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Marcello Ventisei

Area General Manager, Scotland, IHG

  • What was your favourite subject at school?

Very easy this one, Geography and English. They were two of the subjects that I naturally enjoyed and it was helped by having two great teachers who knew how to engage with people.

  • What was your first job?

Another nice easy one! Coming from a Scottish Italian heritage you will not be surprised to know that my first job was in the family chip shop business and looking back I can still relate many of the principles there to the luxury hotel industry.

  • Which is your favourite restaurant /hotel?

They are getting trickier now. The restaurant answer really depends on the occasion and situation. I can enjoy a plate of pasta at Sugo as much as I can enjoy a trip to any fine dining restaurant. Similarly there are so many great hotels that I have been very fortunate to experience it would be difficult to pick only one. But for me, what great hotels share is a true sense of hospitality and giving people the freedom to relax and be themselves.

  • How do you inspire your team

By demonstrating my own values and my own passion for what we do. Great people want to make a difference and its my role to help them do that. In turn watching them perform beyond my own expectations and my own abilities is then inspiring for myself. It’s a two way street!

  • Which person in hospitality have you most admired / inspired you?

I have always admired the entrepreneurs within our industry, those people that have been brave enough to go it alone. Andrew Mackay at the Caithness Collection is a great example. And in my earlier career I was inspired by Paul Clayton the GM at Devere Mottram Hall hotel. He believed in giving people opportunities where he saw potential without necessary having experience and was ahead of his time in terms of hotel positioning.

  • How do you manage your stress levels?

Generally I don’t feel stress, I always believe that we will get there in the end, sometime it just takes longer. But when I am away from work my main focus is just spending time with family and friends.

  • Instagram, Twitter or Facebook – and why?

I try to stay away from any social media rabbit holes but I recognise that nowadays it is part of our lives so when I do venture into SM it tends to be FB for the old folk like me!

  • If you had not gone into hospitality, where do you think you would be now?

Not sure, I was clear that I wanted to go into the industry since I was a teenager and I still love it so I’ve never really considered anything else.

  • What did you do on your last days off?

Went to a family 60th birthday party and then completed the Kiltwalk with some of our team to raise funds for our nominated charities.

  • What do you do to relax, to support your wellbeing?

Run, walk, play really bad Golf, Cycle, Workout, Cook, Drink Wine, Watch Sport, Read, Travel……….all in moderation and without taking anything too seriously!