Let’s start with s
ome basic things about yourself – who are you?
My name is Oscar and I’m a Catalan from Barcelona.
Splendia is a very international company – what languages do you speak?
I speak Catalan of course, Spanish, English, a bit of French and some Japanese
What are your responsibilities at Splendia?
I am the CTO (Chief Technical Officer) of Splendia, managing the IT department. We’re setting up new tools to contact our customers and give them a better experience in Splendia, like the new Call Center system and the new version of the website, with a great set of new features. I’m quite sure that out customers will appreciate all the new functionalities and services we’ll offer them and they will use Splendia services more and more when they need to choose the best hotels for their holidays or business trip.
Why did you come to work for Splendia? What is your background?
I liked this project, the possibilities and the industry. Splendia offered me the challenge of starting a worldwide project. I previously worked for European companies like lastminute.com or vueling (8 years in the IT side of tourism) but the challenge here at Splendia is to have in mind that we offer our products for customers around the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Do you have any memorab
le moments at Splendia to share?
The summer and Christmas parties I attended were memorable, no doubt about that, but I won’t go into details….
How do you usually travel and what do you like to discover during your travels?
For business travels it always depends on the where and when, but for holidays I try to do 2 short trips and a big one every year. I like to discover new cultures, and in every place I visit, I try to understand and see how the local people live, their daily activities, the local places they visit.
What are your essentials when travelling?
For sure a good guide and my camera!
If you were to go on holiday right now, wherever you want, where would you go?
I would go for Japan for sure! This country is amazing. The people and the culture really impress me, sometimes I feel like I’m on another planet when I’m there. That’s definitely an adventure I would repeat!
What is your idea of pure happiness?
Maybe because it’s winter right now, but lying on a beach, sunbathing while reading a good book in a quiet place…
Here at Splendia, we are fans of design; who is your favourite designer or design hotel?
I was really impressed by the Miro Hotel in Bilbao when I visited three years ago. It combines a good location with tranquility and Zen design by Miro…. Love it! No surprise by the way, Miro was Catalan!
Do you have a blog? And if not, do you have a favourite one?
I started some blogs, but as I’m not a very constant writer, I enjoy more designing and setting up blogs than writing interesting posts (I’m a CTO remember!). On the other hand I’m an assiduous reader of blogs. Every day, if I can, I try to read blogs, generally about technology and politics. Two of my favourites are Microsiervos and Xataka (in Spanish).
People can’t live without music. Which artists and songs would you recommend to Splendia customers?
They are too many of them to decide! But in general, I enjoy hard rock and punk music from the eighties and nineties.
Working for Splendia, you must know some really unique and special hotels. Which one do you prefer?
Last summer, I stayed
at the Penha Longa Hotel, in Sintra, Portugal. I wish I could have stayed longer! It is a beautiful place, a golf resort placed in a very nice 14th century monastery. They also have a really good restaurant, managed by the famous chef Sergi Arola. It is just perfect with this combination of a beautiful place, a golf resort and good food.
What is your favorite destination? Do you have any tips to share about hidden gems?
Apart from Barcelona, my preferred city is Tokyo, combining the Japanese ancient touch with some of the most modern buildings and skyscrapers in the world. It’s a city of contrasts which cannot leave you indifferent. During my stay in Tokyo, I went to the Sant Pau de Toquio restaurant, managed by the Catalan chef Carme Ruscalleda. She is one of the world’s best chefs and has her restaurant in Chuo-ku, the main commercial center of Tokyo. It is an amazing experience to taste this elaborate Mediterranean food with a special Japanase touch
And finally, what would you like to say to our customers?
We are preparing a lot of surprises on our website, keep connected, enjoy it and tell us how to improve it!
To find out more about Splendia and our worldwide selection of unique Luxury & Character Hotels, click here.
gregory adam
SEO Manager at Splendia
Gregory ADAM is an SEO expert in online travel business strategy.
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I really enjoyed finding your site when I was looking for a hotel in Barcelona. I have always wanted to visit Spain especially because my brother has talked a lot about it, because he has been there twice. He said he didn't get a very good hotel and so now that I am going, I want to make sure I get a good hotel, so thanks for your efforts.http://www.ruba.com/barcelona_hotels.