A day in the life: Natalie Batlle

Natalie has worked in brand communications and production for seven years. Originally from Chicago, her career has taken her to San Francisco, New York and Barcelona. 

8am As soon as I wake up, I make a frothy latte and then limber up with a video from a turbo pilates series on YouTube. The workouts are fun and effective and energise me for the day ahead. I’ve also made it part of my morning routine to listen to the BBC’s Global News Podcast while I get dressed. News podcasts are huge time savers for people on the go. I also recommend ‘The Daily’ by The New York Times. 

9am Lately I’ve been travelling a lot, but on the days that I work from Barcelona I tend to get to the office around 9.15am. Wanup HQ is located in Sarrià, and its office spaces are gorgeous, surrounded by trees with lots of natural light coming in. As soon as I arrive, I catch up on emails and go over priorities with my team.

11am I spend the rest of my mornings writing and in meetings. I’m much more creative early in the day so I try to schedule all of my brand and marketing meetings before lunch. Right now I’m focused on branding Wanup to consumer audiences. We launched the new hotel loyalty club this October and are constantly evolving. My job as brand director is to own the company vision and transmit this vision to the public. I’m currently playing with new taglines and designs for our consumer launch this summer. 

1.30-3pm I use my lunch break to go to the gym. I try to fit in 30-40 minutes of spinning at least three days a week. Wanup culture encourages healthy habits, and my bosses go to the gym too, which sets a great example for their employees. Afterwards, I usually eat a healthy menú del día at the cafe next door to DiR. 

3-7pm Now it’s time for PR, budgeting and agency coordination. A big part of my job is working with international partners and our commercial team. I spend the second half of the day reviewing proposals from our PR agencies, responding to reactive media requests and analysing our press coverage online and off. My team also manages a busy events calendar, so the afternoons are reserved for event planning, preparation and negotiations. Typically, we travel about twice a month for media events and trade shows. Since our launch I’ve been to Berlin, London, Milan, Lisbon and Madrid to introduce Wanup to potential hoteliers and journalists. 

7pm After work I catch up with friends or run errands before heading home for dinner with my fiancé, Terry. 

9pm We recently renovated our apartment and terrace so we’re spending a lot of time grilling at home, especially now that it’s barbecue season.  

10.30pm Netflix before bed! We’re currently watching one of its original series The Get Down Part II.

12am Lights out.