Dear Fabio, it's inspiring to follow your story and see how you are enjoying the advantages of the ATLANTIC multi-brand hotel group. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your journey. All the best now for the launch of the unique by ATLANTIC Hotel Kiel.
Why did you start working at unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel?
FDR: Actually, I have been with ATLANTIC Hotels since 2011. Back then, I did my apprenticeship as specialist in the hotel business at the ATLANTIC Hotel Kiel. There I met Eggert Harms (hotel manager of the unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel). I worked at ATLANTIC Hotel Kiel for three and a half years, first in training and then in event service. Within the multi-brand hotel group I switched to Severin*s Resort & Spa on the island Sylt. I started as Chef de Rang in the Hoog restaurant, then moved on to the bar. There I started as a bartender and worked my way up to bar supervisor and later deputy bar manager. My next station was in Lech am Arlberg (Austria) at Severin*s - The Alpine Retreat. The Severin*s - The Alpine Retreat had to close temporarily at short notice due to the pandemic, so I didn't have a job at first. I then started at an Italian restaurant and worked there until I saw that the unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel was being built. That got me interessted and so I contacted the hotel I did my apprenticeship at, the neighboring ATLANTIC Hotel Kiel. In 2014, when I was still working for ATLANTIC Hotel Kiel, I got to support the hotel opening of Severin*s Resort & Spa for a few weeks. With unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel, I now got to experience an entire hotel opening process. And now I am "Team Leader Front Office & Café" and very happy about the responsibility.
A coffee with...
...Fabio Della Ragione
(Team Leader Front Office & Café, unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel)
What is the opening phase like for you?
FDR: It's unfamiliar and exhausting. A lot of time and energy has to be invested so that everything settles in. At unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel, we work a lot with lateral hires, so the training is particularly intensive. In the meantime, the processes have become more established. I recommend everyone in the industry to take part in a hotel opening. You grow from it. It gets you ahead personally and professionally.
What have you experienced so far at the unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel?
FDR: I was really happy when I was finally able to create "latte art" - for example, a heart on the coffee - again for the first time in a long time. That's not that easy and always creates a special moment. Coffee is simply more exciting than wine, as there are significantly more different flavors.
In addition, I remember the moment when I walked in here for the first time. I had only ever seen the construction site before and had no idea what it would look like when finished. The first thing I saw was the special wallpaper. The surroundings were still white and not furnished. I thought the wallpaper was really cool right away and then when everything was finished, it was a really rad moment because it's just really, really beautiful.
What sets the unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel apart from other hotels?
FDR: We are just a bit more relaxed, even just in the way we deal with the guests. For example, we sit together with guests at the co-working space and are on a first-name basis.
Which guests check into the unique by ATLANTIC Hotels Kiel?
FDR: Every age group, many cruise guests, business people, also families, young couples, older couples, basically from to. That's cool!
What makes you "unique"?
FDR: I'm a fun bird. I get along well with every guest and colleagues and can adapt very well to different people. Also, I always try to do my best and put a lot of time into it. I think I reach a lot of people through my open nature.
You took the chance to get to know the brand variety of the ATLANTIC Hotels Group. Tell us about your experience.
FDR: It depends on everyone themselves. In the ATLANTIC Hotels Group, you can change and advance quite easily. The hotel group is one big family. The hotels are in a lot of nice places, which offers so many opportunities. I now know so many people from the hotel group and get a lot of support and exciting career opportunities every now and then as a result.
Pick one of the five ATLANTIC values (Quality, Respect, Optimism,
credibility, loyalty) and tell us a few examples of how they are lived.
FDR: I choose the corporate value "Respect" because respect is always there from department management to employees or the other way around. You are always respected, even if something goes wrong. The way we deal with each other is always appreciative. I also like the fact that the employees also have respect for the big picture, i.e. for the company, suppliers, individual tasks, dealing with colleagues, etc., as well as respect for what is offered to the individual.
What does the ATLANTIC Hotels Group offer you?
FDR: What I have noticed, especially in the last few weeks, you are super-connected and can work extremely well together even if you don't exactly work in the same hotel. I find this particularly helpful with my new area of responsibility. In addition, the ATLANTIC Hotels Group offers diversity. If you want to work somewhere else, there are various opportunities within the group.
What would you have liked to know during your apprenticeship, that you know now?
FDR: I would have saved myself a lot of trouble if I had been on time more often back then.
Describe yourself in three words:
FDR: Likeable - Helpful - Workaholic
Where were you born and raised?
FDR: I was born in Kiel and grew up in Kiel and in Heitendorf (further out towards the Baltic Sea).
When I am not working, then ...
...I listen to a lot of music and like to lie on the couch. I like melancholic songs, they relax me. I often associate music with experiences.
Kiel is for me ...
...simply a pleasant city on the fjord. However, I'm more the country type.
// Publication: June 1, 2022 //
You would like to become Fabio Della Ragione's colleague?
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