“I still remember when I was 16 years old when I started my hospitality career.
I was working as a waiter apprenticeship in the best hotel restaurant in my Swiss town,” recalled Mirco Iada.
“I was serving tomato soup to the management team of the hotel. While serving it, unfortunately, the tomato soup spilt onto the hotel’s General Manager’s trousers,” he chuckled.
Decades have passed since that incident yet it has undoubtedly remained a fond memory for this born and raised Swiss man. Since then, Mirco Iada has climbed the ladder. Iada has spent the last nine years working in several international branded hotels in Middle East; Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Al Khobar. Nowadays, he’s found himself working in Indonesia, specifically at Gran Melia Jakarta as the new General Manager.
“Indonesia is an amazing country. My family and I love the kindness and respect of the Indonesian people. I am looking forward to travelling with my family within the country to discover the local culture and exquisite landscape,” he expressed. He and his wife unknowingly gifted each other Lonely Planet’s guide to Indonesia last Christmas.
Having a Master Business Administration (MBA) degree with a specialisation in International Hospitality and Service Industry Management from Glion Institute of Higher Education, Iada has gained vast experience as a genuine hotelier. He has in-depth knowledge in European, Middle Eastern and international markets. This brings out his strong vision when it comes to leading, motivating, and animating a multi-cultural team.
It’s only been a couple of months for Iada at the hotel but he feels extremely lucky to work together with a fantastic group of people part of his team. Iada gathers that his knowledge, skills, and abilities in business, finance, as well as pre-opening and post-opening of luxury hotels gained during the past decades, are beneficial for the hotel team who are looking forward to succeeding in this competitive market under his leadership.
“I’m fully dedicated to supporting them, guiding them, and sharing my vision to gain market segment and ensure that our guests are spending memorable moments with us. Training, coaching, and mentoring our talent in growth within our company is also my priority,” he asserted. “I am open to finding opportunities to increase our business development as well as our hotel awareness in the local and international market. More and more of the market specifications are introduced to me daily.”
Gran Melia Jakarta is entering its 25th year in 2022. Located in Kuningan, South Jakarta, Iada described the hotel as the “Perfect place to enjoy a tailor-made service for guests seeking notable dining and staycation experiences.”
Staycation has indeed been a crowd-favourite since the pandemic struck. In this light, several room packages such as “Romantic Getaway”, “Week-end stay”, and “Discover Jakarta Getaway” invite guests to relax in a unique and charming atmosphere Gran Melia has in store for 2022.
Iada puts emphasis on the hotel’s tailor-made service. As the new General Manager, he’s looking forward to enhancing the guest experience through it whilst having a passionate, dedicated hotel team. He believes the profound support of the hotel team optimises the hotel’s sales performance.
“It also protrudes the Gran Melia Jakarta as an F&B [food and beverage] destination in Jakarta with high-quality food and service,” he said. The Gran Melia Jakarta has several well-known F&B venues. There’s Gran Via restaurant which hosts the weekend brunch formula “11 O 3”, the awarded Japanese restaurant Yoshi Izakaya, the Weekend Dim Sum speciality brunch served at Tien Chao, the Lobby bar lounge serving local specialities, and finally, the bakery and quick bites corner known as El Bombon.
“I have several room improvements in terms of service and products in mind,”
he declared. Revamps on the hotel signage arrival, the gate arrival, and the landscaping are set during the first semester of 2022. Moreover, a new large meeting room is in the design process, which will start construction soon. “This will allow us to be present in new segmentation markets such as weddings, large meeting attendances, and private gatherings up to 300 people,” Iada concluded.