Samanta, composed company in Amsterdam Centrum

Two things are true of Samanta at the same time, and most guests only discover the second one late in the evening. The first is the composure, which is considerable: 174 centimetres, slim, sleek noir styling, an expression that gives away nothing in a crowded lobby. The second is that she is one of the most openly curious people on the board, and once she starts asking questions she does not stop. She is 27, with long dark brown hair and brown eyes, and a stillness that reads as elegance from a distance and as attention up close. Magnetic is the word that comes back most often in feedback, and it is usually attached to a story about a conversation that ran three hours longer than anybody intended it to. She is not a woman who fills silence, but she is very good at ending one.

The violin is the discipline behind the poise, years of it, practised rather than mentioned. Languages are the curiosity made practical; she collects them slowly and badly on purpose, and Vanessa is her partner in that particular crime. Design hotels are the aesthetic weakness, the ones with an opinion about their own lobby, and Tiffany can talk about them for an hour.

Her flat is in Amsterdam Centrum, so the old city hotels are minutes away and the airport is a simple ride south. Her English is precise and unhurried. Samanta suits a long evening, a good restaurant and a guest who does not mind being asked interesting questions about himself before he has finished his first drink. If you would rather talk about anything other than work, say so early; she has four other subjects ready and all of them are better.

One long table, one good restaurant, and no particular hurry about any of it. That is all Samanta wants, and it is more demanding than it sounds, because an evening like that rises or falls entirely on the conversation.

She is composed to the point of giving nothing away in a crowded lobby, and then she starts asking questions and does not stop. If you would rather not talk about work, say so in the first ten minutes and she has four better subjects ready. Behind the poise sits a violin and a great many years of practice she does not advertise. Languages are the curiosity, gathered slowly and on purpose badly. She has views on hotels with an opinion about their own lobby, so if yours is one of those, have the first drink downstairs.