Smart digital for Businesses
I’m Ginevra from Cabbiavoli Estate and I’m #YOURHOSPITALITYPRO
This week on the #YOURPRO series, we speak to Ginevra Puccioni, our #Hospitalitypro. Ginevra is the General Manager of Cabbiavoli Estate, a luxury castle and farmhouse estate located in the Chianti region, one of the most amazing areas in Tuscany, Italy.
Business description: luxury castle and farmhouse estate in Tuscany, 30 km from Florence
Current job: Cabbiavoli Estate Founder and Manager
One word that best describes how you work: Relentlessly
My greatest success in life: My family and the launch of Cabbiavoli, with Julia Roberts, the actress and producer, as our first client
My biggest fear: Acrophobia (fear of heights)
My secret wish: Walk the whole Camino de Santiago from London to Compostela
My role model is: my godmother, Wanda Ferragamo, a humble and tireless entrepreneur and matriarch
My favourite book: Memoirs of Hadrian – Marguerite Yourcenar
First of all, tell us something about you and your business.
As a child, I can recall that one special day in the shadow of the castle when I had my Grandmother all to myself. I still feel the warmth of the sun, the touch of her hand, and the smell of the cut hay in the fields. My memories are feeling safe, happy, and special. So even after having studied gemology and dedicated over ten years in multiple countries, producing, buying, and selling precious and semi-precious stones, when my father asked me to come home to Cabbiavoli, I felt as if I had to say yes. I loved the idea of creating those same memories for others. This is a property that has been in the family for over 150 years. It still has so many stories to tell, and so many emotions to share yet.
How did you adjust your business in this unusual time?
Creating a “personal experience” with the property is crucial- and that means listening to what our clients are saying – and what they are not saying. It’s easy to establish a relationship when they are here with us, so in this period, we strived to establish stronger personal connections with agencies and strengthen our long-distance (direct) relationships with clients. We listened to their hopes and concerns, which prompted us to look for solutions “outside the box.” For example, rescheduling reservations to 2021 and opening bookings to the local market with extra flexibility on minimum stays and cancellation policies.
How can you engage with your loyal guests and with the new ones?
When clients enter Cabbiavoli, they enter our home and our family, a family with hundreds of years of births, deaths, battles, and arranged marriages; as the Italians would say vita, morte e miracoli (life, death and all the miracles in between). We offer real stories, real info and real photos on social media that share who we are so that our guests are engaging with us before and after their visit to Tuscany.
All guests receive a copy of my book on the family history, as a precious gift to further enhance the bond with the property. It took me a long time to compile it as it includes the history of the property since its original foundation in 1210AD. Incidentally, some ‘actors’ are visible in the family portraits or buried in the chapel on the grounds, including the family dogs!
As a hospitality pro, what can you suggest to keep this type of business alive?
Being a small business, I am in touch with every client, and this has been our successful recipe since I started the business in 1997. It has been our experience that relationships and reputation matter now more than individual transactions. In the age of ‘immediate gratification’ and self-service, people want to live genuine and personal experiences. Furthermore, when people go on holiday they want to relax, enjoy themselves, and in many cases, they want to know from local experts what to do. Genuine advice from local people beats any travel agent’s ‘package’.
Tell us your trick to have a good work/free time balance in your day.
When not travelling, I work from home; it is important to have clear boundaries between work and personal life. I am an early-bird; before my family wakes up, I walk around London for an hour and a half; I then get my children ready, walk them to the tube, this is our special moment together. I sit at my desk with my third coffee at 9:00 am sharp and start my workday. When I finish my workday, I dedicate time to the family and only reply to urgent requests.
Tell us how is a typical day of your guests in Cabbiavoli nowadays?
Before customers arrive, I email them a list of activities they can do in the area, including booking services for the main sites to avoid queuing and disappointments.
Customers usually arrive with the expectation to have a packed agenda. Often, after the first day, once they have experienced the local hospitality, including food and wine, they slow down and reduce the ‘activities’ to the morning, with afternoons spent by the pool and walking around the grounds, before the dinner feasts.
Now please fill the gap about your five pro tips:
- Your golden suggestions in this new way of travelling: Travel locally
- How to stay positive: Practice gratitude
- Best place to recharge: Observe your world with an open mind
- A good activity for your health: Early morning walk and an evening glass of wine!
- A game for your brain: to switch off – jigsaw puzzles, to engage – reading a book
Follow @cabbiavoli_castle
The WeGiveIt #YOURPRO it’s published regularly at WeGiveIt Blog. WeGiveDigitalServices is a London-based Digital Agency, specialized in helping businesses to optimize their Cause Marketing and their Brand Strategy.
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