Nespresso’s Partnership with Finalist Olivier Zatka
Olivier Zatka is the Hotel Manager at the St. Regis Hong Kong. As one of our Food & Beverage Hotelier finalists for 2020, we sat down with him to explore his working relationship and partnership with Nespresso, our Gold Partner for 2020. Olivier’s relationship with Nespresso spans more than a decade; he explains why that is and the extent of their collaboration.
1. How did your relationship with Nespresso come about?
My relationship with Nespresso first started back in 2008 when I was in Monaco with Hotel Hermitage. I then brought the brand’s partnership to my next role in La Mamounia in Marrakech, and the hotel was the first in Africa to be able to get the Aguila machine in the restaurants – the reason for choosing the Aguila machine was that it is a high performance and professional coffee machine that offers barista level coffee and it is easy to operate.
When I joined The St. Regis Hong Kong, I didn’t look at any other brands – I knew that for restaurant outlets and for in-room amenities, we wanted the best of the best and Nespresso always offers that consistency and quality. As a result, the conversations with Nespresso continued as they have long been considered a world leader in coffee capsules and a household name that is also paving the way in both sustainability and development of new technologies such as the touchless feature.
This business model very much aligns with The St. Regis Hong Kong. It is the first opening in Hong Kong for the prestigious brand, which has a long established and rich history worldwide. The hotel opening was highly anticipated and we became the 7,000th property to open for Marriott International Group. The hotel was also set to be the blueprint for future St. Regis properties. We were tasked with reimagining the brand traditions, including Afternoon Tea, the iconic Butler service, bar experiences and many others. We redefined these areas which later were to be mirrored by other St. Regis properties. It was not just about elevating the existing offering and being a blueprint for future St. Regis properties, it went further than that. Given the highly competitive nature of the hospitality industry, we wanted to set ourselves apart from other 5-star luxury hotels in Hong Kong, and internationally. We wanted to set the trend for others to follow, and in the past year we have achieved this through a number of innovative ideas that have since been adopted by other brands.
Nespresso has been a part of that journey, to differentiate us from the competition and by being open to trying new and different experiences. Today’s travellers are looking for exclusive experiences, and access to highly personalised services that now represent the pinnacle of luxury. There is no better way to get a truly one-of-a-kind experience than through travel. In addition to experiences, today’s luxury consumer is also adding the notion of personal development and transformation to their repertoire of what they want to accomplish. So, what we are seeing from guests is that they want bespoke and personalised service, and they want a transformative experience.
We opted for Nespresso’s latest model, the Creatista Plus Stainless Steel Coffee Machine, in each of our guest rooms. We provide a variety of coffee capsules for guests to choose from and the machine allows guests to create and experience latte art in the comfort of their room. Equipped with a milk frother, guests can also select their preferred milk temperature based on their personal preference. Being European, I personally like to think that coffee is a necessity, and as over 80% of our guests are overseas travellers and mainly business travellers – I knew that having a high-quality coffee machine was an important addition to any hotel room.
2. How do you feel Nespresso has contributed to The St. Regis Hong Kong positioning itself as a luxury brand?
As the pioneer and leader in portioned coffee, the availability of a Nespresso machine in the hotel is a symbol of luxury. In all the guest rooms, it helps to elevate the guests’ experience and in both of our Michelin starred restaurants, we use Nespresso’s designated capsules for fine-dining restaurants. At L’Envol, this is paired with the Mignardise trolley, and we have special Nespresso coffee infused chocolates as a treat.
At The Drawing Room, the whole coffee experience is a delight, our hosts present the coffee on a silver tray, with tailor-made Chinaware and a silver sugar pot, sliced strawberry in the sparkling water, which is presented in a small crystal glass for guests to clean their palette between each sip, and bespoke chocolate nuts from Esprit Gourmand are hand-selected and roasted a la minute.
Since the start of our partnership, Nespresso has been a fantastic brand to work with. They have provided ambassadors and trainers to our team, ensuring that the level of service and coffee knowledge is of the highest grade. The team is open to ideas and suggestions and we speak on how both brands can align in terms of service quality and more specifically on personalisation as being able to offer our guests a unique and bespoke experience is crucial.
3. Could you expand on the personalisation piece and what it means to The St. Regis Hong Kong and how your partnership with Nespresso complements this?
Luxury has always been about scarcity and authenticity, but where exclusivity used to be about being in the know, today it’s more about the personalisation element. People want to feel like their experience is different to others and tailored to them as an individual.
Nespresso has an impressive members network, in which their members can enjoy a personalised and timely service, ordering can be done online or via mobile 24/7. Their customer care is available 24/7 and they also host masterclasses for those who are keen to know more about the brand or learn about the art of coffee.
This very much aligns with The St. Regis Hong Kong’s ethos. The St. Regis brand’s hallmark Butler service is centre stage at our property, a signature service that started in 1904, when the first St. Regis hotel, St. Regis New York, was established. Founder John Jacob Astor IV first brought his own butlers from home to serve guests at The St. Regis New York, because he wanted to ensure that the guests’ needs were anticipated ahead of time and fully fulfilled.
At The St. Regis Hong Kong, guests are greeted at the Porte Cochere by their personalised butler from the moment they arrive for in-room check in. Our butler service is also available on e-channels and 24/7 allowing a seamless connection with guests.
Aside from the personalised butler service, each dining outlet in the hotel – including two Michelin-starred restaurants L’Envol (French fine-dining) and Rùn (Cantonese fine-dining) - The Drawing Room, which serves an international array of dishes and a famed Afternoon tea, and The St. Regis Bar, offer unique and bespoke experiences. From the glassware to the Chinaware that we use, each are reflective of the dining outlet’s concept. For example, L’Envol is a one Michelin-starred French fine-dining restaurant. Champagne and caviar are an important part of French culture and as a result we have special touches such as Chef Olivier Elzer’s champagne butter, the bespoke champagne coloured tablecloths specially designed to match the opulent look and feel of the dining area, which encapsulates the Parisian flair. The subtle linear ascending pattern on the tablecloths represents the effervescence of champagne bubbles, which is a symbol of celebration.
Each of our outlets offer a unique experience and journey, from the dim-sum inspired trolley as an Afternoon Tea presentation, to the diamond motifs that can be seen in our hotel and St. Regis Bar that pays tribute to our founder and our rich heritage. It is these details that matter. And I’ll be happy to share more about our stories and what we have created for any guests who visit us at the hotel.
As a brand we really focus on that personalised experience and it can be seen throughout the property. This is really where the decision to partner with Nespresso as our Coffee of choice was an obvious one. Our brands complement each other and are very aligned when it comes to innovation and experience.
4. We know that sustainability is important to The St. Regis Hong Kong – how do you work together with Nespresso to support this mission?
Nespresso is very bold when it comes to their sustainability ambitions and they have made the commitment that by 2022 every cup of Nespresso will be carbon neutral, which is a fantastic goal to set and we fully support their vision.
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we work with Nespresso to ensure that all our used capsules are recycled. Nespresso has a dedicated recycling scheme, which is convenient and simple for our operational needs. We also have a recycling bin in each of the guest rooms to encourage them to act responsibly by engaging with this initiative. We feel strongly about creating a lighter carbon footprint and engaging in such activities to support that. Working with a brand like Nespresso makes that so much easier to put into practice.
In the kitchen, we also have a small herb garden, and we take some of the used coffee grounds to provide more nutrients to the plants and act as a natural fertiliser.
5. What lies ahead for your partnership with Nespresso’s?
We continue to be inspired by our partnership with Nespresso. The two Michelin-starred restaurants are currently thinking of creative ways to include elements of Nespresso coffee into our desserts, which would be complemented by a cup of coffee usually towards end of the meal. At The St. Regis Bar, we are also brainstorming different dessert cocktails ideas and thinking of new ways to incorporate the coffee into our offering.
For our butler team, we are looking to build our team’s knowledge and leverage Nespresso’s resources through their tailored Masterclasses. We are looking forward to providing more training to the butler team, perhaps with latte art or so that they can recommend different coffee profiles to suit our guests’ taste preferences.