the Prince de Galles in Paris . He is now on his 11th city and third continent , having been part of the Starwood takeover team that acquired Ciga . He led the St . Regis Hotels and Resorts and Luxury Collection brands for Starwood before returning to the U . K ., where he spent the past nine years as CEO of Maybourne Hotel Group . The role at The Set appealed to something in him that hankered for a more entrepreneurial opportunity .
exterior of Cafe Royal , london
“ When the people you Work With have the experience , or at least the curiosity to Want to take it to the next level , it becomes very , very reWarding .”
Next rewards His relationship with the owners of The Set Hotels , the Tel Aviv-quoted Alrov Group , and Chairman Georgi Akirov , is very good . They see themselves as a hybrid management company bringing together discipline and expertise , with ambitions to grow . His former Maybourne colleague Thomas Kochs joined The Set six weeks before he did , as the Café Royal ’ s managing director .
Alongside the Café Royal and the Lutetia in Paris , the Set also has the Conservatorium in Amsterdam . They are currently looking for a head of development . Italy interests them and they are also considering a coastal , Riviera setting . They don ’ t rule out new-builds or management contracts , providing that there is a strategic fit .
Alden considers his competition to be Peninsula , Oetker , Bulgari and smaller groups that are market leaders in their countries . “ We are interested in hotels that have an angle ,” he says . “ The property that is just off the beaten track , not the obvious choice but the exciting one .”
Leading a team , and creating a spirit of camaraderie , is another aspect of the role that Alden finds particularly rewarding – a term he uses a lot . Alden challenges his teams to put themselves in the place of the people they expect to visit the hotel . “ Will the business people of St James ’ s want to come to the Café Royal , will the Lutetia be not only a respected hotel but a loved hotel , where guests feel they could come back once or twice a week ?”
He explains the difference . “ A respected hotel is one where you walk down the street , look back at it and say how magnificent it is , and continue walking . A loved hotel is one where you feel like you want to walk through the doors and say good morning to somebody , have a coffee , read the paper and go back to have lunch because you love it ; because of how it enhances the neighborhood and is a champion for the city in a certain way .”
Alden and Kochs have gathered their own team but say that only goes to one level . Once the senior team , including Benjamin Hofer , director of F & B , and Hendrick Hubner , front of house manager , got together , they all reached out to their own people to supplement the talent already in the hotel .
In Alden ’ s view , “ In certain areas we have the best people in London today and the reason we can attract them is because people want to be a part of something where they can make their mark . They haven ’ t inherited somebody else ’ s ideas , they ’ re not just custodians , they can interact with people who also aspire to make a difference .
“ In the hotel , once everyone realized the
– Stephen Alden
extent of their ambition , it motivated those who perhaps weren ’ t as excited every day because of the challenges they faced ,” he continues . “ They rose to the occasion as well , so suddenly we had the new people we had attracted from other world-class establishments and the existing team who said , this is really fun , we ’ re developing and learning and we want to be part of that . That ’ s a winning formula ..”
So , is the Café Royal a loved hotel ? Alden acknowledges there is still work to be done .
“ It has tremendous potential , it ’ s a magnificent building , world-class in terms of structure , architecture , and the investment in the equipment and furniture has been second to none . I think there are some nuances from the operational side and from the concept side , which weren ’ t completely right at the outset but its something Thomas and I , as experienced hoteliers , are able to understand .”
His mantra is always to create a better version of what was done before . “ I want always to be able to say confidently that today is better than it was yesterday .”
December 2016 hotelsmag . com 19