We want to introduce the Family serving you!
One of Peerâ Hotels & Cottages values is working together. We are located in many corners of Finland, but still we work together to develop our chain’s products & service constantly, while listening to our customers and their needs.
Get to know the people serving you at each destination below!
Sodankylä, Peurasuvanto & Pyhätunturi
A solid hotel & restaurant professional, Raili, or otherwise know as Raippa (whip). This nickname given to her by colleagues tells everything you need to know and more. Moved to the hustle and bustle of Sodankylä as a young woman from a small Lappish village, she made a detour around the local fells landing her way back to the roots of her career at Hotelli Sodankylä almost 10 years ago.
Raili is our efficient mood booster. She gets her endless energy from local nature paths, her family, her friends and the sparkling Summer nights of Hanko, in Southern Finland. Our manager knows all the best restaurants and places to be in Finland and always stays up to date, no chance of slowing down.
Raili often has her phone glued to her ear and we all know to repeat this sales cannon’s answer to the phone in unison at a quick tempo: ”Hotel Sodankylä, Raili Karvonen-Willman”.
Coming directly from the Center-West of Finland and ending up in a small village nearby Sodankylä, Viivi has been in charge of the hotel’s restaurant for already 10 years. There’s not a day that Viivi wouldn’t offer flying ideas and improvement suggestions.
This mother of three adorable children is an efficient kitchen boss handling multitasking and organising. Her never-ending love for food and new food trends can be witnessed in our restaurant and meeting servings on the traditional market of Sodankylä.
Viivis’s always there to cheer up her colleagues and a big loss to the National Theatre. There’s no problem in filling in her free time as her lovely family pulls her in every day! This verbal talent has many phrases for every situation, but her comments are mostly related to things she sees: ”I will believe it when I see it” and ”I can see it so well, that..”.
Riitta is Hotel Sodankylä’s veritable Grand Lady – she has a work history in our hotel of more than 30 years. She’s not easily thrown off by small difficulties and neither will she leave her colleagues or employer in a sticky situation – work is always done until the end. During her history at the hotel, she has seen all kinds of phases and her memories of the place is rather popular among people who are interested in the subject.
Her love for this activity and making results, and above all her connection to customers are enriching things in the working life of Riitta. You will often meet her on very early morning walks on nearby nature paths and when corona has been defeated – in exotic destination enjoying the sun. Travelling and experiencing new things is a passion of hers.
Riitta doesn’t budge in front of minor difficulties, she just says ”well that’s how it is” and get’s to work!
Like the first rays of sun, our solid morning sun steps at work and prepares a fresh and copious breakfast for our customers! Soile came to us a few years back and soon enough reached a respected position as the responsible caretaker of our breakfast. Even reception duties just fly by when she’s at work!
Cleanliness, vigor, punctuality, quality and calm are common virtues for Soile. As a colleague you will get sensible suggestions from her way and she has a tendency to sniff out the newest trends and likes proposing some new kicks to our everyday life.
With a great life experience passing by Paris as a horse and dog trainer to her current challenge as the head of her own dog training company takes up most of Soile’s free time. You will most often of course meet her on the nature paths with her adorable dogs. With her teachings all pet owners can give a sigh of relief – you will always get help when needed. You will most often hear her say in a very Finnish way: ”well it could be much worse”!
Born and raised in Lapland’s capital Rovaniemi, Joona first came to us through central Finland, ending up back in Lapland, Sodankylä. Even though Joona’s full time post is in Sodankylä, you might still see him working in our other destinations from time to time. This is why we have named him our circulating comet.
Fast and witty, speedy with a sense of humour, here’s a guy full of all the good qualities needed in our domain. Supporting this, many years of experience working in different Lappish hotels. Not a day goes by without new ideas and enthusiasm for our clients’ and teams’ joy.
We have a male colleague that talks and doesn’t grunt! On his days off we can’t find him anywhere, Joona disappears like ash in the wind. Nevertheless he always has a bunch of new experiences to share when coming back to work. Thus, as a challenge – find Joona!
Kristiina “Krisse”, chef
Tiia is sure to leave you with a song stuck in your head!
With her wrists made of iron and her service attitude high in the clouds, this lady eternally charged by the sun came into our life from the Central West Coast of Finland to spice up our life in Sodankylä. Travel guide, hotel-restauration professional, manager – she has a long experience behind her accompanied by legendary stories. Life is her passion.
You can choose the language and it won’t be long that Tiia will speak it with laughter and her hands waving in the air.
Learning form things and people will probably never end in her case and rejoicing our customers and colleagues with her personality will make everyday life a luxury. Teamwork has unprecedented power and making good go around is the best deed to be passed around in our Peerâ family. In order to create all this positivity, Tiia charges her batteries at her cottage and reading books. Come and chat with Tiia and you soon might find yourself on our regular clients’ list!
Tia, housekeeping, SOL Services
As the first rays of the sun hit the breakfast room of Peerâ, our sunny Tia from SOL services arrives in her yellow attire to take care of our guests’ comfort. The seamless partnership between our reception and housekeeping presents itself at its best as a quality result for our guests to enjoy.
Abundant laughter, cheerful greetings and and eye contact, this is what you’ll be encountered with with Tiia. No matter what’s the situation facing her when she arrives at work, Tiia will just state that there shouldn’t be any problem. All the notes she leaves on the housekeeping list could indicate that Tia could have opportunities pursuing an academic career as well. It’s always a pleasure to receive clear reports and be sure that once we agree on something, we are sure it’s done!
Maybe this zen-balance comes from charging her batteries in a lovely cottage atmosphere during her free time! Ask Tia?
Raahe
Jenni is the real hostess of our Budget Hotel. Her hand can fit a chef’s spatula or a mop if needed, next to her duties as front desk manager – in other words, she’s not afraid of work! Jenni has made a long career in the restaurant domain and holds as her original profession, a chef.
She has gathered her experience at grills and lunch & catering restaurants in Southern and Central Finland, and had 4 kids on the side. Jenni’s favourite dish is a very traditional Finnish macaroni casserole with cream cheese and she keeps her spirits high with Pepsi. Jenni has a good sense of humour for many situations and she adapts her service style depending on the customer in front of her – one of the important skills of customer service!
Jenni spends her free time with her children and listening to what se calls ”heavy roaring music”. You will often hear her say ”we will do so” – when something is agreed on, it will made to happen!
Iina, receptionist / “bar-angel”
Iina was raised in central Finland and has done a lot despite her young age. She has participated in exchange programs in Latvia and Japan and has worked in the renowned Kappeli restaurant in Helsinki.
Iina came to make our days brighter with her warm smile and catchy laughter. This lady likes to take care of details and pays special attention to eco-friendliness. She will ensure that for example all waste is sorted accordingly – beware if you put a piece of cardboard in mixed waste – you will be likely to find Iina digging it out of the bin to put it to its right place. For Iina it comes naturally to full-heartedly take care of our guests from start to finish. She is also pretty handy around the bar, which is why we’ve nicknamed her our bar-angel.
During her free time Iina likes to cook and bake accompanied by the sound of the fire alarm, browse flee-markets, takes care of her cats, and the most important of all: hold dance classes. You will most often hear her say: ”i’ll take care of it” – a lady of action!
Johanna, receptionist / chef
Johanna is our reinforcement from Central Finland with a degree in tourism and activity product production. Efficacy, attention to detail, speed and daring situations – these are among some of the things Johanna brings with her to our team. In addition to being a good customer service representative Johanna is pretty handy around the kitchen as well. During her free time Johanna likes to spend time with her kids, takes walks and takes care of her animals. You will be most likely to hear Johanna say: ”yeah right”, and see her going off to work with clanging pans and pots!
Our lovely and the most heartfelt housekeeper Paula comes to help us through our cleaning partner SOL Services. Paula is originally from Raahe, she loves to dance, read and enjoy delicacies – all in harmonious portions. And it’s almost like she’s dancing the hotel clean when she’s at work! This happy woman really likes her job and you are able to see it. Her relaxed and hearty attitude can be seen daily, so come meet our Paula!
Kajaani
Equipped with an accent from South-Eastern Finland, this lady currently living between Lapland and the Kainuu region has been bringing joy to the everyday life of the hotel since a few years. With a long track record in our domain, Tuula has worked throughout Finland, starting at Helsinki and ending up in Kajaani.
Tuula’s calm, determination and her capacity of showing empathy towards customers & co-workers alike make her a soulful person whom to chat with. Her everyday passion is to make “that special something” happen in customer service.
During her free time this power package drives back to Lapland to take care of reindeer and her Icelandic horses. Tuula’s messages to her colleagues often arrive as early morning salutes showing her passion for said horses and riding as she longs for the sceneries of Iceland and Norway. But be sure to keep it calm, because if someone is rushing for nothing, Tuula will say, ”wait and we will see”.
Tea is the tonic of our hotel, spreading good vibes no matter the day. When you bring up adjectives describing her, we would firstly mention trustworthy, efficient and gentle. During her free time Tea likes to swim and do outdoor activities with her dog and son. Not to forget music.
Tea has been in the service remain for years and thus loggers a good customer service experience to each customer starting a dawn until midday.
Most often you will hear Tea say: ”it’s already done”. When you sit down for breakfast, you can experience her charming nature in person.
Mother of a wild cat, a returnee from the South of Finland to the Kainuu region, an adventurous nature and animal loving Jane Jones, yet – at times – a domestic cat enjoying home’s peace – this would about sum up our family’s Anniina. Anniina is fascinated by star gazing, philosophy, behavioural studies, psychology, art- and cultural history and practical conservation of cultural artefacts. To add, this animal lover is harnessed with a strong will to help as many wild and homeless animals as possible, a lady of action!
During her free time she doesn’t get bored, as her time passes working on different projects of object conservation, drawing and making handicrafts. She experiences particular joy in spending time with her family, enjoying home’s peace, playing with her cat, walking in the woods and ice-skating – under a starry sky of course. Go have a chat on star formations with Anniina at our Manor reception!
Our Anni – she started her career at our Manor House at the age of 16 as a hard-working high school student. First Anni came to bring her happy mood to our work family in the form of a summer job and surprised us all with her exemplary vigour! Summer ended in time, but Anni stayed as our help even though school started again. Whenever we needed help, we could count on our reliable super-Anni!
We have been happy to watch as this young student has experienced the sense of accomplishment during her student examinations and at work, as well as hear of of her future plans abroad, perhaps amidst volunteer work in South America? Whatever Anni ends up doing, she will go a long way with her kindness and determination.
During her free time Anni likes to take care of her small – soon big though – Uuno dog, listens to K-pop and works out at the gym. Go and have a chat with our youngest family member at our reception!
Sales & Marketing / Property Management
A bubbling personality, a captivating smile and good vibes – this is what Niina brings with her wherever she goes. Originally from the South of Finland, this long-term hotel domain professional has been around the world gaining international experience – from Spain to Thailand ending up in Finnish Lapland to be close to her hubby in Sodankylä.
Niina is the sales and social media ambassador of Peerâ and she is at her best meeting with people face-to-face, preaching the Peerâ gospel to all new and existing clients and friends.
During her free time Niina enjoys hosting friends, morning moments, watching the Moomins and relaxing in her very own Villa Bellezza in Sodankylä. Traveling is also close to her heart, new horizons sparkling in the corner of her eyes. You most often hear Niina say: ”let’s stop talking and start doing”!
Handrias is our Jack-of-all-trades from Estonia, who has come to us following many paths, including for example Norway. Handrias has worked in the construction industry for a long time and his special skills lie in woodwork. The lamps are off – not to worry! Handrias will get the lights back on in no time. This humorist who doesn’t fear work fixes and renovates whatever you need, whenever you need. In addition to working lamps he brings us light with his big smile and heart.
In addition to construction work Handrias is a guitar playing enthusiast and is ready to hold a private gig to make others happy. He travels far for work, as his family is located in Estonia and his current work family in Finland. You will most often hear him say: ”I will do my best” – good results guaranteed!
Management
Yann is our French reinforcement, who absolutely loves the famous Finnish brand HK’s signature sausage. In his life before Finland, he used to work as a purchase manager in a metal manufacturing company and the hotel domain became known to him though his sweetheart as he worked for the first time in our company’s customer service in 2011.
Nowadays Yann is often referred to as the Excel-Man in company development tasks – he handles things demanding precision, such as salaries and accounting, and develops our electronic and IT work basis. Yann is precise, visual, questioning and a developer of methods – quality input guaranteed!
In his free time Yann enjoys body-building, basketball and hiking in nature with his two samoyed children. Yann has become so Finnish throughout the years that the thing you will hear him say most often is: ”noniin” (a multi-use word that can be translated to “well…”) with a tone fit for the conversation!
The creator of Peerâ with her Sámi origins, Hilla-Rina has enjoyed her first entrepreneur-mocktail in her mother’s milk as the youngest evening star of the family.
How could you and further more in what language – decline partnering up with this language genius and almost Frenchwoman? After studies in International trade and languages at the home hoods of Asterix and an upbringing in an entrepreneur home – her will is strong even at its weakest.
During free time you will find our CEO in the forest, enjoying a drink and dancing with friends, fishing at Lake Inari or making tiktoks – an outgoing lady. Her two samoyed children Pilvi & Rollo also bring activity to her everyday life.
You will hear everything and in every language from Hilla, but when something catches her off guard (very rarely) she might say: ”no way?” And a small laugh on top.
Here’s a hotel & restaurant business entrepreneur duo that has experience from far and beyond in the domain. Altogether with their combined experience “only” a bit over a 100 years they have experienced everything from starting a company to great times to bad times – everything that being an entrepreneur can throw at you!
Vesa is from Rovaniemi and studied in a known hotel & restaurant institute in Helsinki, worked in the presidential palace and lead the hotel & restaurant activity of a major hotel chain in Finland when he was younger, before heading on the path of entrepreunership.
Raili on the other hand graduated as an industry chef in Rovaniemi, this young Sámi lady coming from the shores of Lake Inari. Raili is the so-called original entrepreneur, as she worked and advanced things in the family business since the start, working all the tasks in the domain, all while raising her daughters.
This duo has built many still existing hotels in Finland today and were at the head of the largest private hotel chain in Finland in the 80’s and 90’s – the standards are evidently high. Its great to go to these troupers for help, whenever you need it. Both are already retired, but are still influencing the activity of the company through the Board of directors.
Mascots
You can bump into us from time to time at different destinations, but don’t be scared, we are people and especially child-loving relatives of polar bears. We love attention and treats, just as a little hint…
Working together is empowering!