Face-to-Face: Chris Hart, Senior Vice President, Operations - Asia Pacific, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
1) What expansion plans does the group have for the Four Seasons brand in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions?
In Asia Pacific we hope to add to our current stable of 82 properties in 34 countries: seven new properties in China, in the key cities of Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai (our second property), Qingdao and Suzhou. We opened in Mumbai, India last year and plan to grow to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kerala and Gurgaon, we are also in development for our entries into Vietnam, Phuket, Taipei and Queenstown in New Zealand. In the Middle-East, we have nine hotels in various stages of development; we plan to open in Beirut by the end of this year. Marrakech and Bahrain are the 2 most immediate to follow.
2) What impact is current global economic situation having on the Four Seasons?
Some of our openings may have been slightly delayed if they were not already under construction before the downturn, but overall the development pipeline (over 45 + hotels and resorts in various stages of development) is very robust. While the current economic situation has caused us to evaluate our operations, we have also tried to be creative and thoughtful in how we do this. Whatever changes we make, we have been very mindful to not compromise on our highly personalised service, which is the promise of our brand. In these times, it is even more important to get our customers right.
3) What specific responses and initiatives has the group put in place to ride out the downturn and capitalise on the recovery?
During the past (nearly five decades), we have weathered many economic cycles and challenges but have come out stronger each time. Early in our company’s history we developed a business model as a management company that has served us well through all cycles. Specifically, we continue to reach out to our customers and travel partners, offering quality and value. Our customers still need to travel for business and leisure; Four Seasons offers the insurance that the quality of their experience is assured.
4) The Four Seasons prides itself on the excellence of its personnel. What ongoing initiatives are being deployed to maintain leadership in staff quality?
Four Seasons has always placed an important emphasis on recruitment as well as the learning and development process. We look for people who genuinely enjoy serving and helping people. This is the foundation of our company culture, based on the Golden Rule of mutual respect. We try to provide good guidance, mentoring and the right training. Last year we launched two custom leadership training programmes for our Hotel Managers, General Managers and senior leaders of the company.
Opportunities for promotion from within are widely available and encouraged. At the various levels, career paths and succession plans are mapped out. Our ongoing goal is to attract and retain the best talent in the industry.
5) How can the Four Seasons maintain its leadership position in the face of the plethora of high end competition entering the Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern markets?
We continue to evolve the hotels we build for the customers, appropriate to the destination and improving upon all we have learned in our experience. While our guests expect a very high standard of design, d
Comments are closed.