January, and 2011, are here!
In the last few months I have blogged very little. Not that there is nothing to say, quite the contrary - I have been really busy, both at work and on holidays. And there are plenty of new things coming along and happening. Some things are still in the developmental stage and it is too early to speak about them but some are coming right out wanting to be mentioned...
This last year was a good year to us. We built very few new things but were improving a lot: new garden furniture, new fruit trees planted, new pillows, some new rugs and curtains, new blankets, new dishes, ... We painted some walls, inside and out. In the marketing side, we changed our site some, and started working with some agencies. A notable change was starting to work with A Vida é Bela and later the Smartbox - both are gift voucher companies, and both have picked up nicely. They have changed our strategies a bit, too, as they have changed our clientèle, especially during the winter months, to more national from international. In the summer most of our customers are foreign, in the winter mostly portuguese!
We have started 'packaging', too! Especially the Romantic and Super Romantic Sintra packages have become popular. The 'Spoil Yourself' has also picked up. If you like the idea of a 'packaging', maybe you have ideas to give us on what you would like to see - packages that include health items or restaurant meals - or maybe cultural events? We would really love to hear from you.
Soon we will be sending our a net questionnaire for all who stayed with us in 2010 to find out what we have done that pleased you and what you wished we had done differently. It is impossible to please everyone, but we can try! Normally I try to speak with all of our guests many times during their stay, but sometimes I fail to get all the important information to improve our services. That's why the questionnaire goes out. I will then write about the results here.
2011 is full of projects. We have plans that will improve our accessibility, ecological footprints and social responsibility. I will talk about them all, one at a time, at a later date. We hope to also be able to make changes necessary to improve customer satisfaction. This week we started English language training to our Portuguese staff - and in the summer we should have someone here who is fluent in Spanish.
And the weather? Looks like another rainy winter! Some gorgeous days in the midst of rain are scattered around. But it usually does not rain 100% of the time, even in the rainy days. Not many mornings did I have to cancel my morning walk due to rain! It is magical in Sintra this time of the year, with the mist rolling in and over the castles, then thinning out. That is the great thing about this place: It is gorgeous ALWAYS!
This last year was a good year to us. We built very few new things but were improving a lot: new garden furniture, new fruit trees planted, new pillows, some new rugs and curtains, new blankets, new dishes, ... We painted some walls, inside and out. In the marketing side, we changed our site some, and started working with some agencies. A notable change was starting to work with A Vida é Bela and later the Smartbox - both are gift voucher companies, and both have picked up nicely. They have changed our strategies a bit, too, as they have changed our clientèle, especially during the winter months, to more national from international. In the summer most of our customers are foreign, in the winter mostly portuguese!
We have started 'packaging', too! Especially the Romantic and Super Romantic Sintra packages have become popular. The 'Spoil Yourself' has also picked up. If you like the idea of a 'packaging', maybe you have ideas to give us on what you would like to see - packages that include health items or restaurant meals - or maybe cultural events? We would really love to hear from you.
Soon we will be sending our a net questionnaire for all who stayed with us in 2010 to find out what we have done that pleased you and what you wished we had done differently. It is impossible to please everyone, but we can try! Normally I try to speak with all of our guests many times during their stay, but sometimes I fail to get all the important information to improve our services. That's why the questionnaire goes out. I will then write about the results here.
2011 is full of projects. We have plans that will improve our accessibility, ecological footprints and social responsibility. I will talk about them all, one at a time, at a later date. We hope to also be able to make changes necessary to improve customer satisfaction. This week we started English language training to our Portuguese staff - and in the summer we should have someone here who is fluent in Spanish.
And the weather? Looks like another rainy winter! Some gorgeous days in the midst of rain are scattered around. But it usually does not rain 100% of the time, even in the rainy days. Not many mornings did I have to cancel my morning walk due to rain! It is magical in Sintra this time of the year, with the mist rolling in and over the castles, then thinning out. That is the great thing about this place: It is gorgeous ALWAYS!
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