Humans are such a massive part of the Hospitality Industry and looking after all those humans is no mean feat. Today we talk to a real heavy hitter in that space, Jose Ruiz, Director of Human Resources for The London Edition & W Leicester Square.

Jose is an effortless story teller with some awesome comedy moments from an illustrious career so far, he also doesn't take himself too seriously which you'll learn within 2 minutes of this chat.

We talk accents, HR in luxury, Opening a hotel in a skyscraper, tables with a view, networking, brand difference, luxury, coaching, leadership v management, generational evolution, do not disturb, fights between guests, luggage and of course Jose's exceptional journey.

A huge thank you to Jose for sharing such superb insight.

Enjoy!

Conversation Transcription

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, hospitality, hotel, luggage, brands, guest, marques de, hotels, industry, london, stories, opened, apple, jose, moment, coaching, thought, restaurant, life, marriott

SPEAKERS

Jose Ruiz, Phil Street

Phil Street 00:01

Welcome to hospitality meets with me Phil street where we take a light hearted look into the stories and individuals that make up the wonderful world of hospitality. Today's guest is Jose he was director of HR for the London edition and the W Leicester Square. Coming up on today's show, Jose and Phil deal in some mild peril Oh, danger danger...

Jose Ruiz 00:23

Indeed, danger danger...

Phil Street 00:25

Phil recalls a shocking event from early in his career. I opened the door to one of them kicking the other one up the backside. And Jose argues with himself over an inanimate object

Jose Ruiz 00:37

Well, I left my house... with the luggage? Yeah, of course with the luggage. What do you think I'm stupid,

Phil Street 00:42

All that and so much more as Jose talks us through His story and journey to date, as well as some amazing content on coaching and leadership. In addition, Jose was a natural storyteller and shares some fantastic comedy moments from his career so far, a massive thank you to him for that. Don't forget, we launch a brand new episode each week telling the amazing and always amusing stories from hospitality. So make sure you hit that subscribe button and give us a like and share it across your networks. Let's share these stories as far as we can. Enjoy. Hello, and welcome to the next edition of hospitality meats with me Phil Street. Today we move into the world of humans, specifically HR and I'm joined by someone who's worked in some of London's most iconic hotels, as well as a brief foray out of the industry in another marquee brand which has now culminated in him taking on a multi property role as director of HR at the London edition and the W in Leicester Square. So welcome to the show Jose Ruiz

Jose Ruiz 01:41

hi Phil How you doing?

Phil Street 01:43

I'm very well how are you doing? I am very well too, very well. Just wondering whether anyone is going to understand us today. You with your Scottish accent? Me with my Spanish one. (Laughs) That's a good point. Yeah, well, let's see what happens. Yeah, absolutely. Great. Well, let's just kick it straight off. Could you take us all the way back to the beginning of your career and how did you get into this industry?

Jose Ruiz 02:09

Yep, well this This goes back a fair while so I would wake up in the morning jump on my horse and you know just just ride to the nearest No just kidding. I I just knew that I wanted to work in hospitality pretty much all my career, I studied back home in Spain Hotel Management. And then at some point I had to do my military service which at the time it was compulsory but I had seven months in between University and and the world of military service. Okay, so I just decided to come to the UK. I have a family member living here so we'll see see, I thought you know what, I'm going to London for seven months. get myself a job as a waiter learn English. And that's what I did come here for seven months work at the London Metropole hotel now it's called the Hilton London Metropole hotel.

Phil Street 03:06

Yeah, Beast.

Jose Ruiz 03:08

Yes, they just keep adding an extra word on it. Yeah. So yeah, I did that for for seven months then went back to Spain spent one year in the military. And then after that if Italy but I decided to come back to London because I had an amazing time. And and yeah, went back to the Metropole kept working there as a as a waiter then became a restaurant supervisor. Then I decided to move to front office within the metro, I became a receptionist. Then from then I went to work for a private member's club, this loan club, what I was the front office manager was not so nice manager than the front office manager. Then I left and I did a very very short stint, that was a bit weird, at Pret a Manger and then from then, I went to I wanted to pop my first role in HR which was proved not a serious thing. Then I got a lot of notes along the way until ultimately I managed to get a role at the montcalm Hotel.

Phil Street 04:10

Okay with Jonathan Ewin who gave me the opportunity to to join us a duty manager on the understanding that he will train me as an HR manager because their existing HR manager was leaving three to six months later. And he said, Listen, come as a data manager and I will get Arlene to train you. If by the time she leaves, you are ready, I'll give you the job. So I did that for four months or five months and then she left. She thought that I was ready. And I became the HR manager at the Montcalm hotel. And then from then on, just went to two different brands. I went to park Plaza Plaza Victoria, I was the HR manager. Then I went to riverbank Park Plaza as HR manager. Then I became the Learning and Development Manager for Park Plaza UK. And then I went back into single property at the river bank again. And then from then I moved to Maybourne where I was the HR manager and subsequent HR director for the Berkeley hotel. Yeah. Then after the Berkeley, I went to... where did I go after the Berkeley? I went to Shangri La. I was gonna fill that in for you then but eh...

Jose Ruiz 05:22

Yeah. And that was an interesting experience. And then, after opening the hotel in the Shard, I, I spoke to well, Apple called me, I think that they found my profile on LinkedIn. And they asked me if I will be interested in joining them, which I did stay with him for a year and a half, and then got a got a, again, missing hospitality. And to be honest, I was not particularly enjoying my time at Apple. So I decided to go back to hotels to work with a GM that I've worked with twice before, Jurgen Ammerstorfer, and then he introduced me to the world of Edition, and by extension to the world of Marriott, which is where I've been ever since a couple of years ago, I got the opportunity to to look after W London, as well as the London edition. So that's my role at the moment, looking after HR in both properties.

Phil Street 06:17

Yeah. So well, sounds like it's fair to say then that the hospitality is definitely in the blood, because you you had a stint out, but it didn't connect with you, for whatever reason. And you find yourself back.

Jose Ruiz 06:32

Yes, that that is right. That is right, I guess. They say that you can take a guy out of hospitality, but you cannot take hospitality out of a guy.

Phil Street 06:40

Yeah. And that's you, all over

Jose Ruiz 06:41

Mmmm hmmm

Phil Street 06:42

So what do you think? I mean, I'm quite interested to understand how I suppose other than helping you realise that you wanted to be in hospitality, having seen a different sector in action. Is there anything you took from that, that know helps you be even better than you were before?

Jose Ruiz 07:01

Well, I do, but I'm not so sure that it is necessarily because of other industry, I think that is just because he was apple. They said, well, there were there are when I was there that that Apple is retail, But retail is not like apple, but Apple is different. And they're really added. A lot of the things that Apple do is based around the standards of service that they copied from Ritz Carlton, and then they tweak to make them apple. And they they're super obsessed with with the customer journey and with customer service and the world which they treat customers. And I think that, but they do it in a very specific way. And, and that for me was a you know, you spoke to me, and have I taken anything from it back into hospitality. The other piece that I have tried to implement in the hotels that I mean, particularly around the world, we develop people and the way we look at our identifying talent, but to be honest, that a lot of the stuff that they do, they've basically taken them from hotels in the first place. Yeah, is knowledge that perhaps have been lost a little bit in certain brands.

Phil Street 08:10

Right? going. Okay, so Well, I mean, your your first step in, I suppose super luxury was was at the Berkeley Yes?. What do you think it kind of takes to be an exceptional HR person in that kind of environment? Because it's, it's pretty high intensity and pretty. You're you've got to be on your game 100% of the time, I would imagine.

Jose Ruiz 08:33

Yeah, Yeah, you do. I mean, I think that that everyone that works in HR, certainly most hotels goes with intention of giving 100% I think that to a large extent, working in ultra Deluxe hospitality, or luxury hospitality. Number one is that you have more often than not more resources to do a staff, whether they're human or or financial or otherwise. So when you are an HR manager, and HR director sees my case, do you work with a larger team, therefore, you can go deeper into certain aspects of HR. Therefore, you can spend more time doing engagement and looking after the detail of developing your people developing leaders, identifying future talent, because you effectively have to have resources to be able to spend more of your time doing that kind of stuff time that otherwise in other companies that perhaps have a smaller teams do need to spend, just basically do an HR admin, which is a this is something that just comes with the job, but when you have the resources that other people within your team can deal with that then you can look at the strategic partner and they and developing the business forward.

Phil Street 09:45

Going and then and then from there, you went to the Shard now, that was at its time, certainly what I mean it's still a very high profile property, but was one of the highest profile openings at London's experienced in a in a fair few years? How? Well just talk us through the experience. I mean that you set that up from scratch, I think.

Jose Ruiz 10:07

Yeah, that's right. That's right. He was, obviously the Shard was in the process of being built. As I joined the company, we're working in a preopening office just around the corner. And it was an amazing experience, you know, and leaving the Berkeley was tough. But it's something that opportunity to join a company in such an iconic building, he was a brand that didn't exist in in Europe, so certainly not in the UK. So the opportunity of joining a brand that nobody knew about that you will be able to, to bring to London in an iconic building, introducing the culture that is very different, because it's very much an Asian culture that runs through Shangri La. And, of course, an opening in itself is a great challenge. I thought that that was just incredible. And so yes, it was tick, tick, tick, every box of something from a learning perspective was great from building a culture was great from a hiring and developing was great. So it was just an amazing experience came with massive challenges, mostly driven by the fact that, that nobody in the UK had a hotel and a skyscraper. Yeah. So that came with with great challenges. And that led to delays in the opening up the hotel. So managing the HR function through delay after delay when you fit, they have hired people, and then you need to tell them, Hey, guys, we are delayed by three months, or we simply do not know when you are going to be able to join us. And that was an interesting time. But I had an amazing team in HR. We're still very much in contact with each other. And we put together a phenomenally good team for the opening of that hotel. And we will throw it on we opened successfully and the hotel has been doing phenomenally well ever since.

Phil Street 12:00

Yeah, well. I mean, I think it's one of those those buildings that if you're if you you're not living in and around London, even if you are, it's one of the the experience, it's an experience to go up there and you know, eat in the restaurants or, or have afternoon tea or whatever. Because where else do you get a view like that?

Jose Ruiz 12:18

yeah, very much so. What was interesting, because I remember one of my first shifts as a deputy manager in the hotel, the hotel just opened and, and these things that you just didn't foresee that they were going to happen. Of course, in hindsight, you think oh my god, how can we? How did we not expect this but you know, you arrive in the morning, people have started going down for breakfast at 6.30 in the morning on a Saturday, which in any other hotel is unheard of. Yeah. But he of course, people wanted to see sunrise from from the restaurant because he has the best views while having breakfast. So come seven o'clock. Do you have every single table in the restaurant full breakfast in full swing, and more people come in when there was no place to sit. And of course, everyone went there for the special occasion and to treat their partners to, to the amazing experience of of a stay in the shard. And they were coming down at seven o'clock being greeted with so is there is no place in the restaurant to sit down. Yeah, some people did not take very well. So I think that at one point I was even threatened by by our guests. So right. That was challenging for sure. And of course, breakfast Normally, you know, it's in and out and you take a 20 minute for breakfast. But that was like people would sit there for two hours.

Phil Street 13:42

Right? Yeah.

Jose Ruiz 13:44

Early Lessons

Phil Street 13:44

gonna cling on to this view for as long as we can.

Jose Ruiz 13:47

Absolutely. And you can imagine that nobody wanted a table without a view.

Phil Street 13:52

Yeah. Well, to be honest, I have experience of that myself. I remember treating my good wife to afternoon tea. The Asian afternoon tea. Yeah, in there for her birthday.

Jose Ruiz 14:04

Uh huh.

Phil Street 14:04

And she's an afternoon tea goddess. Yeah, it's one of our favourite things. And we arrived in the restaurant and it wasn't that busy at the time. And they wouldn't give us a table by the window.

Jose Ruiz 14:18

Right?

Phil Street 14:18

So sat in land, In land? And, my wife was quite demanding, actually said, No, it's my birthday. I want to sit by the window. Yeah. And to be fair, they did accommodate as you know, and it does change the experience incredibly just to have you know to be sat there and looking down at your, at your death. And looking to the horizon. Yeah, it's, it's it's an incredible building.

Jose Ruiz 14:47

Yeah, incredible. And you know, in the Shard, of course, you have views in on every side of the building. On level 34, which this was level 35, which is where the restaurant is. You could sit anywhere around. And you will get a view. But of course, everybody wants the view of of London Bridge, and everyone wants the view of the city, which you could only get them on that side of the building. So when you say to somebody, I'm gonna send you that Nope, nope, I'm gonna sit in that. But okay, well, let's see how we can wear this one out. Yeah. So that was interesting times. And of course, at the beginning, it was the novelty of it, and it died down eventually. But the first few months were tough.

Phil Street 15:26

Yeah, I'd imagine it's also a challenge when you've got reception desk on the ground floor and your hotel? Not immediately connected to that.

Jose Ruiz 15:36

Yes, correct. Correct. So I'm learning a lot, we learned a lot from from how to the flow of guests around the hotel, we did they get welcome on the ground floor, when reception is on level 35. And, and the fact that guests needed to use a lift to go up to the reception, but then they need to go into another lift to go into the bedrooms. So it can be challenging, but it comes with with incredible opportunities to learn to flex your leadership style. And it certainly showed us how to be patient. Because, yeah, it's not your average hotel. It really isn't.

Phil Street 16:12

Yeah, but you know, there is nothing like that that exists within the London market. Right?. So nobody had the playbook.

Jose Ruiz 16:21

No, correct.

Phil Street 16:22

On the best way to do things correct. You had to learn as you went?

Jose Ruiz 16:25

Yeah. Yeah. Very much. So. It was fun. It was fun.

Phil Street 16:29

Yeah. I don't doubt it. Yeah. So it was from there. Then you went to Apple? Had your stint out? I actually remember not long after you'd come back into the the industry that you and I met at a networking event. And I have to say,

Jose Ruiz 16:44

never networking event? (Laughs)

Phil Street 16:46

No, no, we'd never we never did that Right?. And I hadn't seen you I think for maybe two or three years.

Jose Ruiz 16:53

Yeah, Yeah.

Phil Street 16:53

At that point. And you I remember this very, very vividly. You greeted me like an old friend, as I would expect. But I also felt that you There was also this sense of relief. That you that you were back.

Jose Ruiz 17:07

Yeah.

Phil Street 17:07

Where you should be?

Jose Ruiz 17:08

Yeah. Well, I don't know if it's where I should be certainly. I certainly was in a place that I shouldn't have been. Even though I don't regret it.

Phil Street 17:17

Yeah, no, absolutely. So let's talk about networking. You founded something called hot cat?

Jose Ruiz 17:24

Oh, yes.

Phil Street 17:25

Talk is talk us through that. Well, that was very similar to...