Q-1: Mrs. Petroni, the first thing one notices about the Alvear Palace is the impressive architecture of this building, based on a classic and traditional style. Could you tell me a little more about its history and its location here in the centre of the Recoleta area?
A-1: At the beginning of the century, Argentina was positioned among the richest countries in the world, due to the devastation of the European countries after the war. The commercial relationship with Europe was very fluent and the Argentines wanted to give the Europeans a place where they would feel right at home, this is why they decided to build the Alvear Palace Hotel. Although the project started in 1922, it was not finished and inaugurated until 1932. One of the reasons why it took them 10 years to build the hotel is that most of the materials used in the construction were brought from Europe. It was built in a classic Louis XV, Louis XVI style and it was originally conceived to be a hotel. Built in La Recoleta, the most exclusive place in Buenos Aires, the Alvear Palace Hotel became a place where the Argentine aristocracy met for Tea, Sunday brunches and the most splendid social events. All these traditions are kept in these days.
During the military government period, tourism was not so big in Argentina and many of the apartments were sold to privately owned hands. With the return of the democracy, Argentina also won back its interest in tourism and this is how - once again with the purpose of giving people from all over the world the possibility to stay at a hotel that could compete with the best ones in the world - a group of shareholders bought the Alvear Palace Hotel in 1984. Lots of work and money have been invested in the hotel since then. It was a hard job to gain back all the apartments and bring back the glamorous essence the hotel had years ago. Today, all this effort paid. off and the Alvear Palace Hotel is among the best hotels in the world and compared with other hotels as the Crillon, the Four Seasons, the Ritz...among others.
Q-2: These last few years the hotel situation in Buenos Aires has changed with the building of modern hotels. How would you compare this hotel with the modern ones like the Hilton for example?
A-2: Yes, it is true that the hotel market has changed substantially after the opening of the Hyatt first, then the Caesar, then the Sheraton Towers and finally the Hilton last year. But this has made us reach for higher standards of service. The arrival of more hotels to the market has allowed us to improve on what the Alvear Hotel was at one time. We have established a position since we defined our mission, which, for many years has been to be the best luxury hotel in Buenos Aires. Working in that direction I feel we have achieved our aim. There is no doubt that, despite the competition from the Hyatt, which we recognise and look upon with great respect, at this moment our hotel charges the highest rate on the market and has the highest occupancy as well. We compare rate- average- occupancy daily with these four or five hotels that we consider are in our market niche and there is no doubt we excel in average rate and in occupancy.
Q-3: Proof of this would be the fact that the Alvear Palace is one of the Leading Hotels of the World”. Could you tell us a little more about them and similar qualifications?
A-3: We joined the Leading Hotels of the World in the year 1994. Leading does routine inspections of the standards of the hotel because if they are not maintained we are excluded from the benefits of belonging. In fact two weeks ago we had a new hideaway inspection and it was very satisfactory. As for the rewards, we have the only relaisgourmand restaurant in the Argentine, which is The Bourgogne. This gives us a good position because of the two standards, we are Leading and we are Relais Chateau. In the month of June, September and October we were recognised by different highly prestigious international publications where we were positioned as one of the best 11 hotels of the world and in another within the 20 best hotels of the world. We are really deeply proud because we are the only Argentine hotel with Argentine management and capital. It is not easy to achieve these rewards which are recognised world-wide. It is the result of many years’ effort. We ended the year 2000 feeling very happy because the recognition is most rewarding.
Q-4: Many of the guests at luxury hotels are businessmen. You also receive personalities as renowned as the Emperor of Japan is. Could you tell us something about his visit?
A-4: I’d be glad to, because one of the things that really gratifies me is having been present to receive the Emperor and Empress of Japan. Their humility was one of the things that most drew my attention to them as persons. At their arrival when we welcomed them, and during the whole of their visit, they were so pleasant and grateful to be in Argentina. As they left they wanted to personally bid farewell to all the staff who had attended to them. On the ground floor of the hotel we formed a circle with the chambermaids, butlers, receptionists, waiters, waitresses and one by one they were greeted and thanked with much humility. It was a pleasure to be present at such a moment. We worked very hard for the Emperor’s visit and for many months previous to their arrival. We wished to find out about things that pleased them both. In this manner, we found out that the Emperor was interested in studying fish that could be found in the southern part of our country, in Patagonia. We contacted a specialist in this type of fish and asked him to get us some nursery specimens and had them put into a special fish tank in his room. It was a sizeable tank, 2 metres by 1 metre. The expression on his face when he saw it was of real amazement and joy because he had written a book on these fish, which are seen in very few places in the world. It was a pleasure to regale them with something we knew they would very much like. This visit was very impressive because they are the last emperors we will ever see in our day. | Q-5: No doubt the staff has to be trained to be able to offer service of this quality. Can you tell us something about your personnel training programmes?
A-5: We have been working on that for years. We have our own internal trainers in the Human Resources area. Then within each category, such as Food and Beverage and Rooming, for instance, we train people who in turn train other people in their area. This has been very successful. We always have to keep working. Yesterday and today we had courses on everything to do with Sales and products offered at the hotel. Every week we have training courses for different categories in the hotel. We also combine it with client service to keep raising the standard.
Q-6: Could you comment on the number of rooms and suites the hotel has as well as the occupancy levels achieved during the year?
A-6: The hotel has 210 rooms and 120 suites. There is a big difference between them all. This gives us flexibility because we always have the right product for the clients’ needs. They go from one-chamber rooms to a one-chamber room with a hall, to two or three chambers. All our rooms have fresh flowers, which is a detail our guests very much appreciate. There is also a basket of fruit every day, butler service for all floors, permanently available for whatever the guest may need, such as packing, unpacking, shoe polishing, reservations and flight confirmations. We also have a complimentary pressing service. Internet is available in the rooms on request and intelligent telephones that control room temperatures. I think it is important to emphasise, and this has always been our aim, that although the building has a 1930’s style, we have tried to give it all the technology and modern facilities that our guests require. We are constantly investigating in order to improve and speed up the Internet service because we know how necessary it is for businessmen. Hotels have not changed much in the year 2000 but this is also a result of the Argentine economy. Average occupancy of the hotel was approximately between 75% and 80% in 1997 and 1998. As from mid-1999 and 2000 it has been 67% approximately. We think this tendency will change at some time and we are aiming for that.
Q-7: Could you explain to our readers about the shareholder structure and hotel partners? There is a name that stands out and that is Eduardo Eurnekian.
A-7: No, that information is not correct. The Alvear Hotel has three partners. The main shareholder is the Sutton family with over 50% of the business. There are two other a minor partners and neither of them is Mr. Eurnekian.
Q-8: What relationship do you have with other hotels such as the Llao Llao, for example?
A-8: We have a management contract with the Llao Llao since IRSA and Mr David Sutton bought the Llao Llao Hotel. In 1991 the Citibank won the tender for the purchase, overhaul and start-up of the Llao Llao. After two or three years it was sold to IRSA and then Mr David Sutton joined. As from then, the Alvear Hotel has a management contract with the Llao Llao.
Q-9: Do you think of extending your links not only in Argentine but also abroad?
A-9: I don’t know, this has not been discarded, but neither is it a short-term objective. We have examined other alternatives but they did not prove to be interesting and were not seen as feasible, and thus were discarded.
Q-10: Coming back to Buenos Aires, what are the short-term projects for the hotel?
A-10: There is a project to extend the Business Centre, which was remodelled five or six years ago and is now too small to cover the needs of our guests. We are already working on the first floor corridor where we are going to make more conference rooms, more space for computer work, and an intelligent room with screens. This is now being done. Next year we have a project for our new Health Club. Our Health Club was built a couple of years ago and is not at present up to date with market needs. We are going to build a larger pool, leave more room for exercising machines and devices and an area for massages. Another project we have in mind is to add 15 more rooms on the tenth floor. Currently there is a delightful Roof Garden on the tenth floor but it is not in great demand as, when the events get too noisy, it implies lowering the service of the guests on the ninth floor. Those are the projects for the next two years and we obviously want to keep working to widen the gap with our competitors.
Q-11: Could you comment on your previous work and how you envision the Alvear Hotel in the next few years?
A-11: I am a Chartered Accountant graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. I really started to work at my profession quite liberally, working in companies and different activities. Then I put up a professional studio and that is how I came in contact with the Alvear Hotel. I began as an external consultant in 1986 and I advised them on administrative, accounting and financial organisation of the hotel. At that time this new group began to take over the administration of the hotel. Under my external advice, the hotel increased its personnel and I was offered the Administrative and Financial Management, which I accepted. I joined in 1989 and held the position for four years. Then I was offered the General Management and here I am since 1995. My first contact with the hotel business was with the Alvear Palace Hotel. I had experienced different activities in the service area, but not hotels. I learned everything here, along with the different courses, but I did not choose hotels as a career as many of my colleagues did.
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