UNIQUELY STYLISH AND ALWAYS FRESH / UNIQUE, CHIC ET NOVATEUR
With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games due to start in Vancouver this Friday, I decided to pay a surprise visit to Opus Hotel to check in on frantic last-minute preparations. I didn’t exactly find what I expected!
After a sleepy year, the hotel industry in Vancouver and Whistler is about to get a blaring wakeup call. From February 12 to 28, the 2010 Winter Olympics are expected to draw 250,000 spectators, plus top athletes, foreign dignitaries and international media. Hotels are now sold-out for sixteen consecutive nights.
Given the sheer volume and related security concerns, suppliers to the Games will face a number of logistical challenges. Hotels have the added stress of being a twenty-four-hour operation. That means long days and lots of overtime for staff, who may be reluctant to waste what little downtime they have battling traffic to get home and back again.
Typically, when employees work back-to-back shifts hotels put them up in a guestroom for the night to ensure they’re perky for guests in the morning. But with visitors now fighting over scraps of private homes, campgrounds and RV parks, that won’t be an option during the Olympics. Nor will crashing at a friend’s place. Spare rooms, sofas and inflatable mattresses will be taken by out-of-town friends and relatives. Or paying strangers. The demand for accommodation has brought new meaning to the term “Go for the gold!” Employees who do make it home might discover that their enterprising spouse has rented out their side of the bed to a small Norwegian family. (more…)
A recent guest took our Lifestyle Concierge quiz and was so surprised by his similarities to Pierre he sent us this letter. We thought you’d enjoy.
To: Mr. Nicholas Gandossi, General Manager
I have just spent an evening at your trendy little address in Vancouver and felt I should convey my observations for the sake of fellow travelers, loungers and food lovers.
I’m heading off on vacation for a couple of weeks, so inevitably my minds turned to cocktails.
Apparently, I can enjoy my holiday cocktail-ing guilt free now, according to Brad Stanton, Opus Vancouver’s beverage manager extraordinaire. Cocktails have turned healthy? He recently introduced me to the delightfully appealing concept of cocktails as healthy elixirs. Take a peek at Brad’s video where you’ll be introduced to his talent for concocting nutritious, delicious drinks. Next time you’re nursing a cold or fighting the flu, give yourself permission to pour yourself a stiff drink. Stanton’s orders.
Brad works his cocktail magic every Monday to Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. during Happy Hour at Elixir. Make sure you stop by.
For our Montreal friends, you’ll be in on the healthy cocktail action soon. Brad’s busy creating the cocktail menu at Koko Restaurant + Bar, opening May 10 in Montreal.
Speaking of Koko, make sure to keep checking our Koko Facebook page, as well as the Koko website, where we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest developments as we approach our grand opening.
As for the latest happenings in Vancouver – we have some fantastic events in store for you, including a new Live Art series starting on the last Thursday of every month. Keep up with all our events on the Opus Bar web site and the Opus Facebook page and as always, you can reach me with your comments here on my blog, and soon (very soon!) on my very own Facebook page.
Some of my new responsibilities have closely mirrored that which I already do on the hotel side, but no one ever told me about the serious business of bar promotion. You see, while one part of the job is the very civilized marketing of the fabulous French-inspired cuisine of our Chef Don Letendre the other is frankly all consuming: creating more buzz for Opus Bar. Since opening five years ago, it’s been Vancouver’s hot spot. But, it’s a competitive market, and Vancouverites can be a fickle bunch. In the last year alone Vancouver has witnessed the emergence of a half dozen hot new lounges. But Opus Bar has a cache no other venue in town can offer: it’s resides within Opus Hotel. There’s something aspirational about sipping a martini in the bar –if you can’t stay at Opus, you can certainly always drink at Opus. Anyhow. In my quest to keep the lounge buzzing every weekend, I’ve had to break out of my ‘early to bed’ habits and start living la vida loca as a bar promoter.
My first foray into club-land involved the aptly named Tall Paul. Heard of him? If you’ve danced ‘til dawn in London or Ibiza, the answer is an emphatic yes. If, like me, the last time you shook your groove thang was to Madonna’s ‘Vogue’, the chances are less likely. He is one of the world’s hottest DJs, and he comes by his name honestly: he’s over 6 foot 7. In town to play a crowd of over 3000 in Whistler, we snagged him for a hush hush VIP invite-only event at Opus. With under a week to promote the event, we sent out hundreds of e-vites and text messages (who actually prints invitations nowadays?) not knowing whether we’d have 20 or 2000 responses. I confess I was anxious at featuring a DJ who’s used to playing outdoor venues for up to 20 000 semi-lucid ravers in our 1000 square foot lounge. Wearing my ‘hotel hat’ I worried about how our hotel guests might react. Throughout the night I kept approaching the DJ stand like a school dance monitor asking (OK, shouting) ‘could you please keep the bass to a dull roar’? At 9pm doors opened and a crowd of two stampeded in. Hm. Where were the hordes of beautiful people? I started to panic. Would this be my first and last event? Should have know better…Fashionably late, crowds started to pour in by 10. Murphy’s Law, the liquor inspectors also chose to drop in that night. Us, over capacity? Never. The night was a big success: three DJ’s including the headline act, line ups down the street, a steady flow of Grey Goose and Moet, and throngs of fabulous people with smiles on their faces. One event down…many more to go. In the three weeks since, we’ve held a launch for Rickards Original White Beer and a Grey Goose themed “Joie de Vivre” party (featuring DJ Mlle. Fleur de Lys and the Burlesque Beauties), next week we’re throwing a Champagne party to launch our Thursday “Bubble Lounge” concept. Next month we’ll welcome another celebrity DJ, and host another party. My beauty sleep is diminishing, but hey, liquor sales are up!
The coup de grace this summer will be our Fifth Annual Summer Street Party. Over 500 invitees join us on the street outside of Opus for the city’s largest private street party. This year’s theme is Out of Africa, complete with throbbing drum circles, electric African bands, and fire eaters. If you want to be there, you’ll have to snag a spot on our invite list.
To say this role requires versatility is a mild understatement. It demands the capacity to engage in strategic planning with high level execs to chasing down errant 20-something nose-ringed DJs. I was joking in a café with someone the other day about my new job as Bar Promoter Extraordinaire. A snappily dressed guy in front of me turned around and asked if I was the new promoter he’d heard about in Yaletown. He was the head of a chain of hot bars and wanted to talk to me if I was. While I couldn’t have looked less the part in my conservative suit and heels, I’m clearly learning to talk the lingo. I guess if things don’t work out for me in the luxury hotel industry, I can always pursue my newfound promoting career.
It’s December 29 and I’m feeling sorry for myself because for weeks now, while friends and colleagues in the industry have been stumbling from one holiday party to another in a boozy haze, I’ve never been busier. While they’ve been Christmas shopping during work hours, I’ve been shopping for a director of food & beverage. And while they’ve been inventing all sorts of excuses for coming in late and leaving early, I’ve been coming in early and leaving late. You get the idea. I’m bitter.
I was whining about this to my Mom over dinner last night, likely boring her to tears, and she basically told me to get over myself. Did I think being a general manager would be a walk in the park? I really hate it when she’s right. Problem is, I’ve never been fully convinced I want to be a hotel manager. Right now folding sweaters at the Gap or greeting at Walmart is sounding pretty appealing. I’ve always been in the hotel industry a bit grudgingly, convinced that another career is out there for me, one with more pay, less hours and frequent trips to Tahiti. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. LOVE IT. But would I want to be a general manager anywhere but Opus? Probably not.
Normally things settle down for me this time of year and I’m one of those irritating people drifting around in a boozy haze. But recently my job got a lot bigger. I’ve assumed responsibility for Elixir and Opus Bar. When Opus opened four years ago the hotel and the restaurant/lounge were set up as separate companies, and I joined the hotel side. The ownership wanted to avoid the dreaded curse of hotel restaurants: bad food, inflated prices and poor financial performance that sucks the life out of the more profitable rooms division. So Elixir was given its own identity, its own entrance and a brasserie concept that contrasted with the hotel’s contemporary style. Things have worked out well for the most part, and Elixir and Opus Bar are popular with locals and guests alike. But there have been internal challenges and problems with consistency. For me it’s been frustrating not to have control over food and beverage, but at the same time it’s allowed me to focus all my attention on the hotel. All that will change now that we’re one big family.
When Elixir staff first heard I was getting involved they were nervous. I guess someone told them about my days as a waiter in Toronto when I was in my early twenties. I had two waiter jobs, one in a fine-dining restaurant and the other in a nightclub on ladies’ nights. My specialty was spilling drinks, usually on people, like the cold glass of milk I dumped down an elderly woman’s back and all over her fur coat. She screamed so loud everyone ran over to look. I was so embarrassed and apologetic that she felt sorry for me and gave me an enormous tip. At the nightclub I didn’t fare as well with spills. The ladies wanted my scrawny butt out of the way so they could see the big, buff strippers. Now that Elixir staff know I won’t be waiting on tables, they’re very supportive of the change.
Present position excluded, serving tables is the most stressful job I’ve ever had. Anyone who scrimps on the tip after receiving good service should be forced to spend a day as a server. I still have a recurring nightmare in which I have a section full of hungry, angry guests and the kitchen is totally backed up. It’s like those university dreams where you show up for an exam and realize you never attended class. (Other people have those dreams too, right? It’s not just me?)
Once I get a director of food and beverage in place the workload should ease up. I’m really excited about working with our management team to provide a seamlessly brilliant experience in Elixir, Opus Bar and Opus Hotel in 2007. Stay tuned, and swing by.
One last note. Condé Nast Traveler’s 2007 Gold List is out and once again Opus has been recognized as one of the top hotels in the world. What’s also cool is the write-up tells readers to “check out the general manager’s irreverent blog”. Thanks for the plug, CNT.
Wishing all of you a very happy new year! Hope to see you at Opus soon.
Dan’s swamped this week (with his never-ending, glamourous holiday parties) and asked if I could write the blog. Mais oui, I said, I love writing the Director of Sales and Marketing’s blog. I’ve got Christmas tunes streaming through my computer, an eggnog latte by my side, and am dreaming of my three week holiday to Thailand – yippee! Oh right, I’m here to write. Focus.
‘Twas two weeks before Christmas, and holiday fever has hit the hotel. Stylish cranberry wreaths have been hung with care, in hopes that more revelers soon will stay/eat/drink here. Our guests are nestled in their Frette linen beds, with visions of (guess this one depends, but I’ll wager…) Beemers and Veuve dancing in their heads. Client lunches have been scheduled in Outlook calendars and post-work cocktails planned with colleagues after. The sales staff and I had just settled down to a flurry of card writing and gift box wrapping, when arose such a clatter I jumped up from my computer to see what was the matter. [Run on sentence, but this rhyming stuff is tough.] The Grey Goose minis and long-stemmed martini glasses were still lined up awaiting distribution to the masses. (Thank god those weren’t broken). But what to my horrified eyes did appear were cookie shards scattered both far and near. (Guess I’ll be asking the kitchen to bake a few dozen more “for our clients”. Ahem, not like they’re being eaten by staff). I think this is a far as I can take my poem. Anyone still reading?
The unofficial kickoff of the holiday season is the annual Tourism Vancouver Christmas lunch. Hordes of enthusiastic hospitality types flowed into the elegant Hotel Vancouver last Thursday ready to eat, drink, drink some more and be very, very merry. Chestnuts roasted, carolers caroled, turkeys basted (how DO they turn out 100 plus turkeys at once), and wine flowed. After some ‘networking’ (i.e. swapping industry gossip) came the requisite team photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Yet again this year, I landed on his knee – well hovered uncomfortably above as the pictures will attest (note the tight smile). There’s just something faintly lurid about sitting in Santa’s lap in one’s mid-thirties while sporting stilettos and a skirt. Finally, several hundred famished and red-faced party-goers settled down to the tunes of Dal Richards, and awaited their table’s turkey (the Tourism Nanaimo bunch next to us were particularly lively). Lunch culminated in enormous fanfare with the annual ‘Parade of Hats’. A not-so-dignified procession of hapless (usually new) employees cha-cha-cha’d their way around the ballroom in front of respected peers in gaudy chef hats featuring blinking Christmas lights, steaming dry ice, festooned with glittering ornaments and garlands, felt antlers, toy trains, company logos – literally, whatever. If you’re wondering which of us donned the hat, you should know that hell-would-freeze-over before any Opus employee would lap a room wearing a Leaning-Tower of Pisa inspired Christmas chapeau. Simply. Not. Stylish. At least not until Donatella agrees to design one.
Opus really shines in its own special way during the holiday season. Lights are twinkling throughout Elixir; purple and pink synthetic trees adorn Opus Bar; and silver disco-themed Christmas balls hang from the ceiling. Guests arrive laden with parcels from their shopping excursion or linger over a late afternoon glass of champagne in the lounge. There’s a general feeling of anticipation (or is that panic?) in the air. Christmas is only 2 weeks away.
From everyone at Opus to all our loyal readers, we wish you Happy Holidays. Stay tuned for the first story of 2007 early in January.
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