Childhood curiosity led him to the industry

by Héctor Gómez Pérez

Some children the first time they go to an airport are fascinated by airplanes and show their interest in being pilots; others, their eagerness to help others inclines them to medicine, and many others are clear that they will be great for the arts after their first visit to a museum. In the case of Marc Denis Bertrand, his connection to the world of hospitality occurred when he was just a child from the trips he made with his family.

"I was always struck by everything that happened in a hotel; from the reception, waitresses, waiters and bellboys. I found it amazing how so many staff in different areas could get to know me and know I was a guest. On several occasions I asked to know the kitchen and laundry and I was even more impressed. For me it was like a city at scale where everything worked. What caught my attention the most were the chefs for their uniform. That's what decided me to study hospitality."

Marc Denis, from here and there

Our professional of the month is a native of Lyon, France, but grew up between the state of Mexico and the federal district. Born on March 26, 1957, he studied from kindergarten to high school at the Liceo Franco Mexicano de Polanco of which Denis highlights its importance in learning languages (French, Spanish and English). After high school he was inclined to enroll in the School of Hospitality in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he began studies in the summer of 1977 and finished them in 1980. His professional experience covers different positions in companies such as Omni, ITT Sheraton, Hoteles Presidente, Radisson International, Situr, Camino Real, other independent hotels and tourist developments in the Caribbean.

Looking back at his time as a hotel student in Lausanne, Denis still has fresh a memory that has been fundamental in his professional life; the incident occurred in the first class of one of the many teachers he met in Switzerland. "This teacher on his first day of class made us put books, notebooks, paper, pens and pencils in our backpack and told us: 'in my classes it is forbidden to learn, you have to understand and in order to achieve this you have to listen and ask everything to clarify your doubts'.

He also took us to the movies the day before for an exam so that we would arrive with a clear mind and we could think instead of studying on the eve of it. What is interesting is the very high percentage of success that their students achieved in the exams compared to the students who followed methods of the traditional system."

The professional at home

Denis' small family consists of his wife Manuela and his Chihuahua dog named Naxca. While the life of a hotelier is hectic and demanding, his marriage is already complete 15 years; as far as Naxca is concerned, she has already been in the Denis home for 8 years and accompanies the couple on all their trips or places of residence abroad.

About his hobbies, our professional has a marked taste for gardening: "one of my hobbies is gardening and nothing gives me more satisfaction than taking care of my plants, planting others and pruning my trees. My other hobby is my Mac computer despite living in the hotel world where everyone uses Windows."

Denis, the manager

"Today, a hotel is not only a room to sleep, but a whole experience that the guest lives," says Denis to refer to the objectives that the hospitality manager must pursue and adds that "the objectives that a manager must set in the hotel field are essentially to achieve the satisfaction of guests and customers, of its work team and of the investors who are the three indispensable elements for a hotel to exist. The hospitality industry mainly requires getting both guests and employees to live a good experience during their stay because if the employee enjoys their work, it very easily makes the guest or client have a pleasant stay."

Denis is not a man given to staying in the office for a long time, except that activities such as the review of financial statements, budgets, negotiations or meetings with clients, require it. Normally your workday starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m., depending on the scheduled activities. When reviewing your daily trasegar, we find that the first thing you do is review indicators such as: occupancy, income and forecasts for the day and the rest of the week. Afterwards he takes a tour of the exterior areas of the hotel and then the service and guest areas.

"I like to exchange opinions with cooks, waiters, etc; for this I take advantage of the ease of remembering almost all the names of the staff. On many occasions I meet a repetitive guest or client and we enjoy exchanging ideas or listening to their suggestions over coffee. Every other day I meet my steering committee for half an hour so that we can see what are the relevant points that require attention," Denis said.

Industry in the region

According to our professional, the hotel industry has a very promising outlook in Latin America, despite the economic crisis. All this reinforced to the great variety of cultures, climates and attractions of our countries; He also emphasizes that the hospitality and tolerance of the inhabitants of our region are other points in favor. In this regard Denis added that "we have competitive advantages since Europe became an expensive destination because of the exchange rate and we must also think about our internal market that is very important and is growing".

The above from a general overview; As far as Mexico is concerned, Denis believes that the tourist evolution of this Central American country has been very important in recent years thanks to the improvement of both land and air communication routes, so traveling is easier: there are more routes and prices are more accessible. All this results in a very large expansion of the hotel offer from all fronts: limited services, business class, luxury, boutique, all inclusive and spa.

"I believe that there is still much to be done for the development of hospitality in the country and it is a very noble industry that offers security in investment in the medium and long term, in addition to being an important source of formal jobs," said Denis before ending with the five success factors that have led him to be a prominent figure within the hospitality industry: "innovation, updating, quality, consistency and human development".