Eva-Maria Panzer

It is Monday, May 24, and I am excited to start season 4 of “Monday motivation – Felix asks”. Today, I am taking you to Geneva, the second-most populous city in Switzerland after Zurich, and home to the corporate office of Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group – Kempinski, established in 1897. This is a brand that is very special to me. Not only did I work for the group in various destinations such as Dresden, Djibouti, and Yinchuan, but I also met my beautiful wife during an internship at the Kempinski Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Munich, back in 2010. 

My guest today has been working for the corporate office of Kempinski since 2017 but looks back at an extensive career in international hotel public relations (PR) of 25 years. Please welcome today, Eva-Maria Panzer, the Senior Director of Corporate Public Relations at Kempinski Hotels. 

Eva-Maria and I met during her role as Director PR Europe for Fairmont, Raffles & Swissotel Hotels and Resorts. Back then, she was based in Zurich, so I asked her to share some of her favorite places in Zurich –hence don’t be surprised about a little excursion at the end of this article. 

Thanks to her role, I met Eva-Maria frequently on various press trips and exhibitions, and I have always admired the positivity she radiated when around. 

During the interview, we talked about the start of her career, the definition of hospitality, and one of her favorite anecdotes from more than 120 press trips. Eva-Maria holds a master's degree in literature and gave some knowledgeable insights into her reading preferences. She shared some wisdom for new starters for any industry, and finally, introduced us to her most favorite spots in Zurich.

I hope you will enjoy today’s read and please do not forget to #sharepositivestories. 

Question 1: Where did you start your career? What do you love most about your current role?

Eva-Maria Panzer (EMP): “Funny enough I have never worked in a hotel in my career! After graduating from university and then from the German Public Relations School I made my first steps in tourism in the airline industry – in the press department of Lufthansa in Frankfurt, which was a highly exciting learning on the job opportunity for me. By coincidence I got a job offer to become the Public Relations Manager Germany for Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, which was my entry ticket to the hospitality industry. This was back in 1996 and I am celebrating my 25th anniversary in international hotel public relations this year. The field of tasks in this position is very diverse and ranges from conceptualizing and implementing strategic initiatives to attracting potential guests through meaningful media coverage, coordinating interviews, arranging media stays in our hotels, organizing press events and media trips to showcase the latest portfolio additions, promoting our hotel group at industry fairs and most importantly building relationships with key media, which is my favorite part. I am a people person and love to talk to all kinds of nationalities. I am interested in everyone’s personal story which creates close bonds - I am just very passionate about what I do.”

I am interested in everyone’s personal story which creates close bonds - I am just very passionate about what I do.

Question 2: What does hospitality mean to you?

EMP: “It’s all about the guest’s journey – meeting expectations and making them leave with a memorable experience they would want to share with others. A stay in a hotel should always be something extraordinary that increases the trust in a certain brand and makes clients want to come back. Many factors are involved to succeed, but at the core of each hotel are skilled and authentic team members, who are dedicated to please, to entertain and to show their cultural empathy passionately every day.”

A stay in a hotel should always be something extraordinary.

Question 3: Can you please share an anecdote you experienced, that shows the variety and beauty of our industry? 

EMP: “Most of the anecdotes that come to my mind are from the estimated 120 press trips that I organized and executed over the years. As one spends several days with a group of journalists from morning to night, at times it feels a bit like being on a school trip. Some great and close friendships have been built on such trips. A very special one took me with a group of ten journalists from Israel to Jordan, where we suddenly found ourselves snowed in overnight in the desert city of Petra. The inhabitants had not seen snow for 50 years and could not handle it, let alone drive in snow. Our bus was grounded, so to speak, and we had no choice but to stay more nights and to devote ourselves to the contents of the hotel’s wine cellar. All flight connections for the rest of the trip did not fit anymore and we were lucky enough that one of our hotel owners did send us his private plane to bring the press group after long negotiations with the authorities and border police from Israel to Egypt. Still, today, when I meet one of the participants, we can’t help laughing our heads off about this crazy and memorable trip.”

Question 4: Have you had a mentor in your career? Who was it and did she/he gave you a piece of advice you still follow? 

EMP: “I did not have a specific mentor as such, but I was and am privileged in all these years to always have charismatic line managers with incredible knowledge, fantastic leadership skills, and who were and are first and foremost wonderful human beings. As I can be quite bubbly and direct, many of them taught me to become a little bit more diplomatic and to hold my horses – now and then I manage to do so!”

Question 5: What would you like to say to a hospitality/ tourism student/professional who recently started his/her career, at this right moment?

EMP: “My advice would not be exclusively for youngsters in hospitality, but for career starters in any industry: Approach your first job as an opportunity to get your feet wet. It can be disappointing if you find out that this starting position is not what you expected it to be and it may take a few employments to find the perfect fit. Just understand that you are not stuck in your first job forever, it’s only the first piece of the puzzle. Also, important to understand we all have our strengths and weaknesses. While most people desperately seek to minimize their weaknesses, they forget to boost their strengths. Focus on the skills that make you the all-star that you are and that let you stand out from everyone else.”

While most people desperately seek to minimize their weaknesses, they forget to boost their strengths. Focus on the skills that make you the all-star that you are and that let you stand out from everyone else.

Question 6: Do you have a book recommendation - this could be everything from a novel to an autobiography, etc. 

EMP: “This is hard to answer for someone with a master's degree in literature and to whom reading is like breathing. I love Japanese literature such as “Norwegian Wood” by Haruki Murakami or “When we were orphans” by Kazuo Ishiguro. I am a fan of French authors such as enfant terrible Michel Houellebecq (“The Map and the Territory”) or budding star Leila Slimani (“Chanson douce”), I am touched by anything written by Swiss Peter Stamm (“On a day like this”) or coming of age novels by youngster Benedict Wells (“Hard Land”). My favorite autobiography would be “The Author of himself – The life of Marcel Reich-Ranicki….

I think I get easily carried away with such questions.”

Question 7: What is a must-see for people visiting Zurich for the first time? 

EMP: “For Zurich beginners and when giving a city tour to befriended visitors, I always take them to a first stroll through the old town with places such as Augustinergasse, St. Peter with the largest tower clock face in Europe (with a diameter of more than 8 meters), along river Limmat to the beautiful windows by Marc Chagall in the Frauenmünster church and then of course to a boat tour on Lake Zurich. In winter, the day would finish with a “Porsche Cocktail” in Kronenhallen-Bar surrounded by real paintings by Picasso or Miró and in summer in “Rimini”-Bar, which is a river bath during the day purely for men, but opens its doors in the evening for the party crowd. I am just deeply in love with this city!”

Thank you for taking the time and I hope to see you soon, hopefully for a Porsche Cocktail.

Feel free to comment below for any questions etc.

Happy Monday and don’t forget to #sharepositivestories

Felix