How did the Emiliano adventure come about?
Gustavo Filgueiras - Our family already owned a few small hotels in Brazil. But we realised that demand from businessmen and women represented around 90 % of our clientele, and that we needed to think about something new, original and truly luxurious in São Paulo.
What is the Emiliano concept?
G. F. - It boils down to three main elements: a very high level of service, a contemporary Brazilian atmosphere and relentless creativity. For example, we regularly make small changes to the décor. A piece of furniture here, a chair there. In the near future, we're going to change the layout of the winter garden and build a green wall. And we've just created a range of beauty products, Santa Pele, which is doing so well that we're thinking of marketing it.
You've just launched the Casa Emiliano programme, what's it all about?
G. F. - This programme is aimed at suite customers. It involves them filling in a highly personalised questionnaire that allows us to get to know them better so that we can anticipate their needs - at no extra cost. We can personalise their minibar, put in what they like and take out what they don't, or put their personal address book on the phones in their suite, and find out what they're doing all day to make it easier for them to get around. We offer free washing and ironing. In short, we want to welcome the customer for the first time as if they were coming back for the tenth.
