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Profiled

Step behind the scenes of the global business travel industry with Profiled — your gateway to exclusive interviews and in-depth profiles with the travel sector’s most influential leaders, innovators and rising stars. From CEOs of international airlines to general managers of luxury hotels, travel tech pioneers to sustainability champions, this category spotlights the individuals shaping the future of business travel. Gain expert insights, leadership perspectives and behind-the-curtain stories that reveal what drives the people powering the sector. Whether you’re a frequent flyer, travel manager, or industry insider, discover how top professionals are adapting to change, driving innovation, and reimagining the travel experience in a post-pandemic world. Stay inspired and informed with every profile.

Christian Wildhaber, general manager of Mandarin Oriental, Geneva, talks to Richard Alvin about Luzern, Jakarta and what nearly thirty years in luxury hospitality taught him about leading people.
Profiled

The films from far away: Christian Wildhaber on coming home to Mandarin Oriental, Geneva

By Richard Alvin · September 14, 2026
 GM - Eugene Leonard from Hotel Cafe Royal. 1. In up to 200 words tell us about yourself, your education, prior background etc. I'm Irish, and I think there's something in our nature that encourages us to travel, explore and find our place in the world. I fell in love with hospitality very young. I started washing pots in a hotel and immediately loved the energy of it, the people, the pace, and that sense that no two days were ever quite the same. I went on to study at Shannon College of Hotel Management, which gave me an extraordinary grounding in the industry and prepared me incredibly well for an international career. The lion's share of my career was spent with Maybourne, working across some of London's most iconic hotels. I was fortunate to be involved in major renovation projects, appear in BBC documentaries about life behind the scenes in luxury hotels, meet the late Queen, and eventually move to Los Angeles to help open the group's first international hotel in Beverly Hills. California also gave me a different perspective on hospitality, particularly around culture, creativity and looking after your people. Today, I'm General Manager of Hotel Café Royal, one of London's great hotels and a member of The Set, a modern brand affiliation. I'm enormously excited about what we're building here.   2. What inspired you to pursue a career in hotel management? My father travelled extensively for business during the 1980s, and as a child it all seemed incredibly glamorous. He would come home with hotel stationery, luggage tags and little gifts from places around the world, and I became fascinated by travel and hotels long before I really understood the industry. Then I started working in one. I loved the buzz immediately. Hotels are extraordinary places because everything happens within them. People arrive from all over the world for business, celebrations, romance, family occasions and sometimes the biggest moments of their lives. That still excites me today. I often tell our colleagues that we're in the business of making people happy. There aren't many careers where you get the opportunity to do that every single day.   3. How do you balance emerging trends and evolving guests' preferences? For me, they're almost the same thing. The most important trends are usually emerging because guest behaviour is changing, so our job is to listen carefully enough to recognise that change early. We're increasingly marketing around why people are travelling rather than simply what our hotel offers. Guests might be coming to London for Wimbledon, Frieze, fashion, theatre, a concert, a family weekend or simply to experience the city. The hotel needs to become part of that reason for travelling. We're seeing greater demand for experiences, performance focused wellness, family travel, cultural connection and genuine personalisation. Technology is increasingly important too, but I don't believe technology should ever replace hospitality. It should remove friction and administration, giving our colleagues more time to engage with guests. The challenge is knowing which trends have longevity. You don't chase everything. You understand your guest, remain curious, and evolve in a way that still feels authentic to your hotel.   4. Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently? I'm not sure looking backwards and wishing things had happened differently is particularly useful. Every decision, including the ones that don't work out exactly as planned, teaches you something and ultimately shapes the leader you become. Hospitality moves incredibly quickly. I'd rather take those lessons, apply them and keep moving forward. Curiosity is important to me. You should always be asking what could be better tomorrow than it was today.   5. What defines your management style? Involved, ambitious and always striving for excellence, but also very focused on helping people realise their potential. I like being present in the hotel. You learn far more walking the floors, speaking to colleagues and guests, and experiencing the operation yourself than you ever will sitting behind a desk looking at a report. I'm demanding about standards because our guests should expect exceptional experiences, but leadership also means creating the environment in which people can deliver them. One principle I brought back from Los Angeles is very simple, look after your people and they'll look after you. We deliberately use the word colleague at Café Royal because nobody is more important than anybody else. We simply have different responsibilities. When people feel respected, supported and trusted, extraordinary hospitality tends to follow.   6. What are your strategic goals and vision for the hotel and, if appropriate, where does that integrate into the hotel group's aims? Hotel Café Royal is entering a particularly exciting chapter. As a standalone hotel, our strategy is about combining the independence and personality of an individual property with the international sales reach that The Set provides through its brand affiliation platform. Our ambition is to position Café Royal amongst the world's finest luxury hotels while making it increasingly relevant to London today. That means continuing to outperform commercially, pursuing exceptional service standards, investing in our product, developing our people, and creating new reasons for guests to engage with us. We're also opening new revenue streams through curated London experiences, family travel, retail, wellness, food and beverage, and more imaginative use of our spaces. Culturally, I want Café Royal to reclaim its position as one of London's great meeting places. For 160 years this building has attracted artists, writers, musicians, royalty, business leaders and London society. Our responsibility isn't simply to preserve that history. It's to create the next chapter of it. Ultimately, the strategy is about balancing heritage with relevance, delivering exceptional hospitality today while building a stronger, more distinctive and more resilient Café Royal for the future.   7. What advice would you give to someone starting out? Do as much as you possibly can. Work in restaurants, bars, housekeeping, kitchens, front office, finance, sales and events. Don't decide too early that one part of hospitality is beneath you or isn't relevant to your career. Understanding how the whole hotel works will make you a much better leader later. Stay curious, ask questions and find great people to learn from. Some of the most valuable lessons of my career came from watching brilliant hoteliers, chefs, housekeepers and doormen do their jobs exceptionally well. And enjoy it. Hospitality is hard work, but it's also enormous fun. You meet extraordinary people, travel the world, become part of important moments in people's lives and have opportunities you could never have planned for. At its simplest, we make people happy all day long. That's a pretty wonderful way to make a living.
Profiled

The boy who collected hotel stationery: Eugene Leonard on writing Café Royal’s next chapter

By Richard Alvin · August 25, 2026
 Juan Vidal, general manager of La Casa del Presidente in Ávila, talks to Richard Alvin about quiet luxury, a Repsol Sol in four months, and leaving Hyatt in Madrid to run a ten-room hotel in his home town.
Profiled

The ten-room homecoming: Juan Vidal on quiet luxury, Castilian cooking and running Adolfo Suárez’s old house

By Richard Alvin · August 25, 2026
 Saray Castaño Ruiz, general manager of Seville's five-star Casa Palacio Don Ramón, talks to Richard Alvin about revenue management, boutique luxury and 28 keys.
Profiled

Twenty-eight keys and no hiding place: Saray Castaño Ruiz on running Seville’s most decorated palace

By Richard Alvin · August 25, 2026
 Few careers in hospitality capture the spirit of Mediterranean elegance and international excellence quite like Giacomo Battafarano’s.
Profiled

Getting to Know: Giacomo Battafarano, Managing Director southern area, Rocco Forte Hotels

By Richard Alvin · October 14, 2025
 Set against the stunning backdrop of UNESCO-listed Halong Bay, InterContinental Halong Bay Resort is poised to redefine luxury travel in northern Vietnam. At the helm is Jesper Larson, a seasoned Danish hotelier with over 25 years of international experience across Europe and Asia.
Profiled

Getting to Know: Jesper Larsen, General Manager, Intercontinental Halong Bay Resort

By Richard Alvin · October 1, 2025
 Overlooking the Mediterranean in the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic coastal cities, The David Kempinski Tel Aviv brings European heritage, Israeli spirit, and world-class service together under one roof.
Profiled

Getting to Know: Guy Klaiman, General Manager, The David Kempinski Tel Aviv

By Richard Alvin · September 29, 2025
 Andy Roger - 1
Profiled

Getting to know: Andy Roger, Resort Director at Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort

By Richard Alvin · August 5, 2025
 On the edge of London’s vibrant East End, where street art meets skyscrapers, Hyatt Place London City East is redefining what a modern business hotel can be.
Profiled

Getting to Know: Pino Dispinseri, General Manager of Hyatt Place London City East

By Richard Alvin · August 5, 2025
 Steeped in heritage and set within the rolling countryside of Somerset, Montigo Resorts Somerset at Charlton House is a Grade II listed estate with a story as rich as its design.
Profiled

Getting to Know: Imran Mannan, General Manager, Montigo Resorts Somerset at Charlton House

By Richard Alvin · August 4, 2025
 Tucked within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll, The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort is a destination where wellness, design, and oceanfront tranquillity converge.
Profiled

Getting to know: Vijay Kumar, general manager, The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort

By Richard Alvin · July 25, 2025
 As Vietnam becomes a fast-growing hub for regional business travel, HIIVE by Fusion is leading the way with modern, wellness-oriented hotels tailored for working professionals.
Profiled

Getting to Know: Bui Duc Khiem, Cluster General Manager at HIIVE by Fusion, Vietnam

By Andrea Thompson · July 18, 2025