Dare to Connect

“To travel is to live! The world is out there, so discover it!”

Look at the inspiring growth story of Tamara Gario, our beloved Cluster Reservation Supervisor at Crowne Plaza Amsterdam-South, voco The Hague, and Holiday Inn Voorburg.

You have been doing a course for quite a period now already, could you tell us a little more about this?

The course is called “The Journey to Brilliance“. It is based on revenue management. At IHG, we are currently lacking a lot of revenue managers, while they are opening more and more properties worldwide. However, the nature of revenue management has changed in the meantime, and most people currently working in the business have been there for a while and are not necessarily open to many of the changes that are implemented or are to come.

Due to the lack of willingness to change and the need for revenue management, they decided to come up with this program. This is the second year of this program. The first time they did it was last year, and it was a success. So they decided to do it once more, and yeah, I was lucky enough to be selected for this program.

How did you come to be selected for this

I was selected through a process that began with an email sent to GMs in Europe, allowing them to nominate candidates from their properties. Sebastien chose me after Adrien first approached me about the program. Initially hesitant, I was convinced after Sebastien detailed the program’s benefits.

I didn’t realize it involved a rigorous selection process, similar to an entry level job interview. It started with the Gallup test, which includes analytical and scenario-based questions. To prepare, I watched YouTube videos due to the test’s time pressure. After passing the test, I had an interview with a revenue manager who asked about my current work and hypothetical scenarios. Finally, around Christmas, they announced the selected candidates. It was a both exciting and nerve wracking wait to find out if I made it.

What has been the highlight of this course for you?

There have been a few. Just knowing that you are not alone, that there are others with similar job duties, Getting to know these different colleagues in the world, or in Eurpe. Sharing experiences, knowledge, even personal things, encouraging each other, motivating… It’s like a supportive network of new people you got to know.

And with the program as well, you are now expanding to a whole new network of people you never thought you would come across. So that is really a wow experience, a lot of new people I’ve come across.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in doing something like this?

A few weeks ago, Nelum Gunewardame shared her journey at IHG, emphasizing the company’s many opportunities. She advised up to include our interests in our PDP (personal development plan), discuss them with out manager, and give them a try. If it doesn’t work out, at least we tried. There are various tools, options, and programs available, some unknown to us, which is why we should consult HR or use IHG Learning.

For example, you can ask for a temporary transfer to F&B for three months or join a pre-opening team. IHG is a huge company with opportunities even in different countries. If you are unhappy in you position or you would like to seek a new challenge, explore internal transfers before considering resignation or moving to a different company.

What is your life motto?

Coming from Aruba, a small island with travel limitations, I’ve always been curious about the world. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s quote, “To travel is to live”, I’ve sought to experience different cultures, foods, and destinations. For the past ten years, I’ve vacationed at least twice a year. During COVID, I traveled extensively, enjoying the quiet. Since moving to Europe almost three years ago, I ‘ve been exploring it one country at a time. Traveling is thrilling – seeing something in person is vastly different from seeing it online.