Sonja Vodusek has over twenty-five years of international leadership experience in the luxury hospitality sector. A graduate of the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, Australia, her career included management postings on three continents. She has been at the helm as General Manager of The Peninsula Hotels in Tokyo and Manila, and Hotel Manager of The Peninsula New York and is now Managing Director of The Peninsula London.
The Peninsula London is the first Peninsula hotel in the UK located on Hyde Park Corner in the heart of Belgravia. The hotel will showcase the best of British culture, art, and cuisine as well as The Peninsula Hotels’ peerless hospitality, refined over a century by this heritage hospitality brand. Featuring 190 exquisitely-styled guest rooms and suites, destination restaurants and a grand ballroom, as well as 25 private Residences, The Peninsula London will play host to London’s most glamorous events
Why did you become involved with the Walpole Professorships initiative?
Like many of my peers I want to find ways to pay it forward and contribute to the development of future luxury leaders. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy a global career in luxury hospitality and I want to share my enthusiasm and experience in the most meaningful way. Moreover, there’s an added element - although The Walpole Professorships initiative is focused on inspiring future leaders, I find that being surrounded by future talent re-energizes me and inspires me in my work. It really is a mutually enriching initiative.
What advice would you now give your twenty-something, student self?
Do what's right. Put people first, and the profits will follow.
Get to know people outside your own industry and to do things that get you outside of your comfort zone to keep a fresh perspective. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable at times, you will grow faster.
Ask yourself, how do you remain relevant in an ever-changing world? What are you adding to your toolbox to remain relevant? Leadership is a never-ending learning journey.
Know your purpose and what you stand for.
Be kind to yourself. It’s ok not to be ok at times and asking for help is a strength not a weakness.
Looking ahead to British luxury in 2030, what skills and qualities will most needed to be cultivated in to ensure a strong talent pipeline?
In addition to being agile and adaptable to rapidly changing environments, the two Q’s I believe are important are EQ: Emotional Intelligence and CQ: Cultural Intelligence. Both are extremely valuable assets in hospitality. When technology or automation can cover many of the more straightforward tasks, what is left is service. Human connection is something a computer cannot do. Building empathy, personalisation and intuition into the service offering sets your product apart. Understanding and respecting different cultural nuances as you conduct business is vital.
What do you see as the challenges and opportunities ahead for The Peninsula London?
There are significant challenges in hospitality in the medium term, and the biggest is around employment. Finding the right people, training them, and retaining them has always been critical to our industry. Now it is even more so. Without a doubt people are our most prized resource. Long term is all about building sustainability into every aspect of the business. It’s not a ‘nice to have,’ it’s essential.
Beyond your own professorial lecture, in what ways might your business support the students participating in the Professorship initiative?
We are very excited to bring The Peninsula brand to the UK, and we are keen to get young people involved duringthe pre-opening phase. We will be inviting students behind the scenes. Pre-opening: with hard-hat tours of the construction and then post-opening: seeing how it all comes together.
In addition to offering internship roles, we are creating an innovative ‘drive-through’ mentorship programme which will give students access to multiple disciplines. A different team leader each month, will be made available to answer students’ questions in an hour-long ‘lightning round’ format. When The Peninsula London opens, we will be looking to employ over 800 staff in many different roles. I’m looking forward to bringing this project to life.
