Sebastian Thomas is a German visionary leader with more than 20 years of luxury hospitality experience, with the last 13 years in executive level positions. He has been the Resident Manager of the Semiramis InterContinental Cairo since 2019, and has been driven to provide hotel guests with a WOW experience by staying on top of industry trends and delivering the hotel brandās promise.
Identity Magazine had the pleasure to chat with Mr. Thomas and learn all about his personal experience in Egypt so far, new refurbishment plans around the iconic hotel as well as the re-implementation of its āCateringās Bestā services.
How are you finding Cairo after your distinguished career path in so many other countries?
Cairo is one of the worldās top-rated cities, specifically its downtown area. It is the capital where visitors can enjoy many historical attractions or trendy modern venues. Our location is very precious, overlooking the eternal Nile from one side and downtown and the iconic Tahrir Square from the other side. Therefore, we are at an advantage with these two very spectacular views, especially the city view which has witnessed many historical events in the past decade.
Semiramis InterContinental Cairo is the only hotel in Cairo with a heritage almost as rich as the cityās itself, a local hospitality icon offering an authentic and unequalled experience of this historic city. Centrally located on the banks of the mighty River Nile, within walking distance of the shopping and commercial center and minutes away from the Egyptian Museum stands the iconic and historic Semiramis InterContinental, which I am honored to have joined its team since 2019.
We know that each city has its own charm, but Cairo has a unique mix of authenticity and warmth. Do you feel this in your post as Resident Manager, either with clients or employees?
Egypt is known to be a second homeland for people from all nationalities. My family and I feel we are in our second home and sense this Egyptian warmth with both guests and colleagues.
How are you maintaining the balance between the hotel’s heritage side and the latest trendy style?
It is important to preserve the rich history of the iconic Semiramis. Many Egyptians have endless of memories of the hotel whether itās a wedding, special occasion or even a dining experience in one of its renowned restaurants. At the same time, we are implementing the latest technology either in our daily communication with the guests as well as during any upcoming renovation or in the introduction of a new culinary concept.
The most important idea is that the framework of such landmark remains cherished. In the process of refurbishing the hotel rooms, we try meticulously to adhere to the hotel’s heritage style within trendy global specifications.
The hotel has been known for a long time to be the āCaterer of Choiceā in Egypt. Can you take us through why it is known for this?
Semiramis Intercontinental outside catering service is well-known and appreciated in the market since decades. Our key pillar of success is our experience and the quality of service and food on offer. We became known to cater for VIP events with a large number of attendees at any place in Egypt.
Our strength is in the professional equipment that we have; our strong fleet, talented culinary team, expert events planners, etc. Semiramis InterContinental is considered to be the best caterer for elites since a long time. Accordingly, we decided to deeply focus on the re-implementation of the Catering’s Best to enhance the experience, quality of service and food. The Semiramis culinary team, continuous development, equipment, fleet, uniforms, collateral and specializing in VIP events are the new chapter in the re-implementation of Catering’s Best.
Please tell us why is Semiramis Intercontinental outside catering, “Catering’s Bestā, a corporate brand for the group?
Cateringās Best started in Central Europe driven by the German and Vienna Intercontinental and made its way to Egypt since the ballroom restrictions for social events were put in place. It will help to market our services in a more dynamic way and distinguish our service from our competitors. We benefit from a network of experts and can rely on each otherās support to provide a memorable guest experience.
The hotel has a vast selection of dining options, there is a revamped look and feel for the outlets in terms of ambiance and menus, please tell more about it….
We continuously revamp the experience of our guests by implementing new menus, ambiance, entertainment and furniture. We have renewed the Tea Garden, one of the finest cafes in the hotel, and are now in the process of renewing other outdoor venues like the Italian Pane Vino Restaurant’s Terrace/ The famous Nile Terrace. Moreover, other refurbishments will take place for some of restaurantsā pantries in order to exceed our guestsā expectations and satisfy the global taste. On the other hand, we have hired a new Executive Chef, Matthew Piercy, who brings along a wealth of over 20 years of luxury kitchen experience with him.
How did Semiramis Intercontinental survive the pandemic?
The IHG Clean Promise is our commitment to our guests to deliver a safe, healthy and clean stay, reassuring them that their rooms will meet IHGās high standards of cleanliness. It is a program that is inclusive of tools for implementation and training components for our hotel employees. Our hotel has had some quarantine business and we have managed to adapt to this change and protect our team members at the same time.
The Spa is a new project for the hotel; it is a little paradise in the busy downtown area. How is it offering a rejuvenating experience in the capital?
Our Spa is an oasis of tranquility in the heart of the city. It mainly transports you to a world of sensory well-being, serenity and pampering. It includes ten treatment rooms, a private couple’s suite, private and shared relaxation area and two thermal areas. Our experienced team promises to make your Spa visit a memorable one.
How are you maintaining safety and hygiene measures in the entire hotel during COVID-19?
Our team is our asset; therefore, protecting them is our main priority. We succeeded in reducing the working hours and pushed them to be on vacation during the peak times of the pandemic to guarantee their safety.
In addition, we embedded the culture of maintaining a hygienic environment among our team members by distributing hand sanitizers, tutorial posters, social distancing floor marks everywhere and enforcing mandatory face masks. In the meantime, our security team members are checking our employees’ temperature upon their arrival to the hotel and we are using the rapid Antigen tests for our on-site staff.
Finally, tell us about the new happenings this year as we look forward to the end of Covid (hopefully).
In 2022, Semiramis Intercontinental will offer more unique and personalized experiences to our guests. We are going to kick-off the soft renovation for 220 rooms and full renovation for our ballrooms that we will benefit from once the governmental restrictions are lifted.
To enhance the arrival experience, garage renovation will also take place to add more parking spaces. In addition to some refurbishments to our front and back of the house that will definitely leave a very positive impact on our guests and team members.
On the other hand, our guests will feel the new concepts in selected venues and the impact of our new culinary leadership.
