HotelsMag December 2016 | Page 68

LAGNIAPPE

HERMANN ELGER

MANAGING DIRECTOR , BACCARAT HOTEL NEW YORK

HERMANN ELGER SAYS THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO A SUCCESSFUL HOTEL CAREER . THE NATIVE OF MEXICO CITY HAS LEARNED HIS LESSONS WELL , HAVING SPENT MORE THAN 18 YEARS WITH RITZ-CARLTON , THEN MONTAGE AND FINALLY THE ST . REGIS IN NEW YORK BEFORE BECOMING MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BACCARAT HOTEL NEW YORK IN AUGUST . ELGER SHARES SOME OF HIS SECRETS AND PASSIONS .
By JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
Favorite minibar indulgence ?
Truffle potato chips
Best idea ever stolen ?
A bunch of them , but I prefer not to consider them stolen . Instead they were borrowed to flatter those who created them .
What most people don ' t know about you ?
I love skiing backwards .
Favorite app ?
Nest
Historical figure you ’ d like to host ?
King Louis the XV , who commissioned the Baccarat factory in France over 250 years ago . I would love to see what he thinks of Baccarat New York .
If not a hotelier ?
Cabinet maker
Biggest business lesson ?
There is no shortcut to advancing your career as a luxury hotelier . A hotelier ' s success is based on instinct
and experience , both of which can only be developed over time .
Celebrity you ' d most like to meet and why ?
Anthony Hopkins , because he has mastered his craft on-screen and conducts himself like a gentleman off-screen .
What personal skill / experience makes you unique as a hotelier ?
I believe it is my experience with a wide range of
companies in locations all over the world .
What you do better than anyone else you know ?
Fold shirts
64 hotelsmag . com December 2016