Patrizia Bortolin of Preidlhof On How To Create A Travel Experience That Keeps People Coming Back For More
An Interview With Savio P. Clemente
Having a Great Team — Your team will make or break you, moreover wellness hospitality has to be a wellbeing experience both for guests and workers otherwise the previous points will fail.
As part of my series about “How To Create A Travel Experience That Keeps People Coming Back For More”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrizia Bortolin.
Patrizia Bortolin is Wellness Project Manager & Director at Preidlhof in South Tyrol, where she has designed a 360° Transformational Wellness concept. An award-winning Spa Director and internationally renowned spa expert, Patrizia has a deep passion for healing, psychology and spirituality. She has developed some of the world’s most acclaimed spa projects as a Concept Designer and Spa Director and was recently recognized as Spa Manager of the Year in Europe in Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to work in the travel and beauty industries. As a teenager, I found those industries so interesting and full of life. Wanting as much tourism and hospitality experience as possible, I’ve work in nearly every role and industry, including hotels, cruises, tour operations, and travel agencies. After years of traveling as a tour operations executive, I felt the need for a more meaningful relationship with the industry, so I applied for a role as a spa manager at a MedSpa in Italy. I met all the requirements: experience in customer service, human resources, health and wellness, and I could speak several languages, including Italian, German and English. I was fortunate enough to land the job, and since then, I’ve attended the best courses in spa management and in holistic techniques, learning as much as possible and always continuing my education. From there, I turned into a Spa Concept Designer for independent hotels and launched my own wellness consultancy company, Glowing Flow Wellness Specialists.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I’ve been so fortunate to have witnessed so many life-changing events within the wellness retreats I’ve designed, moreover in the last year at Preidlhof with guests arriving with very challenging stories. Once I witnessed a woman jumping for joy over the happiness she was experiencing during her retreat after so many years of struggling with depression, as well as a young girl recovered from chronic migraines after participating in the Glowing Flow Retreat. So many guests arrive feeling as if there is no space for hope, joy, or beauty in their lives, and leave the retreat with a contagious enthusiasm, energy and lightness. For me, it’s very important to design retreats and working environments that can boost optimism and humanity both for guests and the people working in wellness.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I have a very rich portfolio of teachable moments. I’ve always wanted to fully experience life, and with that comes learning from it — the good and bad. It’s important to me to create a constant flow of progression for myself, which keeps me engaged, brave and creative within my life. Not a funny story per se, but an equally meaningful one: After a hurtful professional deception I experience, I decided to take a sabbatical, which turned out to be a wonderfully enriching experience. The year-long journey uplifted my life, changed my perspectives, reinforced my values and added many skills to my portfolio. The theme of the journey was: create space for spirituality, inner calm and the power of now. I’m extremely thankful for that experience because without it I would have jumped into another project instead of retuning me inner harmony.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
There are three people who have dramatically influenced my life. The first is my mentor in marketing, Stefano Tredici, a true visionary and with a sixth sense for business. A second Stefano, but with an equal influence on my life, is Stefano Battaglia. The most important meeting I’ve ever had, that resulted in making my work and my life more meaningful, was with Stefano Battaglia. He is a contributor to all my healing projects and partner in my consultancy company. The third person would be Carmine Signorile, my assistant in the last 20 years. He has been with me through it all and has helped me accomplish so many of my personal and professional goals.
Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries? Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation and how do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?
The Wellness Philosophy created for Preidlhof is based on the power of transformational travel. We’ve tried to infuse the wellness journey with creativity, spirituality and interactive sensory tied to the measured positive vibrations emanating from the region’s rich history. Static, robotic service and fake customer care are over. I push my team to go out of their comfort zone, take responsibility for the energy in their working in and use their time at work to transform themselves, as well as the guests. The guests are important, but the people working day in and day out are the lifeblood of our wellness journey. People are the most important area we all need to invest in, with a holistic vision and multi-generational approach.
As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share a few examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?
The stage at Preidlhof is for exceptional, experienced therapists who embody what they preach because the world is in need of healing and that can only be done by those who truly understand how to get there. We also believe in the spiritual and emotional benefits of a natural vacation in a place where you are encouraged to be spontaneous while feeling safe. Guests are open to our various healing journeys like never before. Coaching spa leaders in a way that they’ll be effective and successful without risking a burnout is extremely important but goes beyond standard training. I strongly believe in the power of a creative-experiential concept for hotels, spas, destinations because this can help the hospitality industry reach great engagement, wellbeing and transformation with less efforts and costs.
You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?
I’ve been a globetrotter, I’m passionate about hotel life and seek evolution through travel. I love tapping into the harmony and authenticity within a destination, as well as exploring the hotel’s history and what unique experiences can make the journey more meaningful. As World Food Travel Association Ambassador, I love exploring the connections between travel, food and culture. I travel with light luggage and with as little transportation stress as possible. Natural settings feel more enriching, and I’m in complete bliss when I find quiet places with low manmade noise and dark skies to admire the stars. I’m literally in love with the Mediterranean lifestyle and the classic, vintage Italian evocative holiday mood. These are real values that we include and transcend in the wellness concepts we create because they still can inspire the whole world.
Travel is not always about escaping, but about connecting. Have you made efforts to cultivate a more wellness driven experience? We’d love to hear about it.
The Wellness Team I gathered at Preidlhof is highly communicative, and they are all trained and invited to engage with guests, to enhance the destination sharing insider tips in line with the concepts (where to bath in rivers and lakes, where energy places are hidden in the mountains, where to eat and where to find secluded places), to express how they are living the experience themselves. The most important connection we foster is with ourselves, getting better in feeling the messages of our body and the interactions we create inside while traveling.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a travel experience that keeps bringing people back for more? Please share a story or an example for each.
Authenticity — Preach what you teach, be consistent and honest, and source locally
Concept- Design a place that flows and makes sense with the destination — maximize the assets and improve the weaknesses.
Experiential approach — Focus as much as possible on how people will feel while there.
Having a Great Team — Your team will make or break you, moreover wellness hospitality has to be a wellbeing experience both for guests and workers otherwise the previous points will fail.
Creativity- designing concepts, spaces, customer service, details that are sustainable, enchanting, original, human and making the world a better place, not necessarily expensive and luxury.
Can you share with our readers how you have used your success to bring goodness to the world?
My success as a wellness concept designer has changed so many people’s lives. Pick one of my wellness retreats and I can show you someone who’s life was changed for the better. These retreats are life-long lessons, meant for retreat goers to take with them as they return to their everyday lives. Many do, implementing the practices into their daily routines, and are better people for it. When we love ourselves, and take care of ourselves, we are better people for it. Better people in the world make the world better.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Vipassana meditation for everyone. Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation and is one of the best versions of meditation out there for finding inner peace.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriziabortolin/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preidlhof/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preidlhof
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
About The Interviewer: Savio P. Clemente coaches cancer survivors to overcome the confusion and gain the clarity needed to get busy living in mind, body, and spirit. He inspires health and wellness seekers to find meaning in the “why” and to cultivate resilience in their mindset. Savio is a Board Certified wellness coach (NBC-HWC, ACC), stage 3 cancer survivor, podcaster, writer, and founder of The Human Resolve LLC.
Savio pens a weekly newsletter at thehumanresolve.com where he delves into secrets from living smarter to feeding your “three brains” — head 🧠, heart 💓, and gut 🤰 — in hopes of connecting the dots to those sticky parts in our nature that matter.
He has been featured on Fox News, and has collaborated with Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Food Network, WW, and Bloomberg. His mission is to offer clients, listeners, and viewers alike tangible takeaways in living a truly healthy, wealthy, and wise lifestyle.
Savio lives in the suburbs of Westchester County, New York and continues to follow his boundless curiosity. He hopes to one day live out a childhood fantasy and explore outer space.
