What Makes Us So Special? Behind the scenes of Our Best Hotels

Amadou

Anyone who travels will probably agree to this: A good hotel can be damn hard to find. Found a place that’s pretty cheap? Congrats! Good luck enjoying your stay when everything down to the extra pillow’s an added cost. Or checking in to a 5-star fancy-shmancy hotel? Well-done Mr. Big Spender. Let me know how that 1,000 thread count bed was after your told to pay up for that vodka bottle in the fridge! Basically, there’s usually a flaw or two that keeps you from giving that perfect rating on your TripAdvisor review. But at Ovolo? Well…we’ll let the reviews speak for themselves. Oh wait, they do!
TripAdvisor recently came out with their list of Australia’s 10 best hotels according to travellers. Ovolo didn’t have just one property on the list, we had two! Ovolo Woolloomooloo (#2) and The Woolstore 1888 by Ovolo (#6) are two of the hottest ranking hotels on the Sydney market. In Hong Kong, Ovolo Central was named one of Greater China’s Top Hotels for service. If you think that’s an easy feat, think again! So what makes them so special? The people of course. Check out our interview with the hotel managers behind these amazing properties, and learn just how far we go the extra mile in the name of #Service :)
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What top factor guests love about our hotels? And why?

Guest’s love Ovolo’s unique take on hospitality! And whilst that is the 1 FACTOR that differentiates us from the rest, there are so many elements involved. We’ve designed our experience with the guest in mind and our perks are a huge part of this. Our rooms are beautifully designed and highly functional, Apple TV, bedside USB connectors, in room iPads, international adapters, shopping tote effortless as possible.
Ms. Amanda Cottome, General Manager, The Woolstore 1888 Darling Harbour

At OVOLO, we’ve cracked the code on being different! We want you to -WATCH (Apple TV) – DANCE (Hardman Blue Tooth Speaker) – EAT – our free loot bag of sweets – DRINK (Our free Minibar) CONNECT – Fast Wi-Fi – and SURF (the net on our IPADS).
Ms. Tanya Ritter, Operations Manager, Ovolo Woolloomooloo

Guests love the effortless and relaxed atmosphere we create. A flawless symbiosis of thoughtful and clever hardware, wrapped in a cool and appealing message, and a dedicated team who just love to inspire our guests and represent our unique product
Mr 1szkuky. Stefan Borm, Hotel Manager, Ovolo Central

No two days running a hotel is ever the same, but what makes our hotels unique in your opinion?

Forget your typical cookie cutter Hotel, we love to provide hospitality with a difference. We’re all about creating a memorable experience and as a result, we spend a lot more time as a team in the creative space and working on crazy projects to delight our guests. Some of our male guests are a little challenged in the romance department so, we give them a helping hand. Their partners are swooning after they see it. But! we don’t want to spoil the surprise so, you’ll have to come stay to check it out.
Ms. Amanda Cottome, General Manager,The Woolstore 1888 Darling Harbour

We are living the dream and it’s all about ‘FUN’ here in Woolloomooloo! We work in a heritage listed beautiful light, airy colourful, creative space where we listen to 80s music all DAY of course we are a happy bunch of peeps. TO borrow from the saying “Happy Wife Happy Life” …. We work on having “Happy People” equals “Happy Guests” just check out our trip advisor HA HA – know what im sayin….
Ms. Tanya Ritter, Operations Manager, Ovolo Woolloomooloo

Hotels are made by people and I love to work with people doing their profession by heart. But what I love the most? It’s the spirit of my team when it comes to getting the job of creating memories and experiences done.
Mr. Stefan Borm, Hotel Manager, Ovolo Central

Describe your hotel’s team in 20 words or less…

Absolutely awesome. The creativity level, enthusiasm and sheer dedication to making our guests day the best possible is bar none. If you look at our TripAdvisor reviews, you’ll just how much guests love our team members. We have a NBPA policy when it comes to hiring here – No Boring People Allowed, and dare our guests find anyone at Ovolo who is!
Ms. Amanda Cottome, General Manager, The Woolstore 1888 Darling Harbour

“FLAVOUR” X 20. We hire our peeps from all different countries and have such a diverse group of people working with us who are passionate about taking care of our guests. We like nose rings, tattoos, peircings, purple hair you name it we want it, we like to do things differently here at Ovolo. We put the F in “Flavour” and this has been a corner stone of our success.
Ms. Tanya Ritter, Operations Manager, Ovolo Woolloomooloo

A team of passionate, inspired and loyal individuals who have been hired and mentored for personality in the first place rather than experience.
Mr. Stefan Borm, Hotel Manager, Ovolo Central

What’s the best & most challenging guest experience you ever had at Ovolo?

How do you deal with a guest who has stated that there is a ghost in their room? Burn sage, call in the local priest and ask the presence to go. We take all feedback very seriously here at Ovolo ;-)
Ms. Amanda Cottome, General Manager, The Woolstore 1888 Darling Harbour

We don’t name drop here at Ovolo but let me just say …one of the best guest experiences was what with a certain ‘Purple Hair International Celeb’… purple toilet paper, we strained candy to make a purple vodka, famed photo of her dog, purple lolly bar, purple sheets and she loved it.
Ms. Tanya Ritter, Operations Manager, Ovolo Woolloomooloo,

Guest experience is all about the expectation. Turning a disappointed and unhappy guest into one loving us is the biggest challenge and Champions League level for a true hotelier. It makes me proud of my team, seeing previous unhappy guests loving us when they leave and even returning for many times.!
Mr. Stefan Borm, Hotel Manager, Ovolo Central

What’s the most memorable thing a guest ever said to you or team?

We are constantly receiving feedback about how happy the team is here. Getting the people right is one of the greatest challenges in any business and it’s something that makes us all proud.
Ms. Amanda Cottome, General Manager, The Woolstore 1888 Darling Harbour

Our feedback is phenomenal… There are 2 quotes that are often repeated on our reviews and feedback forums ‘we love the clever touches’ and “the genuine happiness of the staff” and this is what we are most proud of!
Ms. Tanya Ritter, Operations Manager, Ovolo Woolloomooloo

One time, there were children staying with their parents in our hotel, and they told me, “that was the best hotel they’ve ever stayed in and next time in HK I’ll tell my parents to book only Ovolo!” Being a business hotel, it says a lot if you can make even kids happy!
Mr. Stefan Borm, Hotel Manager, Ovolo Central

Amadou is an American-raised, Hong Kong-based writer, communicator, and all-around lover of travel & food. He speaks four foreign languages and loves recommending new and exciting things to people whenever they go somewhere new. When not managing  his day job, you’ll probably find him at a happy hour or at the park with his Maltese Terrier, Maxx.