Tell us a bit about yourself, and your journey to becoming the GM at The Upper House.

Kristina: I am half Indian, half English, both my parents were born in HK and my sons are now the fifth generation of our family to be born and growing up in HK which makes me incredibly happy. Hong Kong holds such a special place in my heart and there is truly nowhere like it in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to be here surrounded by my entire family.   I went to boarding school at the age of 11 in the UK- which I absolutely loved having been brought up with the entire Enid Blyton book collection (Mallory Towers, The Twins at St. Claires)- lacrosse, tuck boxes and midnight feasts featured heavily! After completing my undergrad degree at Bristol University in modern languages and literature, I was extremely fortunate to spend the next 2 years completing my hotel and restaurant diploma at L’ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL) before returning to Hong Kong as the Concierge Manager of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental. 

Photo courtesy of Madeline Lu

Now in our second year of a COVID-19 world, how has the clientele and their needs changed at The Upper House?

Kristina: Our local clientele has always been an extremely important segment of our business. We are grateful for the level of support from our regulars we have received over the last 18 months as the foundation of our guest mix. If anything COVID-19 has reinforced the importance of those relationships with old and new friends of our House.  

This 100% local audience typically come for a one-night staycation compared to an international guest who would be staying with us anywhere from three to seven nights. Our Guest Experience team have been challenged with the task of storytelling on the clock, creating the same long-lasting impact in a much shorter window, one which they have embraced and risen to. 

With our staycation offers, it has become increasingly important to drive price-value and include a value-add proposition that is focused on wellness and family. For example, throughout last year children could enjoy complimentary dining in our restaurant. At the start of the year, we converted one of our Studio 80 into a fitness suite for our Family Form residency, launched by a long-time friend of our House, Lindsay Jang. To celebrate Global Wellness Month, we have created a CBD Wellness Retreat, which includes a curated programme of transformative classes and luxury CBD gifts.  

We have also partnered with homegrown F&B brands to add a new layer to our guest experience, including Matchali, Cookie Department and Teakha. We will soon launch our summer partner for the pop-up as well. Stay tuned!  

In the era of the HK Staycation, variety and adaptability are key. It’s been a really great period for us to experiment with new offerings and also to engage our guests more through community-driven activities whilst supporting local, homegrown brands. 

AS A WORKING MOTHER, WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

Kristina: We have recently become a family of four which is truly the happiest moment of my life thus far! However, do not be fooled my days now resemble the world's longest relay race kicking off at 6 am sharp! I'm sure a few of you can relate to this feeling. With any life change, big or little, it can be very easy to fall into bad habits or to feel overwhelmed quickly, particularly if like me you are a very unique cocktail of type A, perfectionist, controller to the core. Take a breath, every day brings exciting new challenges both at home and work, so I say embrace it, try to laugh through the many moments that don't go as planned and let go of any bad juju!  

I am a believer in creating healthy habits for myself and my family so routine and list-making feature heavily. The alarm goes off at 5.45am every morning. I try to get in my first set of “me time” for 15 mins (aka a shower) whilst the rest of the house is still asleep (sometimes!)  Between 6-8am it’s a mad dash of getting both boys milked, fed, cleaned and dressed, and myself hotel presentable! Then its school drop off, coffee run with the husband before getting to the hotel latest by 8.30- 8.45am.   

9.30am is a highlight of my day with our team management meeting. To me having the right start to the day is essential and we do that via our leadership morning meeting, aka morning prayers, every day at the same time. We all share a piece of “good news” to ensure it’s a positive and constructive meeting and sets the tone for the rest of the day.   

Thereafter it’s a non-stop flow of seeing guests, team meetings and responding to the ad hoc nature of hotel operations, moments akin at times to that of Fawlty Towers or Hotel Babylon!  Lunch and dinner service are amongst my favourite- we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming back all of the regulars to our new restaurant, Salisterra, from the beginning of April. The buzz of a busy dining room weaved in with the dance of service is such a high to be apart of.     

I will squeeze in my power hour of exercise somewhere in the mix- workout clothes and sneakers are always in the bag so there are no excuses!    

Home-time is usually after 8pm. I will have to do bedtime virtually via Facetime with the boys most days but I sneak in for a cuddle and kisses in their sleep as soon as I am back home.