A capital job

London's Capital hotel is 30 this year, and its restaurant now has two Michelin stars. But despite the drop in visitors to the city, the hotel's general manager, Olivia Hetherington, is confident that its peculiar charm will see it through the downturn.

I've always made sure that I live really close to where I work. When you're managing a London hotel, this is especially important. So I live in Chelsea, just off the King's Road.

The alarm goes off before 6.30am, and I hate getting up. I always make a cup of tea, go back to bed and watch the BBC news before waking up properly.

I eat no breakfast, and because there's no Tube station near me, I drive to work. I'm in by 8am and the first thing I do is chat with the duty manager over a coffee about how the night went.

I always make a dive for the reservations screen to see what's come in during the night. These will have been coming in from around the world according to the time zones.

The hotel's owner, David Levin, has forged close contacts with Australia over the years through his wine business, and around 15% of our market is from that one country.

So I receive several e-mails most days from agents in Sydney and Melbourne, where we handle some top accounts. Each year a group of us goes out there to meet the agents and clients and it's very important to maintain our link. To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we sponsored a croquet tournament in Melbourne earlier this year when we were there, and held a big cocktail party next to Sydney Opera House.

We haven't marked the birthday here yet, but we're working on something for later in the year. And it's been a good year in some respects because Eric Chavot won a second Michelin star for our restaurant. We noticed an increase in covers immediately. There were calls coming in from across Europe to book tables.

Occupancy drop

On the other side, we've seen a 10% fall in our occupancy levels this year because of the foot-and-mouth issue and because of the slowdown in the US economy. Almost 40% of our guests are Americans.

During the morning, I make sure I'm visible in the lobby to chat with the guests as they pass through for breakfast or as they check out. There's 50:50 leisure-business mix of customers and it's a really nice atmosphere.

By 10.30am I'll be checking the details of those expected arrivals. That involves looking at room allocations, upgrades, preferences, etc. We have a big repeat guest ratio, which is good during a downturn, because the loyalty is there.

Also during the morning I hand-write all the guest welcome notes and make sure these are personal and relevant, especially if it is a repeat guest. Lunch is normally a sandwich at my desk at about 1.30pm. I often get this from the Food Hall at Harrods, which is about two minutes from our front door.

After lunch is a good time for meetings with staff members or heads of department. I'll also meet with our sales director to discuss new ways to market the hotel.

I like to be back in the lobby by 5.30pm for a couple of hours to meet arriving guests coming in for cocktails or dinner. There is a lot of activity at this time and there is a lovely buzz to the place. As a general manager, it's a wonderful luxury to be able to do this, but it's part of the Capital's ethos to focus on the guest.

By mid-evening I try to head off, and if I've had a meal during the day I'll just have some fruit and yogurt at home. But often I might be meeting friends or going out for dinner.

I try to be in bed by 11pm, because I need my eight hours' sleep, although I rarely achieve this. Fortunately, whenever my head hits the pillow, I'm asleep.

The Capital

Basil Street, London SW3 1AT
Tel: 020 7589 5171
E-mail: reservations@capitalhotel.co.uk
Web site: www.capitalhotel.co.uk

Owners: the Levin family
Founded: 1971
Rooms and suites: 48
Staff: 96
The hotel is part of the Capital Group, which also has two restaurants, a wine bar, another hotel and a vineyard in France
Turnover for the Capital Group: £10m
Rack rates: from £190 for a single to £375 for a junior suite

Just a minute…

What message do you have for Tony Blair? The tourism industry needs its own minister, because it must have its own voice. Think of the revenue it generates. It's billions. It's ludicrous that we are not properly represented at ministerial level.
What is your favourite restaurant? La Stampa in Dublin, my home town.
Who would be your ideal dinner partner? Billy Connolly. I just have to look at him and I laugh.
What foods do you really dislike? Mussels, sweetbreads and brains.

interview by David Tarpey