comparison to other local hotels Firstly it is the power of the brand the Hilton is one of the leading global hospitality brands with over 3.000 hotels in more than 74 countries Globally the Hilton offers an array of signature brand products which ensures consistency of the guest experience world wide As an example it is the famous Hilton Breakfast Hilton Executive Lounge or Hilton Meetings One of the strongest assets is our loyalty program Hilton Honors which helps us to maintain our position even during these difficult economic times Could you mention what target group you focus on and how you attract potential clients At the Hilton Prague we target mainly the meeting and convention segment and group business in general the same at a smaller scale applies to the Hilton Prague Old Town in addition to that we target leisure business for weekends and low seasons We are using various channels such as online marketing printed advertising presence of our sales team during major trade fairs on our key source markets which are continental Europe UK and US with even more rigid focus during the present financial crisis Do you find Prague sufficiently interesting also for a demanding clientele Prague in general is highly attractive for the rest of he world It is a hub of the Central and Eastern Europe and with a new and enlarged airport which contributes highly to its positive trend While the Prague Convention Centre needs to be modernised and needs a plan for the future the newly established Prague Convention Bureau is on the right track streamlining various activities in the city to further increase the attractiveness of Prague Being a member I have just seen the marketing plan for 2009 telling me that this task force is in the right direction And yes clients are always demanding We should not forget that Prague competes with cities like Rome Lisbon Barcelona Vienna Berlin Copenhagen The latest statistics show that we lost ground in 2008 over 2007 so by all means we cannot lie back over the good results we achieved we must move forward Do you think the current economic crisis will have an impact on your clients In this context do you prepare any actions One would not be honest to say that the present economical crisis has no impact year on year revenue per available room at the Prague market is down by 25 in 2008 compared to 2007 Regrettably the trend continues in the first quarter of 2009 In terms of costs we are checking every area to identify potential cost reductions without jeopardizing quality At the same time we invest into technologies which on the long run help us decrease costs As an example I would like to mention our recent investment into the heat recuperation system which helps us reuse heat instead of buying expensive energy Do you have time for your hobbies Could you reveal what you like doing in your free time and what places do you like visiting Unfortunately I have less and less free time but the one which is left I enjoy spending with my family my wife Claudia three sons and a dog I am a lucky man in this respect I enjoy driving my red convertible Volkswagen Beetle of 1979 or my wild cross country motorbike BMW I am completely relaxed when I can work on the repairs and maintenance of my vehicles myself In terms of sports I am an adrenalin guy who likes to explore new horizons I am crazy about diving in winter I love skiing I found a fantastic place in the Krkonose Mountains to enjoy winter weekends By Pavlína Holancová českou verzi naleznete na www leadersmagazine cz

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