As the manager of DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka, Gert Venter always starts his day with an overview of the operations of the last evening service and reviews the business outlook for the upcoming day in order to make good future decisions along with a mid-morning management standup.
Before his role at DoubleTree By Hilton Karaka, Venter had a diverse operations career in the South African hotel industry, where he began his Hilton journey over a decade ago.
As he moved to New Zealand just a year before the pandemic hit, he was the Lower Hutt Event Centre General Manager. Despite being severely hit by COVID-19, Venter knew he wanted to continue his passion in the hospitality sector and embraced the opportunity by joining DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka this April.
"DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka is ahead of its time in our location. The hotel is fast becoming a landmark as you drive down the Southern Motorway, and it is the talk of the town," said Venter, who loves the modern contemporary design element of the hotel.
"We offer lovely gardens, plenty of natural light spilling in everywhere, and easy access from the airport."
In his time at DoubleTree by Hilton, Venter promises reliable and friendly guest service while creating meaningful opportunities for team members to achieve their potential. He wishes to positively contribute to the local community and drive good returns to the shareholders.
"We have a very robust program to solicit feedback from our customers and then act on the feedback with intent. Our 'make it right' philosophy is focused on problem resolution for our guests before, during and after the stay."
Catering to customers' evolving needs, Hilton also offers digital check-in with its app, which allows guests to select their room and receive a digital key. They are also testing security features for casting services to enable guests to cast from their devices worry-free.
"We offer a fresh, modern, quality hotel experience with a country house feel. Our guests are the reason for us to be here, and it's evident in our guest feedback that they feel cared for. You will feel comfortable and at home from the moment you arrive."
Another highlight about Hilton is that hosting a corporate event or meeting at any Hilton in Australasia is carbon neutral as it offsets the event's carbon emissions and purchases the equivalent in carbon credits at no additional cost.
Like most others in the hospitality industry, Venter agrees that the shortage of skilled labour continues to be a considerable challenge for the hotel, which is working closely with educational institutions to expose, train and educate upcoming talent in the sector.
"Our industry needs more support and recognition from the government. We are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic. Major events and destination marketing efforts are under pressure and must be supported to compete on the world stage with other major destinations."
DoubleTree by Hilton is also creating excitement about the hotel with various food and beverage experiences like degustation dinner events, pool deck activation for summer with Graham Norton's Own Pool Club, Christmas lunch parties and a New Year's Eve dinner and live entertainment.
