We have Alexandra Kasperová here, General Manager of Chateau Herálec – Boutique Hotel & Spa by L‘Occitane, proving that this combination can actually become a reality! Alexandra will talk about the business of every girl’s dreams, her company’s victory in Luxury Lifestyle Awards and making your services original when times are hectic and the competition gets more intense than ever.

Alexandra, please tell our readers how the idea of such a business – a castle hotel – came to you?

In reality, I never dreamed of owning a castle, and in many ways, it is a big coincidence. At the time, we bought the castle as a family. We worked at one of the biggest construction firms in the Czech Republic and decided that we wanted to find an old house in this beautiful region that we could reconstruct. When one of my friends told me that a little castle in Herálec was up for an auction, we went to check it out without any expectations. The Czech Republic is a country with a rich history, and you can find a historical building in almost every village. The size of the building took my breath away, and so did its bad condition. It was impossible to imagine it as your next home. On the other hand, we are entrepreneurs, and my husband is a visionary, or maybe sometimes a fool? So we decided, based on the amazing location of the castle and its beautiful park, that we should go for it. We understood, that the castle had to have some sort of cash flow, and the ideal option was a hotel. Since the region had no other five-star hotels, we decided to reconstruct this beautiful building into a high-class hotel that would appeal to even the most demanding guests.

What had to be done to make this project a reality? What was the biggest challenge along the way?

Based on the structure of our family business, the project of the complex reconstruction and historical revival of this building was automatically assigned to me. Even though I had many years of experience before, I consider this to be one of the hardest, but also the most beautiful experiences in my professional career. The chateau is a national cultural monument of the Czech Republic, which meant we had to be very cautious and had certain limitations throughout the construction of the castle. Reconstruction of the “ruined” castle into Chateau Herálec was a challenge, both from a creative and a managerial point of view. In this project I managed to incorporate and connect all the things I have learned in my professional career. And most importantly, it is a concentrated positive experience: so many skilled, motivated and hardworking people contributed to the success of this project! Their imprint is visible everywhere in the castle, and it is the most valuable thing that I take away from this project.

What is the inspiration behind everything you do and the special and original services your hotel provides?

We created a beautiful and clean product! We brought the castle back to its original state and turned it into a hotel with a modern touch through the scenography concept. However, today I am more convinced that in hotel management the human factor is more important than the product itself. I travel a lot, and have to admit that there are definitely more beautiful and luxurious hotels out in the world, but what makes us different from other projects in this category is that we make our guests happy no matter what. If you listen and try to exceed their expectations, you cannot make mistakes. Good service is fundamental, but the ability to surprise your guest constantly is also very important. It is not hard, and your ideas will always find their way, which will make the guest satisfied throughout their stay.

In today’s modern, highly competitive world, what do you think it takes to make a business stand out and become a leader in its field?

That is a very interesting question, and I would not categorize myself as a leader in this field. On the other hand, according to our most recent award, we are the most popular hotel in the Czech Republic. This automatically makes you think about what luxury means to today’s guests. Even though we are talking about a sphere where preferences and expectations can’t be more different, I can tell you one thing with certainty: luxury today, in my opinion, is when you manage to provide intimacy and privacy for your guests, which, as a boutique hotel, we definitely do. When you are in a protected and beautiful space and provide your guests with friendly service and family atmosphere, it is a great balance.

Chateau Herálec became this year’s Grand Trophy Winner of Luxury Lifestyle Awards. What do you think this victory will bring in terms of your relationships with clients, competitors and partners?

I myself am surprised by the number of awards we managed to collect during these 7 years we’ve been on the market. I understand that in this highly competitive branch of business, where hotels compete with each other, we choose to serve and provide for our guests. We will never stop trying to make them happy during their stay. For this reason, every award is not only a confirmation that we are going down the right path, but also a great reminder that we should never go off this path. We are extremely honored by this award. Heralec is a local project, obviously already with international roots somewhere, but our suppliers are small firms from the surrounding villages, family farms, etc. They are extremely proud too, it is not only our award, but theirs as well. It is a confirmation that high-class quality is not only created somewhere else in this world, or in a big city, but also in our hotel, which is located technically in the “middle of nowhere”.

What is your strategic plan for preserving your business for the decades to come? Is it mostly about constantly changing or remaining the same?

Constant changes are always spoken about, but I am convinced that standards and values stay forever. If you are doing something right (and in case of services you can double the value), then I am not worried about the next 10 years. We are a family business with four kids, and we deeply hope that this traditional business of generations will last for the next couple of decades. However, we should never stop trying…