In high school, a vocational test indicated the hotel industry as a career to follow. Twenty-eight years after entering the world of high-end hotels, Leandro Livschitz You know that was a great decision. “I love what I do. I have a great passion for working in hotels,” he told NEWS.
He began his career at the first Park Hyatt Buenos Aires and later worked at Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Alvear Palace and Faena Hotel Buenos Aires. He was General Manager at Park Hyatt Mendoza and Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen.
Shortly after assuming the general management of Duhau Palace-Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, knows that it has the challenge of returning to pre-pandemic normality and increasing business. He considers himself a leader and believes that his mission is to make things happen. He has three children, a passion for wine, gastronomy, music and art and trains every morning before putting on the manager’s suit.
News: How did you get to the hotel industry?
Leandro Livschitz: I was always very restless about what I was going to do with my future. In high school I had some concern about taking the right path. I wanted to do something that I enjoyed, where I had a good time. Also, I was always very organized. And, thanks to a vocational test, I discovered that hospitality was what I had to do. Today, after twenty-eight years in the hotel industry, I can say that it was a great decision. I love what I do, I have a great passion for working in hotels.
News: What was your first job?
Livschitz: I studied hotel management and in the first year I was already working. I started at the old Park Hyatt Buenos Aires in the dishwashing area and after a few months I became a waiter and then I was in the cleaning area. Today I am grateful to have started there because it allowed me to do line jobs for a hotel.
News: What are the skills that a good manager must have?
Livschitz: The key points to manage a hotel are the management of guests and employees, the focus on the product and service, quality and continuous improvement, and financial results.
News: How is the high-end hotel industry inside?
Livschitz: It is a very demanding industry, where the result is important. At the same time, you have to have a good work environment and take great care of the employees. They are the ones who have contact with the guest and make the difference in the service.
News: You recently assumed the general management of the Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. What are the challenges you have in this new role?
Livschitz: I know this hotel very well because I worked for ten years and went through five different positions. Later I was general manager of the Park Hyatt Mendoza and the Park Hyatt Playa del Carmen. The last two years have greatly affected the hotel industry and here much more due to the limitations of flights from abroad. Today the challenge is to return to a more normal context of occupation and to the unique gastronomic experiences that this hotel has.
News: What are the strengths of the hotel?
Livschitz: It is a jewel for the chain, one of the most beautiful that Hyatt has in the world. It is a historic building, with a unique garden in the middle of the city, and we have a team of extraordinary people.
News: And gastronomy.
Livschitz: Yes, gastronomy also makes a difference. We have the Duhau restaurant with a concept of sophisticated Argentine cuisine; the Piano Nobile with the product of tea; the Oak Bar with a unique boiserie of more than 300 years, and the Gioia restaurant with a new concept of spectacular botanical cuisine.
News: How are difficult guests handled?
Livschitz: The level of demand is always high, but there are more complex guests. We have the purpose of caring for people so that they are their best version. Many times we have difficult guests and empathy makes the difference. Empathy plus action, what we do with what we hear, is our care formula.
News: And what kind of guest are you?
Livschitz: I am very simple. and i like the simple things in life. I am quite empathetic when I stay in a hotel, I interpret what someone does to provide service. I highly value attitude above all things.
News: What are your favorite hotels?
Livschitz: One that I really like is the Park Hyatt New York, it’s very close to Central Park and every time I go I enjoy it a lot. Another is The Confidante that we have in Miami and in Europe, the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome. I like New York and Paris a lot, I like to walk them, go running. AND I love Mendozaan extraordinary place, the wine, the gastronomy.
News: What do you do outside of work?
Livschitz: I do a lot of sports, I like to run and go to the gym before I start work. I love the experience of wine and gastronomy. And I love music, rock, jazz, tango. I really enjoy generating experiences that involve wine, gastronomy, art and music. They are my passions.
News: Would you like to have your own hotel?
Livschitz: I work in a company that I love and I feel so identified with its culture, with its purpose. I love being a general manager, I enjoy what I do so much that I don’t think about having my own project. I do think how to continue growing or what path to take.
News: Do you have a concept or phrase to guide you?
Livschitz: I consider myself a leader who likes to train leaders. I focus a lot on the development and care of people. Leaders have to make things happen. We are in difficult contexts and there are things that seem impossible to do, but with leadership, with conviction about the path to take, we can achieve extraordinary results. You have to convince yourself behind that goal.
News: What does it mean to be a leader?
Livschitz: It’s one thing to be a boss and give orders and another to be a leader and mobilize people towards a destination. We have to persuade, convince, that they follow us. It is not an easy role, but a leader can generate unique things.
