Pride Month: Hello Sergio!

Duetto is proud of the diversity we cultivate in our multinational, multicultural, multigender team. ‘Come as you are’ is one of our four Core Values.

We value diverse perspectives, experiences, and cultures and we encourage the open sharing of ideas and healthy debate across the company. We take our fun seriously and make time to build the relationships necessary for each individual to succeed.

This Pride Month, we are catching up with members of our team from the LGBTQI+ community to learn more about their experiences working with Duetto.

Meet Sergio Rodriguez

Sergio joined Duetto in May 2022 as an Onboarding and Training Manager in the EMEA region. His main responsibility is to train new customers in the use of the Duetto software and help them configure the application according to their needs. 

Sergio has a strong hospitality background, having worked in several luxury hotels in Granada, Ibiza and London. All of these roles were front of house - reception, concierge, reservations - until he discovered revenue management five years ago, and that became his real passion. Sergio understands that having that front of house experience is ‘vital’ for his current role. “It helps your conversations with customers. You’re both speaking the same language, using the same terminology and you understand their needs,” he said. 

Outside of work, Sergio indulges his love of travel and eating out. He also likes to relax and disconnect from the world by cooking, catching up on a good series, and playing computer games as the proud owner of a Playstation and a Nintendo Switch!

Let’s get to know Sergio more!

What is it like being a member of the LGBTQI+ community and working at Duetto? 

I am proud to be a member of the LGBTQI+ community, but each time I joined a new company, I was always concerned about how much, and what, of my personal life to share with my colleagues. At Duetto, I remember one of my first calls with our CEO, David Woolenberg; he wore a Pride cap and a colorful necklace. That gave me the confidence to not be worried about being judged and to be able to speak openly about my partner and my personal life. Apart from that, seeing so many colleagues being part of the community in different countries is great. 

Does Duetto foster an inclusive work environment? If so, how?

It's all very natural. From the company's ELT (Executive Leadership Team)  to each of my colleagues, we respect each other and embrace diversity, not only for the LGBTQI+ community, which is great.

One of our company values is ‘Come as you are’. What does that mean for you personally? And how do you see that represented by your work colleagues? 

It is great to have this as a core value for the company. It does not matter where you come from, or what your background is!

How does working at Duetto differ from other places you’ve worked in terms of the culture and attitudes of the company?

Let's say I have had a mix of past experiences. In some of my previous jobs, sadly you could not see any interest or intention of organizing activities or celebrating diversity. Some of the others have been great at this, with events and social activities, making my time with them much more enjoyable.

Tell us about the best day you’ve ever had working at Duetto.

My role at Duetto is to train new customers in how to use the application. It's a really rewarding moment when, towards the end of the training, we publish rates from Duetto to their integrated system and the magic happens! It's great seeing some customers' faces when this happens, as this means one of their daily tasks is about to become so much easier. Apart from that, I remember last year when the company organized a virtual caricature session. I laughed so much with some of my colleagues at their ‘creativity’.

How will you be celebrating throughout Pride month this June?

I lived in London for the past nine years, and so I have had the opportunity to be part of one of the busiest, proudest and most open cities in the world. Recently, and thanks to Duetto, I had the option to relocate back home to Granada in the south of Spain, which means I will miss the London celebrations. Instead, I will try to participate in all the local events happening and I plan on attending the parade at the end of the month.

How did you first find out about Duetto? What attracted you to the company?

It was a real ‘love at first sight’ story. Back in 2018, I did the implementation of Duetto for the ME London hotel, part of Melia Hotels International, where I was working at the time. The entire revenue team went to Mallorca, as it was a big change for the company. We had immersive sessions with the Duetto team and other partners. I was impressed by how Duetto helped us back then, but also how they came across as a company. I said to myself: "I must work at this company sometime in the future." And here I am!

What opportunities do you see ahead for you at Duetto?

I’m enjoying what I am doing at the moment, but I would like to grow and explore other roles within the company.

What would you say to others considering a role at our company?

It's a great company with lots of perks and a strong team-building culture, despite working remotely hundreds of kilometers from each other. I have very close friends at Duetto that I speak to on a regular basis. Also, no two days are the same, as each customer has different interests and practices so it's great learning from them and seeing how Duetto's flexibility can adapt to each of them.

This blog post is part of our Duetto Pride Month blog series. Enjoyed learning more about Sergio? Then check out our previous blogs and hear what Whitney, Flavia and Tom had to share. 

Want to join a team that recognizes talent and believes in rewarding on merit alone? Check out our Careers Page for our current openings.