It was quite natural for me to enter hospitality. It started with my family – we were travelling a lot within Poland. I went to a high school that specialised in hospitality, tourism and travel and to The Academy of Hotel Management and Catering Industry in Poznań.  Then I had the opportunity to join an international internship and I worked in Greece and France. After I came back I had an internship in Novotel and here I am.

I used to say that if you want to invest your money, travelling and tourism are the best way to spend it because you can buy a car, a phone or a laptop but they are just devices and they get old. But when you are travelling, you enrich yourself: you discover new places, learn languages, cultures, share moments with your family, and that is the most valuable thing.

People don’t like change but I do! And it is necessary when it comes to daily experience. I am a huge fan of project management and an agile approach in our work; I am guest experience manager but I am working as a project manager because I am doing so many things in the hotel. Also, Covid-19 forced us to do this because we couldn’t carry on doing the things as they were written in our job description; you need to stay open-minded.

I know for some people, it’s hard to get out of their comfort zone, but I think it’s necessary. I try to set a good example to my colleagues and I always give others space to make mistakes; don’t be afraid of failure because it’s just part of the learning process. I try to give people as much support as I can.

I have had lots of jobs in Accor. I like cutting-edge technology and I like to learn; everything I learn can make things better for our team as a collective. I think maybe technology – digitalisation, and developing our teams, are what I am most passionate about; that and sharing the knowledge I have gained over the years.

To people in the industry, I say, be brave, be creative and don’t be afraid of failure. Get out of your comfort zone! There are new competencies, new contacts and new opportunities waiting behind the door, just trust the process. Hospitality needs people from different sectors who have valuable experience.

The hospitality industry is capacious and can accommodate people from many professions. Whether it is your final destination or just a stop en route, it’s a good place to learn; you can develop in so many areas – marketing, finance, accounting, customer service, employee branding. You can work with and for people in an international department, which is valuable in itself. It is worth being here.