Life at Mews: Spanish stories with Francesco Longo

You may have heard us talk about how amazing the Mews culture is. If you haven’t, your first port of call should be the culture section on our careers page. Our Instagram also gives you a good flavor of life at Mews. 

But our culture didn't just materialize on its own. It's our Mewsers that maintain and shape it, helping us to win Best Place to Work in Hotel Tech two years running, and so we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our incredible team, starting with Senior Customer Success Manager Francesco Longo. 

First things first: you may have already figured out that Francesco isn’t Spanish. He’s Italian. But he lives and works in Barcelona, forming an integral part of our Spanish hub. We asked him about his Mews experience – including leaving and coming back – and the perks of working for Mews in Spain. 

How did you come to join Mews? 

“Mews approached me in 2018 when I was an operations guy. At first, I was a bit concerned: should I move from the back office to a customer-facing role? Obviously I said yes, and I never regretted my decision. When I joined the account management team (which is now Customer Success) we were four people and it grew to about 16 very quickly.  

I was living in London at the time but I had clients across the UK and Ireland as well as Italy and South Europe. We were scaling very fast and it was very exciting, but then the pandemic happened. I decided to move to Barcelona but unfortunately it couldn’t be with Mews – but Mews was always in my heart.” 

Was it an easy decision to rejoin Mews? 

“I’ve never worked with a better team than the one I worked with at Mews. I always wanted to come back. Once I saw that Mews were growing rapidly again and that more positions were starting to open up, I said to myself: OK, let’s apply. Then I actually got a referral from my friend and I took it from there. 

The interview was hard! Obviously I didn’t expect to just walk back into a role, but the second interview with Barry was really interesting. The questions he asked were not just the standard questions, and he really encouraged me to be thoughtful and completely honest in my answers. This was a breath of fresh air, to be honest, and I really enjoyed it. 

Putting aside your past experience for a second – what appeals to you most about Mews? 

“The vision and the growth of the company is really impressive. And I always thought – and still do – that the Marketing team is the best team in Mews. They really know how to highlight the great points of Mews and make it appealing from the outside as well, even if you don’t know the industry. 

Or for someone like me, who’s passionate about hospitality and has been working in hotels for many, many years, Mews is one of those companies that makes you excited about where the industry can go.”  

Have you noticed any changes at Mews since your return? 

"The structure of the day-to-day job has changed. Before, there wasn’t the same structure that there is now. Now, because you can work fully remotely, the company needs to be better prepared. It's nice to see that we have everything documented so that if I need to find information I know how and where to get it.  

And of course, another big change is the Mews platform itself. Before, the main focus was still on rooms, but now it’s about spaces which obviously opens us up to more of the market. We know that hotels are not just for sleeping, but also for coworking spaces and all sorts of things.  

We’re bigger now, too. More employees and more products like a POS. But learning about these topics is interesting. I just finished Mews University which has improved a lot, so I feel I’m up to speed with the Mews product again. And now I’ve started to get accounts back that I used to manage and are still with Mews – it’s really nice to catch up with them.” 

What’s the Mews culture like now? 

“What I loved about Mews the most was the culture that they had towards people, and I can see that this is still there. Obviously we became more professional as a company because we need to be, but still this vibe is still there. I was really surprised and grateful. 

In Spain, Mews has shared office space in Barcelona. It’s a flexible work culture though, so I work mostly from home. Occasionally I’ll go into the office and arrange a lunch or dinner with the team, so it’s nice to have that option.” 

If someone called you up to ask if they should work for Mews, what would you say? 

“The first thing I’d to would be to assess the character of the person asking the question. Mews is such a unique company that not everyone is going to be the perfect fit. This is really important because if you don’t love where you work, you won’t be able to do the best job. 

But in general, I would say 100% you should go for it. Working for Mews is such a rewarding experience and you’ll get to work with amazing people. I have no regrets at all since coming back to Mews last month.” 

How do you think Mews is viewed within Spain? 

“I can see the difference between now and when I first joined Mews a few years ago. The Mews name has definitely grown in Spain and it’s really nice to see that. Our list of Spanish customers has grown and we’re in conversations with big chains in the region which shows that Mews is a well-known PMS that people will consider.” 

You can view all of our open roles on the Mews jobs page.