#6. Kristel Pellmas. The story about bringing hospitality into marketing communities. Estonia 🇪🇪
- Alla Zhdan / Алла Ждань
- Apr 23
- 5 min read
Kristel Pellmas is a Community Manager with a rich background in tourism and hospitality, bringing over 15 years of experience in leadership, guest experience, and team development. Based in Tallinn, Estonia 🇪🇪, she’s on a mission to make every community member feel seen, supported, and truly connected.
I loved this conversation because it showed how deeply hospitality and community intersect. Marketing professionals are her core audience—busy, goal-oriented, and always hungry for value—so Kristel crafts every interaction to be intentional and impactful. She reminded me of a simple but profound truth: No one wins alone. And communities like hers prove just that.
Catch the full story below!
Alla: Hi Kristel! Nice to meet you! I’m so excited and happy to share your story within my project. Please Introduce yourself briefly.
Kristel: As the Community Hospitality Manager at Powerful Marketers Hub, I create a welcoming, engaging, and supportive space for marketers worldwide. I help members navigate our community, foster meaningful connections, and ensure they get the most out of their experience.
I’m Estonian and currently based in Tallinn. I bring my hospitality background into community building, ensuring every member feels valued and empowered.
Alla: Tell a bit about your Community management experience: how did you become a Community Manager?
Kristel: I stepped into this role at the beginning of this year, so my journey as a Community Manager is just starting. Before this, I spent most of my career (15+ years) in hotel hospitality, where I learned how to create exceptional customer experiences, anticipate needs, and make people feel at home.
Interestingly, I didn’t even know that roles like Community Hospitality Manager existed before joining Powerful Marketers. But now, I see how community building and hospitality go hand in hand, and I love supporting and connecting people meaningfully.
Powerful Marketers is my first official community role, and I’m excited to grow within it. While I don’t yet have other community connections, I’m eager to learn, collaborate, and expand my network with fellow Community Managers across Europe and the US!
Alla: What was the latest awesome achievement of your community that you helped to gain?
Kristel: One of our biggest recent milestones was expanding our community to Sweden! In March, we hosted our first-ever Marketing Meet-Up in Stockholm, bringing together local marketers, business owners, and sales professionals for an evening of learning and networking. Seeing people connect and share experiences in person was truly rewarding. And the best part? Our next event in Sweden is already set for May 21st!
Alla: What are your core responsibilities as a Community Manager? How your day-to-day looks like in terms of work tasks?
Kristel: My focus is on engagement, connection, and support. Every day includes:
Welcoming new members and ensuring a smooth onboarding experience.
Starting conversations within the community—whether through discussions, polls, or challenges.
Facilitating communication by answering questions and organizing networking sessions or events.
Gathering and analyzing feedback to improve our community experience.
Preparing content & materials for upcoming events and initiatives.
Each day is different, but the goal remains the same: making sure our members feel supported, engaged, and empowered.
Alla: What is the core specifics of the community domain you are working with? What should you consider to engage and make your target audience interested? (In your case, Marketers).
If you missed my artcile dedicated to collaboration between Community Manager and Social Media Manager, hit this link and check it! I love to give tips and tricks on fruitful cooperation!Kristel: Marketers are busy professionals, often juggling multiple projects, so engagement has to be meaningful, efficient, and valuable. To keep our members involved, we:
Provide practical, actionable insights they can apply immediately.
Create opportunities for real connection—whether through events, networking, or discussions.
Offer continuous learning & support, so they feel the value of being part of the Hub.
Alla: What soft skills and hard skills are important for a community manager, in your opinion?
Kristel: Soft skills are essential in this role! Here are my top three:
Empathy – Understanding and anticipating the needs of community members.
Communication – Keeping engagement warm, clear, and professional.
Adaptability – Every day brings new situations, so being flexible is key!
Other important skills: active listening, problem-solving, relationship-building, and patience.
Essential hard skills are:
Content Creation – Writing engaging posts, newsletters, and discussion topics.
Event Management – Planning and coordinating online and offline events.
Data Analysis – Understanding engagement metrics to improve the community experience.
Other valuable skills: CRM & email marketing tools, project management, and social media knowledge.
Alla: What top 5 tools do you use regularly, and how do they help you do your job faster or more efficiently?
Community Platform – For daily interactions and discussions.
Zoom – Hosting virtual events and networking sessions.
Canva – Quick and easy design for community visuals.
Google Drive & Trello– Organizing resources, plans, and feedback.
Email Marketing Tool (Keap) – Keeping members informed through newsletters.
Alla: Are you a part of a team of Community Managers, or do you work with the community alone?
Kristel: I’m part of an amazing team! I work alongside: Mari-Liis Vaher & Laura Kukemelk – Founders of Powerful Marketers Hub, each with 20+ years of experience in marketing. Their insights and leadership make this community what it is today!
I find inspiration in people. Seeing members connect, learn from each other, and grow in their careers is the most rewarding part of my work. Conversations, shared successes, and “aha!” moments keep me motivated!
Alla: Books. What books do you recommend for Community Managers?
Kristel:
Business by Referral – Learning the power of networking.
Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 – Essential leadership skills.
The 5 Levels of Leadership – Personal and professional growth.
Start with Why – Purpose-driven leadership.
Eat That Frog! – Productivity and time management.
Alla: What do you like the most in your work?
Kristel: The people. We believe that No One Wins Alone! Whether it’s helping a new member feel at home, seeing a discussion spark valuable insights, or watching someone take action based on a community conversation, these moments remind me why this work matters.
Alla: No One Wins Alone! Thank you for this talk! ;)
Marketing, especially Digital & HR Marketing, are an excellent part of my experience. It is hard to be a Community Manager without the skills that Marketers possess. And also this is sooooo interesting. I love e-mail marketing, for example, as it is cool and inspirational to segment the target audience, create the emails, do some A/B testing, and analyze the result. Mmm, chefs kiss! ;)
And I'm happy that within this project I had the chance to talk to Community person who works with Marketers regularly. They are amazing, we are amazing, and we can do awesome things in cool collab.
Learn more about my Community Managers' Strories project to gather insights from Community people from 42 European countries here.
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