Miret Padovani

It is Monday, June 7 - Welcome to Season 4, Episode 3 of “Monday motivation – Felix asks”. 

One should distinguish between hotels and legendary hotels. Today, I am taking you to one of those legendary hotels – Badrutt's Palace, in the heart of St. Moritz. The Palace celebrates its 125th anniversary on July 29 this year and is one of those hotels that are a part of history.

The property is composed of 157 guest rooms either overlooking Lake St. Moritz or the charming village center. In 1999 Rosewood took over its management. Ever since the groups' withdrawal in April 2003, Badrutt's Palace has been managed as a private hotel. 

For me, having lived in Wimbledon during my time in London, I love the following story: 

In 1913 the International Lawn Tennis Federation decided to hold three future world championships: One on a grass court (Wimbledon), another on a hard court (French Open), and the last on an indoor wooden parquet court. That same year, Hans Badrutt opened the first indoor tennis hall in Europe and hosted the tournament in 1922 in St. Moritz. The tennis court is now the famous Matsuhisa restaurant La Coupole.

To best promote such a legendary Hotel, you need special people. My guest today is someone who does not fall short on the term, Miret Padovani, the Director of Marketing and Communications, and part of the Palace since October 2020. 

We met virtually – how should it be otherwise, during one of Miret's organized Clubhouse rooms. Miret is Ms. Clubhouse. She started the Hotel Marketing Club, which consists of 1.4k members and 1.7k followers, on Clubhouse and is hosting at least two discussions per week. Her rooms are full of some of the finest leaders in our industry. In addition to the networking aspect, all her rooms are extremely educational. You should take the time to join one of them, for example, this Wednesday, June 9: “Influencer Relations: How can hotels and influencers work best together? What are the do's & don'ts of hotel-influencer Collab influencer”.

Listening to Miret is interesting, as she did not follow the classical path in her career. Before starting her first role in hospitality, Miret was in a completely different industry. Over the past 6 years, she has built a strong reputation with various roles in the Middle East that qualified her for her most current position.

We talked about the start of her career, her definition of hospitality, mentorship, and her advice to the new generation. I hope you enjoy this short episode, and please do not forget to #sharepositivestories.

Question 1: Where did you start your career?

Miret Padovani (MP): “I was in investment banking and finance communications before moving to the hotel industry. In hospitality, I started my career in Tajikistan as marketing manager of the Sheraton Dushanbe six years ago. It was a newly opened property and quite a novelty in the Tajik capital.”

Question 2: What does hospitality mean to you?

MP: “Hospitality in my view is about providing guests with the best possible home away from home they could dream of.”

Question 3: Have you had a mentor in your career? Who was it and did she/he give you a piece of advice you still follow?

MP: “My dearest mentor was Simon Hall, who very sadly passed away last year. I had worked with him on the pre-opening of the InterContinental Fujairah, UAE. He was the commercial director of new hotel openings at IHG back then and had continued to support me with my personal and professional development even after the Fujairah project. He still is my role model: I love how he’d approach every challenge with cheerfulness.”

Question 4: What would you like to say to a hospitality/ tourism student/professional who recently started his/her career, at this right moment?

MP: “To be passionate in every single step of their careers and not to be afraid to take risks (e.g. moving to a new country, taking on new tasks at work...)”

Question 5: Do you have a book recommendation - this could be everything from a novel to an autobiography, etc. 

MP: “All books by leadership coach John Maxwell are so worth reading. I’d probably start with “Talent is never enough”, which talks about skills one needs to develop for a successful career.”

If you have some additional questions for Miret, please feel free to comment under the LinkedIn post. 

Thank you Miret for taking the time and I hope to see you soon.