GOSTELOW REPORT—“A lifestyle leader must be prepared to be hands-on,” says Peter Katusak-Huzsvar, general manager of the 182-key So/Vienna, Austria.
The Hungarian speaks from experience. After running three W Hotels in sequence, he moved to what was then
Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, named for Vienna’s iconic cathedral, in January 2018.
“I was perfectly happy as GM of W Dubai – Habtoor City, and when I was invited to Vienna I was initially rather depressed by what I saw,” he admitted.
Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, a conversion of the former headquarters of its owner, the mighty Vienna-based Uniqa insurance group, was, well, an 18-floor French sculpture. Architect Jean Nouvel, a statement designer, famously believes that a hotel should be designed, outside and in, by the same person. He based the interiors on some of the roof colors of the cathedral, easily visible from much of the hotel. Rooms and suites were all-black, all-white, all-gray — floors, ceilings, walls, pull-across window blinds, furniture and open-plan bath tubs, fortunately relieved by white towels and bed linens and green Hermès toiletries.
“One local consideration, in Sofitel days, was the first floor’s furniture emporium showcasing 37 Viennese producers. But although the hotel is only 10 minutes’ walk from the cathedral and the center of the city, it’s just across the Danube Canal and there was not enough footfall,” Katusak-Huzsvar recalled.
The emporium was quickly replaced by a substantial glass-walled co-working facility, WeXelerate, established and owned by Uniqa. Full-time tenants include KPMG and Spar: All use an adjacent modern version of a Viennese coffee shop, managed by the hotel, which also caters their events.
After three months’ Accor induction, by the time Katusak-Huzsvar started on-the-job work, the rebranding process was well under way. Whereas Sofitel is traditional French luxury, So is more local-luxury lifestyle. Vienna designer Gregor Eichinger was softening the look: All bedrooms now have soft hues on sofa covers, and multi-colored lampshades match suede interiors of closets, all a pattern from Austria’s top hosiery company, Wolford. “We changed the rooftop’s French restaurant from Le Loft to Das Loft, brought in a Slovak chef and retained our Michelin star,” said the GM, with pride.
The 180-strong workforce went through continual training sessions, emphasizing role-play. The transition, hard and soft, actually finished June 2018 but it was decided not to go public until summer was over.
“On 9 September 2018 – 9/9/18, 9+9 =18 – everything became So, and we had a party for 600 locals. My team was immediately more relaxed (when no guests are around, they call me Peter, which is most unusual in German-speaking nations)”.
Das Loft, which runs nonstop from 6:30 a.m. through to the early hours, attracts locals for its stunning views, food and service, and special events, publicized on Facebook. Latino evenings are held the first Saturday of each month. On February 14, a standard Valentine’s Night dinner will be followed, on the 15th, by an Anti-Valentine’s, for the lonely-hearted and other singles. On the 16th, there will be, as every week, Sunday brunch “with a view.”
Any day, breakfast is available until 5 p.m., which attracts younger Middle Eastern guests. Rooms arrivals are
offered a So/Welcome elixir of Almdudler (Austria’s herbal lemonade). Regarding rooms business, 21.9% is domestic, with the USA contributing 5.9% and rising. Since rebranding, total occupancy has risen 3% and average rate is up 20%: Average stay is 3.1 nights.
“I must admit a rebranding is not more difficult, just different, and now I do have a new product and a new brand, and I am leading a great team,” Katusak-Huzsvar said.
It could be said to be hard work. Having stayed up to midnight socializing with the Russian owners of one of his former hotels, Katusak-Huzsvar was, as always, breakfasting up in Das Loft at 7:45 a.m. before a meeting with his current owners (and weekends, per se, do not exist). But he ls living the passion he acquired from a hotelier uncle back in his home town of Budapest, Hungary.