Dom Perignon for dogs and sleepless rock stars: the bizarre requests to the world’s best hotel manager

"I never imagined I’d see Dom Perignon poured into a bowl." This is just one of the many unusual sights witnessed by Simone Giorgi, voted the best hotel general manager in the world in the Virtuoso Global Awards. Currently managing the Park Hyatt in Milan, Giorgi retraced his career in an interview with Il Giornale, recounting his humble beginnings. While at the hospitality school in Florence, he was recruited by Giorgio Pinchiorri and Annie Féolde, who were looking for enthusiastic young staff for a night at the Enoteca Pinchiorri, where “Paul Bocuse, the father of nouvelle cuisine,” was cooking. Giorgi raised his hand, captivated by the lives of bartenders, managers, and restaurant managers as portrayed in the soap opera Love Boat, set aboard a cruise ship. From that moment, he began his journey, starting as a dishwasher and plate-carrier. “Before starting a shift, they checked our hands, socks, shoes, and beard, made sure we wore no perfume, and that we knew the menu by heart,” recalls Giorgi, observing that today’s hospitality environment is less “militaristic.” His career soon took off, bringing him to the most prestigious destinations worldwide: London, Paris, New York, Portofino, Capri, Florence, and finally Milan.

Among the qualities of a good hotel manager, Giorgi highlights the “comprehensive” understanding of the property and, above all, “personnel management”—or rather, “managing people,” he quickly corrects himself. Italian hospitality, which he feels is unique, makes a difference: “The naturalness, our sunny but elegant approach.”

Guest demands

A hotel director’s life, of course, includes difficult guests. Especially these days: “Guests pay more and expect more. In the past, you’d repair what you could, but today, it’s thrown away. In hotels, it’s the same: if I don’t like staying with you, I’ll just go somewhere else,” Giorgi says, before sharing some of the strangest requests he’s received. The leader of a band “among the most important in the last forty years” said he couldn’t sleep because it was too quiet, and demanded “the background noise of the city.” It turns out the band is Irish.

Herbal teas and champagne

But there’s more: there are guests who have requested a room painted entirely black, others who’ve wanted a Champions League match recording played during their wedding. However, nothing, according to the Park Hyatt manager, beats the time a guest ordered verbena tea and a bottle of Dom Perignon. “The tea was for him; the champagne was for his dachshunds, Tik and Tok,” Giorgi says.