Midweek Interview with Emporium Hotel’s Peter Savoff

This week, Peter Savoff, General Manager at Emporium Hotel South Bank, showed us around the Brisbane property and even asked us to move in. Fine, we emailed him the questions.

The challenge for the industry is…

Convincing enough talented students that there is an exciting and rewarding career to be forged in the Tourism and Hospitality industry.

The things I like about my job…

Training younger staff aboutcustomer service. The training they receive working in a hotel environment provides them with ‘skills for life’ and assist them in any future career they have!

And the frustrations are…

The general perception that working in hospitality is a transitory job and not one which offers a rich career. This couldn’tbe further from the truth; the opportunities are vast.

If I didn’t work in travel I would be…

‘An early retiree’!

Favourite airline?

Qantas.

My proudest moment was…

Having our first Emporium Hotel in Fortitude Valley accepted into the Tourism Hall of Fame at the Queensland Tourism Awards, for winning Best Luxury Accommodation  three years in a row.

The naughtiest thing I ever did was…

Not declaring a bag of chips eaten from the minibar.

I try to relax by…

Going to the beach, especially North Stradbroke Island.

The last time I feared for my life was…

Every time I get stuck in a lift – it’s an occupational hazard!

If I can, I always try to avoid…

Salty Plums.

I really wish I had…

More time..

The best advice I’ve ever received was…

Take your work very seriously but never take yourself too seriously.

I don’t understand why people…

Communicate more via social media than in person.

My greatest weakness is…

Impatience.

And my greatest strength is…

Stamina to get the job done right.

If I won a $1 million lottery (aside from travelling), I would…

Share it with my wife and three children.

If I was prime minister I would…

Make tertiary education free for all Australian citizens (again).

If I could be someone else for one day I would be a…

A musician – making others around me feel happy through the gift of music.

I’ve always wanted to travel to…

South America.

My favourite holiday was…

Driving through pristine national parks in Utah (USA) and ending up in Las Vegas.