Rencontre avec Carolin Eckmüller

Our people make Apaleo and its culture pretty darn unique. So, here's a chance to get to know them! We chatted with Carolin Eckmüller, our HR Admin Manager and magician who makes all our trouble go away. She told us all about her job and the tasks she does for the whole apaleo team, about her favourite childhood memories, her opinion on how software can help hotels, and much more. 

Name: Carolin Eckmüller

Nationality: German

Superpower (job): HR Admin Manager

What’s your background? 

After completing my hospitality education, I started working for The Charles Hotel, a Rocco Forte Hotel in Munich, working my way up from HR & Quality Trainee to HR Manager. In my “free-time” I completed a bachelor's and master’s degree. Due to a reorganization of some departments including Sales & Marketing and HR, I took on the newly created position of Regional Recruiting Manager for all three Rocco Forte Hotels in Germany. Even though I enjoy recruitment, I am more passionate about being a person of contact for employees.

What drew you to Apaleo? 

I love the hospitality industry but didn’t want to work in a hotel anymore, as you don’t have much flexibility regarding working hours and the place where you work. Being a mom, I wanted to make sure that I can adjust my job to fit my family’s needs. Apaleo gives me the opportunity to work in the hospitality industry while experiencing much-needed flexibility. I can decide to come to the office in the morning, go home early in the afternoon to pick up my daughter from childcare and continue working from home if needed.

What the heck is it that you do? 

Some might find my job pretty boring, as I make sure that all the HR Admin stuff gets done: preparing salaries, creating documents, e.g. contracts, confirmations, and certificates, supporting international employees while getting their visas, etc. But most importantly, I see myself as somebody that ensures all the HR processes run smoothly without distracting colleagues from their mission to create, even if that includes calling a citizens center to make an appointment for non-german speaking colleagues 😀.

What is your favourite part about Apaleo? What gets you pumped up in the morning? 

I love the fact that we are super international. We had this one meeting, where a product team presented what they had been working on over the past months. It started with somebody in the Munich office speaking, followed by colleagues in Russia, and ended with another Argentina. At that moment I just thought wow, this is awesome!

What upcoming trends in hospitality/hospitality tech are you most excited about? 

Software solutions - including Apaleo - and all the great apps you can connect through our platform will support hospitality in reducing the consequences of the shortage of skilled labour. How? You can optimize and automate so many processes to have more time to take care of your people: guests as well as employees.

If you could magically pick up one new skill overnight, what would it be? 

I would love to be able to play any musical instrument. I mean like guitar, piano, or violin and not being bad at playing it.

What’s one of your favourite family traditions that you miss from home? 

I grew up in the Lausitz, near the area where the “Sorben” minority lives. On Easter Sunday, they ride on horses from town to town and sing songs on the way. My grandpa and I used to visit these parades every year, counting how many horses there were and discussing the newest style of horse decoration. Even after I moved to Munich, I drove home every year to go there with him early in the morning (even if I partied the night before). It was the best feeling to see him so happy.

What’s something people would be surprised to know about you? 

I used to play the accordion in an accordion orchestra for about 10 years. Guess if I was good or bad😆?

Who is your favourite superhero and why? 

I really like Ichigo from the Japanese manga Bleach as he is a great friend and brother, who always keeps his promises and he would do anything for his loved ones without being afraid of the consequences.

That's a little about Carolin for you! Stay tuned for more origin stories from your favourite Apaleo superheroes!