Introducing Paul Suy, one of the outstanding hoteliers shortlisted for Independent Hotelier of the Year at the Independent Hotel Show Awards.

1. Describe yourself in 3 words.

Demanding, empathetic, hospitable.

2. What makes Yalo unique to you?

Yalo was developed by entrepreneurs who are closely involved. ROI is, of course, important, but providing people with a great experience is equally important. The baseline "connect to the good life" is truly lived by both the shareholders, management, and all employees. For us, "'ifestyle', 'experience', and 'design' are not hollow words in a mission statement, but daily motivations. We have succeeded in developing both a successful hotel and a successful restaurant & bar, and the cross-pollination between these two components is what makes Yalo unique.

3. What is the biggest advantage of being an independent hotelier?

Throughout my career and also in my current role as a 'third party operator', I have come to know the various aspects of the hotel business well. On one end of the spectrum, you have large real estate funds with a host of asset managers who outsource property management to the big brands, and on the other end, you have the complete 'independent' hoteliers, with various hybrid forms in between. All forms, of course, have many pros and cons. One of the major advantages of the 'independent hotelier' is that they can pivot very quickly and are not bound by all sorts of sometimes absurd 'policies, procedures, and brand standards'.

4. What is hospitality for you?

My pet subject! Many people think that hospitality is about good service. For me, good service is the basis: a smooth check-in, clean room, prompt service in the restaurant, professional staff.... All these things are expected by your guest when they book with you. Hospitality is what they don't expect and is also harder to define. A basic rule is to find out why that guest is coming to us and to respond to that.

5. Why should the hotel industry vote for you as the winner of the IHA24 Awards?

Difficult question to answer yourself! Perhaps because we dared to create something completely new in the midst of corona with significant financial risks and only a gut feeling about what Yalo could become, and that we have succeeded in becoming the market leader in Gent's hotel industry in the short term and still remain the place to be for the people of Ghent who value experience after more than 2 years.

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