Another female first in hospitality
By Cherry Cao |
June 14, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Austrian Brigitte Trattner is a stand-out in the international hotel business where the No. 1 positions are dominated by men.
When she was in her early 30s, she became the first female general manager for InterContinental Hotels Group in Germany, leading the opening of a Holiday Inn Express.
In January Trattner took over as the new general manager of the InterContinental Shanghai Pudong, a five-star 398-room property in the heart of the bustling Lujiazui financial and business district.
Today she is the only woman leading an internationally branded upscale hotel in Shanghai.
Over the past decade she has progressed as GM from Holiday Inn to the top job at Crowne Plaza and the No. 1 spot at InterContinental.
"It is correct that I'm unusual and I guess it's a bit of a combination," Trattner says. "(Besides hard work), you need some kind of luck, you need people who support and promote you and you also need to make some sacrifice on your part," she adds, referring to having traditional family.
"I wouldn't be where I am now if I wouldn't be completely mobile. I don't mean it's impossible, buthaving a family must make itharder," she says.
Taking her first hotel job at the Hilton London as a waitress at the age of 19, right after graduation from hotel school, Trattner has since worked throughout hotel operations. She worked in the kitchen, front office, reservation, sales and guest relations.
In 1999 she became general manager at Holiday Inn Express and also received a master's degree in economics from the Open University Hagen in Germany.
Her initial decision to attend hotel school, however, resulted more from a choice of city rather than a choice of career path.
Passion to explore
Growing up in a tiny mountain village of 700 inhabitants, Trattner had no choice but to move on to a new city after primary school. Later, attending hotel school turned out to be the only choice in the next bigger city.
But her move into the hospitality business proved to be the right one. While studying, she discovered her interest in going abroad and seeing different things.
"One of my passion is to explore different countries and cultures. China is really something new for me, it is big and there is so much to explore," says the new GM.
Prior to Shanghai, her professional stints covered Europe, the Caribbean, Tunisia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The new job is challenging. On board for four and a half months, Trattner says there is clearly an oversupply of hotels in Shanghai, particularly in the luxury and upscale segment. She expects it to take a few years for the situation in the local market to improve.
At this time, therefore, Trattner plans to focus on the summer and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) to improve hotel performance.
With more than two decades in the hospitality industry and 17 years under the IHG flag, Trattner has a passion for what she does and has worked out her own way to recharge herself in the time-consuming and physically demanding job.
She enjoys weekend trips, one of her recent excursions was to Pingyao in Shanxi Province, a UNESCO heritage site in northern China. She is also a book lover with broad tastes, including history, novels and mysteries. Hiking, cycling, scuba diving and skiing are also on her list. And there's nothing like sleeping in on the weekend, if you can.
"There is an old German saying that if you have a problem, you have to sleep over it," Trattnersays, smiling.
When she was in her early 30s, she became the first female general manager for InterContinental Hotels Group in Germany, leading the opening of a Holiday Inn Express.
In January Trattner took over as the new general manager of the InterContinental Shanghai Pudong, a five-star 398-room property in the heart of the bustling Lujiazui financial and business district.
Today she is the only woman leading an internationally branded upscale hotel in Shanghai.
Over the past decade she has progressed as GM from Holiday Inn to the top job at Crowne Plaza and the No. 1 spot at InterContinental.
"It is correct that I'm unusual and I guess it's a bit of a combination," Trattner says. "(Besides hard work), you need some kind of luck, you need people who support and promote you and you also need to make some sacrifice on your part," she adds, referring to having traditional family.
"I wouldn't be where I am now if I wouldn't be completely mobile. I don't mean it's impossible, buthaving a family must make itharder," she says.
Taking her first hotel job at the Hilton London as a waitress at the age of 19, right after graduation from hotel school, Trattner has since worked throughout hotel operations. She worked in the kitchen, front office, reservation, sales and guest relations.
In 1999 she became general manager at Holiday Inn Express and also received a master's degree in economics from the Open University Hagen in Germany.
Her initial decision to attend hotel school, however, resulted more from a choice of city rather than a choice of career path.
Passion to explore
Growing up in a tiny mountain village of 700 inhabitants, Trattner had no choice but to move on to a new city after primary school. Later, attending hotel school turned out to be the only choice in the next bigger city.
But her move into the hospitality business proved to be the right one. While studying, she discovered her interest in going abroad and seeing different things.
"One of my passion is to explore different countries and cultures. China is really something new for me, it is big and there is so much to explore," says the new GM.
Prior to Shanghai, her professional stints covered Europe, the Caribbean, Tunisia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The new job is challenging. On board for four and a half months, Trattner says there is clearly an oversupply of hotels in Shanghai, particularly in the luxury and upscale segment. She expects it to take a few years for the situation in the local market to improve.
At this time, therefore, Trattner plans to focus on the summer and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) to improve hotel performance.
With more than two decades in the hospitality industry and 17 years under the IHG flag, Trattner has a passion for what she does and has worked out her own way to recharge herself in the time-consuming and physically demanding job.
She enjoys weekend trips, one of her recent excursions was to Pingyao in Shanxi Province, a UNESCO heritage site in northern China. She is also a book lover with broad tastes, including history, novels and mysteries. Hiking, cycling, scuba diving and skiing are also on her list. And there's nothing like sleeping in on the weekend, if you can.
"There is an old German saying that if you have a problem, you have to sleep over it," Trattnersays, smiling.
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