Emiliano is Brazil’s finest example of world-class luxury hospitality. Started in 2001 in the elegant Jardins district of Sao Paulo it is a Brazilian chain of 2 hotels, the other one being in the heart of Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.
„Our vision is to be today’s most sophisticated Brazilian hospitality experience that differentiates itself by directly reflecting the caring and friendly personality of the Brazilian people, and their unique style and spirit.“
- says Gustavo Filgueiras, the CEO Of Hotel Emiliano and he definitely delivers every bit of that vision.
The numerous comments praising the excellency in service and awesomeness of the staff of Emiliano Hotel in numerous online and offline reviews are striking. How do they deliver the highest hospitality standards in today’s competitive luxury hospitality industry?
A warm welcome
While offering a welcome drink, conducting the check-in a swift manner and addressing a guest by name can be pretty common in a 5‑star hotel environment, unpacking suitcases and neatly hanging your clothes in a wardrobe is pretty unique.
Apart from a welcome snack consisting of a selection of fresh fruits, pastries and a bottle of wine, Emiliano offers its guests a double CD with an ambient music.
Yes culture
Customer service is the element that can make or break a business. The Emiliano staff is simply phenomenal. Always present, pleasant and ready to help. Whether it is a recommendation of a local restaurant, attractions, niche shopping query, you can be sure you will be assisted.
Only here you inform reception by phone at 8:30 of a Saturday morning that your computer cable went blast and receive a brand new computer cable at 9:00 am at your breakfast table.
Keeping in touch
The staff communicates with each other instantly and constantly. You may be placing a request with Rafael and having it delivered by Fabiana or anyone else from the crew. Sharing information and collaboration are the basics of effective teamwork and delivering a good level of customer service, yet done so well it is surprisingly rare.
It was the first time I’ve seen a hotel staff establishing an official communication channel with hotel guest via WhatsApp.
Whether you are inside the hotel, out in town, you are always in touch and the staff is always ready to help.
Attention to detail
The welcome snack in your room is daily replenished.
The room is cleaned even on a day of your departure.
Your cables are neatly arranged using Emilianos branded cable tie.
Receipts, business cards, and little papers are clipped by housekeeping and a little, handwritten note is left on a desk: “ Dear Mrs. Richter, I have been to your room and took the liberty of organizing your belongings in the closet. Should you need any further assistance do not hesitate to contact me. Regards. Stella.“I do not remember ever having received a handwritten note from housekeeping during the last 10 years of my traveling experience, during which I probably stayed at least few hundred times in 5‑star hotels.
Every reservation the reception staff makes for you comes with a confirmation in a form of a little, elegant note, which is personally handed to you on the nearest occasion, whenever the staff sees you passing by the lobby or having a drink in a bar.
Every single staff member addresses you by your name, which is truly incredible. ( And they do not read it your name out from a card, like flight attendants in business and first class of certain airlines)
A culture of empowerment
In order to produce such incredible results of customer satisfaction, the right staff is required. Moreover, a system implementing the company’s values and standards, staff training and daily follow up. Clearly the management structure is pretty flat, during my stay I have never seen or heard of a manager, supervisor, etc. The staff seemed to be equal and equally taking responsibility for providing customers satisfaction.
In case of Emiliano Hotel the values are:
- Transparency
- Joy
- Extraordinary
- Winning Team
- Attention
All of them can be clearly observed in a daily behavior of the hotel staff. The bartender was passionately sharing his knowledge and tricks on keeping the ice frozen in order to chill the champagne bottles, beautifully presented on the top of the bar counter. He admitted the process is a bit mundane, yet he was so pleased while doing it and describing the steps.
One of the front desk staff, who was checking us in, escorted us to the room to make sure everything was fine. When she discovered that the safe wasn’t operational, she sent a technical team, who appeared within 15 minutes, despite the fact it was around 9 pm. The team fixed the safe in 3 minutes. I definitely call it a winning team.
“We believe that our core values are the ones required to succeed in both our personal and professional lives by shaping ourselves as individuals and determining how we interact with other people. “ – says Emiliano Hotel Linked In and in this case, they are not just empty words, which sound great, as the staff truly delivers and shines.
