Page 44 - Special Issue QTM 2021

P. 44

Alain Kropf (General Manager – Royal Savoy Lausanne):

“ We reinvented ourselves as a luxurious hotel based on relationship
with clients, behavior of employees & our location in Lausanne ”

From his career forged in Switzerland and internationally, Alain Kropf, an inter-
national hotelier with 20 years of experience, was able to benefit from different
perspectives and cultures of the hotel business and conveyed a vision of the hotel
industry based on donation and exchange. General Manager since 2014, he has been
weaving a link between the historic address and environment of the Royal Savoy
Hotel & Spa Lausanne. Alain Kropf sees the luxury hotel industry of tomorrow no
longer as the privilege of a few but as living, transmission and sharing spaces.
Relying on the exceptional setting offered by the Royal Savoy, his faith in his pro-
fession as a hotelier is expressed by an openness while keeping excellence in mind.
Al Bayan Magazine met Kropf on the sidelines of QTM held in Doha and conduct-
ed the following interview.

* How do you evaluate the Tourism authorities to actually launch that in companies presenting new products and
sector for 2021 in Switzerland? order for it to be busy and successful trends in technology related to travel and
- We’ve noticed that the leisure busi- as ATM. QTM is the first of its kind tourism business.
ness is coming back very strongly. Local exhibition in the country and aims to
corporate is also coming back but not as support and strengthen the competi- * What is the importance of being
much as it was on benchmark in 2019 and tiveness of tourism industry of Qatar by under the umbrella of Katara?
what is still lagging behind and will take bringing together the inbound and out- - Switzerland has always been a desti-
number of years to fully recover is the mice bound tourism together and providing a nation for people from the Gulf and
business. I think companies have to cer- market place for mutual relationship to being a Katara hospitality property in
tainly realize that they can handle part of both local and international tourism busi- Switzerland, we benefit from being asso-
their business online but at the same time nesses by promoting, upholding and dis- ciated with Qatar and we have noticed
fact to face and human interaction cannot covering the place, people, and culture. that there are more Qatari people travel-
be replaced by technology. The event offers most sought-after travel ing to Switzerland in general but to
destinations, real estate development Lausanne in particular as far as I am con-
* What are the main features of Royal projects and up-to-date luxury, business, cerned so the association with Katara as
Savoy Lausanne Hotel? medical, supports, MICE, Halal tourism, owner is a positive thing for us.
- It is a hotel that has been built with an leisure and cultural tourism trends to the
art nouveau style and these style nowa- most discerning upscale market, provid- * What will be your strategy for 2022?
days is becoming very fashionable ing insights and new perspectives to the - The Royal Savoy is very strong in the
again. The hotel is very modern future of tourism by bringing together
although it has been established in MICE front and we know MICE is diffi-
1909, we offer a new type of contempo- cult for 2022 so we have to rein-
rary luxury, it is based on relationship vent ourselves a little bit and we
we build with our clients, the behavior of are very much focusing on
employees and its location in the developing the historical part
vibrant Ouchy district of Lausanne, of the hotel for the leisure
just a stone’s throw from the business. We have
train station and Lake Geneva. improved the service and
The hotel has 196 rooms reinvented ourselves as a
and suites, a chic brasserie, luxurious hotel. At the
vast gardens and a 1500 same time we continue
m2 spa. Not forgetting the working on the corporate
sky lounge, a panoramic business especially local and
roof top with a 360 degree European corporates but definite-
view of the lake, the Alps
and the city. ly we endeavor to improve our leisure
segments and this is the prime strategy
* What is the purpose behind we have for 2022 and forward.

your participation at QTM? 44
- It is the first edition and it needs to start
somewhere, we need to command the

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