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LEADER – NATHALIE SEILER-HAYEZ, GENERAL MANAGER, SWISS DELUXE HOTELS: "TO FURTHER ELEVATE SWISS LUXURY IN ITS MOST AUTHENTIC FORM" (Suisse)
Two years after her appointment, the CEO returns to Journal des Palaces to discuss the major advances made by Swiss Deluxe Hotels and the realisation of her vision of Swiss luxury with a focus on the future. |
Catégorie : Europe - Suisse - Économie du secteur
- Interviews et portraits
- Associations et Syndicats - Interviews - Les Leaders du secteur
Interview de Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine le jeudi 10 juillet 2025
 Nathalie Seiler, General Manager, Swiss Deluxe Hotels
Crédit photo © Swiss Deluxe Hotels
In a new interview with Journal des Palaces, she looks back on the major advances: the arrival of iconic properties within the association, the upcoming roll-out of the Swisstainable label, the relaunch of the Circles – professional think tanks – and the consolidation of new strategic partnerships. All these actions strengthen the collective's cohesion and refine its strategy.
She also discusses the fundamental work being done on the association's structure itself: clarifying the financial situation, redefining certain functions and refocusing key roles. Behind these projects, a vision of hospitality is emerging, where the quality of human relationships is as important as the excellence of the services provided.
By promoting intergenerational transmission, valuing talent and structuring more targeted communication, Nathalie Seiler-Hayez is breathing new life into Swiss Deluxe Hotels. A more conscious form of luxury, rooted in the present and driven by high standards, sincerity and a collective vision.
Journal des Palaces: Nearly two years after your appointment, what key projects have you actually moved forward within Swiss Deluxe Hotels?
Nathalie Seiler-Hayez : Since taking office, several structural initiatives have been successfully implemented to strengthen the value, cohesion, and future of our association. We welcomed four emblematic properties into Swiss Deluxe Hotels: the Bürgenstock Resort, the Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Zurich, La Réserve in Geneva, and the Villars Palace (Editor's note: a fifth address has just joined the association, The Capra in Saas-Fee). These additions enrich our network and further establish our role as a reference in Swiss luxury hospitality.
Strategically, we made a firm commitment to sustainability: all our members will be required to obtain the recognized Swisstainable label by 2028, a collective engagement reflecting our desire to combine excellence with responsibility.
We also reactivated our Circles, professional working groups that foster innovation, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration. Strengthening our Amicale, the human backbone of the association, has been another key focus, as conviviality, trust, and mutual support are core to our identity.
Our ecosystem has grown with the arrival of many quality partners, and our internal structure has evolved. Certain roles have been outsourced to enhance agility while maintaining operational excellence.
We also strengthened our strategic ties, notably with Switzerland Tourism, with whom we closely collaborate to promote the destination and highlight the excellence of Swiss hospitality on an international scale.
We clarified and updated the financial situation of the association. The post-COVID period left some grey areas in our accounts, and restoring full transparency and a sound foundation was essential to secure long-term stability and investment capacity.
Lastly, we revitalized the Eagles community, which brings together our retired general managers. Their experience, loyalty, and perspective are invaluable, and we felt it was important to maintain this intergenerational link within Swiss Deluxe Hotels.
Could you clarify what the Circles are and their purpose?
A Circle includes all heads and directors of a specific department from our member properties. We’ve established Circles around key topics such as F&B, rooms, sales & marketing, finance, human resources, and sustainability.
These groups meet once or twice a year to discuss the complexity of their respective areas. For example, the decision to require all members to obtain the Swisstainable label originated from the Sustainability Circle.
The association’s main mission is to promote Swiss hospitality internationally. What levers have you used to achieve this goal?
We’ve enhanced our digital marketing strategy with targeted social media campaigns, a slightly revamped website, and our magazine - a premium medium that reflects the excellence of our hotels. Since content creation is a key driver, we partnered with Ivan Lartisien, whose videos authentically convey our values and service standards.
We also implement targeted actions in select markets, working hand in hand with strategic partners like Switzerland Tourism. Commercially, we’ve chosen a selective presence by participating exclusively in ILTM, the leading trade fair in luxury travel.
How does the association currently support its members with operational challenges, particularly recruitment and talent retention, despite housing constraints and the strength of the Swiss franc?
The strength of the Swiss franc has little impact on our hotels, but recruitment and retention remain major challenges. To address these, we’re working on enhancing the desirability of hospitality careers, notably through stronger communication, especially on LinkedIn - an area we plan to expand further.
We’ve launched several initiatives: a forthcoming Swiss Deluxe Hotels Award to celebrate exemplary staff, tangible benefits like allowing each employee to stay at a member hotel for CHF 100 per night, and stronger partnerships with Swiss hotel schools to attract young talent.
We’re also exploring the idea of a centralized job board for all member properties - a promising project still in development.
What is the Swiss Deluxe Hotels Award?
We are planning to create a new event that will bring together the best talent from all of our properties. Each hotel will be able to nominate its employee of the year, who will then be invited to a special ceremony in the summer of 2026 to celebrate excellence and talent within our group.
One of your stated goals in our last conversation was to stimulate synergies and cobranding. What recent partnerships embody this ambition, and how do they contribute to the visibility of member hotels? Does H Magazine, which you wanted to be bolder and more cross-disciplinary, play a role in this strategy?
We’ve indeed strengthened this dynamic with several strategic partnerships that bring real added value to our members. One of the most significant is our collaboration with Swiss Top Events, which unites the country’s most iconic events like the Montreux Jazz Festival and Art Basel. These partnerships boost the international appeal of our hotels by linking them with world-class cultural experiences.
We’re also developing group-level partnerships in areas where pooling resources makes sense. For example, in negotiating credit card agreements, we’ve secured preferential terms. In some cases, we operate as a purchasing hub – an invaluable asset for our members in terms of efficiency and competitiveness.
In the same spirit of coherence and synergy, H Magazine, available in digital and print formats, plays a key role. We wanted it to be bolder, more transversal, and embedded in a content world that reflects not only luxury, but also lifestyle, culture, gastronomy, and the human touch. It has become a powerful tool to connect our hotels with like-minded brands and audiences, while reinforcing our collective identity.
What role does Swiss Deluxe Hotels play today as a stakeholder in political and economic dialogue, especially regarding luxury tourism promotion and professional training?
Swiss Deluxe Hotels now holds a recognized place within the Swiss tourism ecosystem. We participate in all major professional associations in the sector, giving us a strong voice in strategic and institutional discussions on behalf of luxury hospitality.
I also sit on a federal working group tasked with shaping Switzerland’s national tourism policy. This allows us to contribute meaningfully to discussions about training, competitiveness, and international positioning.
Our aim is to be a constructive actor – close to the field, yet visionary – advocating a bold and sustainable future for Swiss luxury tourism. Thanks to our network’s credibility and our collective expertise, we are a trusted interlocutor for both economic and political stakeholders.
At present, our lobbying efforts are focused on easing labour laws, particularly to facilitate the hiring of foreign workers in Swiss hotels.
You’ve long championed a more sensory, transformational vision of luxury. At the association level, how do you encourage members to rethink wellness offerings and guest experiences?
Today’s luxury is no longer about opulence or excess. It’s about time – time for oneself, time with loved ones – through unique, sincere, and deeply human experiences. It’s about caring for one’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. These evolving expectations are redefining the hotelier’s role: we’re no longer just offering a stay, but moments of deep emotional significance.
Many of our properties are set in exceptional natural settings, naturally lending themselves to relaxation and introspection. The act of simply gazing at a breathtaking landscape, in harmony with nature, plays a powerful role in the pursuit of serenity. It’s a discreet, profound, enduring form of luxury - one that resonates more than ever today.
At Swiss Deluxe Hotels, our mission is to spark these conversations, to support innovation while respecting each hotel’s identity. We promote collective intelligence to surface new ideas, share best practices, and foster a shared vision of tomorrow’s well-being – one that remains demanding, refined, and deeply human, while honouring each property’s individuality and freedom of expression.
What are your top priorities for the coming months and years?
We plan to launch our HR Award, which will shine a light on the talent within our network and highlight the human dimension at the heart of our profession. Another key objective is to further solidify our position as the ultimate benchmark in Swiss luxury hospitality – the crème de la crème – while preserving the camaraderie and trust that define our association.
Other priorities include expanding our strategic partnerships with luxury brands that share our high standards and sustainable vision for the guest experience. We’ll also continue strengthening our presence at major Swiss events.
We’re thinking about boosting our digital presence, especially on social media, and producing more high-quality content to better express who we are.
Finally, we’re considering expanding shared services in areas where it makes sense – be it training, technology, or sustainability – to deliver added value to members without compromising their independence or identity. Our goal is clear: to further elevate Swiss luxury in its most authentic form, while evolving our model without losing its essence.
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