Katrin Seifert is senior sales manager for Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. She has a bachelor of business administration degree in international hotel management from Stenden Hogeschool Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. She is attending IMEX in Frankfurt this week and will be at the Switzerland Tourism booth.

When you were young, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I decided early that I wanted to be in the hospitality industry. On top of private family travels and an aunt who used to have a hotel, two movies inspired me to follow that plan: Dunston Checks In and Pretty Woman. The discretion, politeness and modesty of the hotel manager deeply impressed me. When I was a student, I worked for the Table Service Team as a waitress during VIP events. After my apprenticeship at the InterContinental Düsseldorf, internships in Germany and abroad as well as my hotel management studies, my very first position was sales coordinator at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin. After one year of supporting the sales managers in their daily business dealing with various segments, I was promoted to sales manager looking after the MICE segment from Germany, Switzerland and Western Europe.

What is it about Lake Lucerne that inspires you?
To speak with the slogan of Lucerne tourism—“The city. The lake. The mountains.” The Lake Lucerne region is all about these three components. Compared to other Swiss cities, Lake Lucerne is especially picturesque due to a lovely city and a beautiful mountain panorama being so close to each other. Mount Pilatus, Mount Rigi … you can almost touch them. And Lake Lucerne often glitters as if you were at the Mediterranean Sea—turquoise.  

What do you love about your job?
Accommodating different and often very high expectations. Showing flexibility by adapting to unforeseen circumstances, which occur a lot. Serving people in a creative way—there are endless opportunities to make someone happy. Very often, little things count the most. I am extremely happy how different positions in diverse countries perfectly complemented one another. I have met great people on my way that enriched my career tremendously. People might fear a decrease in travel and event budgets as well as technology that enables virtual attendance at conferences around the globe. In my opinion, face-to-face networking events, rewarding incentives and the excitement of coming together and socializing with colleagues from other countries and divisions will never stop.

What’s the best advice someone gave you?
Speaking about the pleasure of eating, our restaurant manager at Spices Kitchen & Terrace used to say: “Time for regrets and sports is always tomorrow.”

What advice would you give to someone considering a career in meetings and events?
There is no other field more exciting, surprising and challenging than involving yourself in meetings and events. Stay tuned.

Bonus question: What are you most passionate about outside of your career?
Most probably the No. 1 answer to this question and certainly true is traveling. I just love eating all kinds of cuisines and I am also passionate about running, and they actually nicely complement each other as well.