HotelsMag January-February 2016 | Page 35

The InTervIew
When Didier Le Calvez has a moment to reflect , he realizes the script for his business career mostly could not have been written any better , including the past five years with the Oetker Collection as he manages a legendary Paris palace and helps further develop an increasingly global portfolio .
The managing director of Le Bristol Paris is also the group ’ s COO , working with CEO Frank Marrenbach to develop newly announced projects in São Paulo and New York City , as well as to keep masterpieces like Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa in Baden-Baden , Germany , and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc at the tip of the Cap d ’ Antibes in the south of France up to snuff for an ever-demanding and increasingly vocal luxe clientele who , Le Calvez says very matter-of-factly , take to TripAdvisor to review their experiences .
The very proud French native has been in love with the business for more than 35 years , the previous 18 of which were spent with Four Seasons where he was most recently vice chairman of France running the George V in Paris . He ’ s even married to a hotelier and has worked at icons ranging from the Plaza and Pierre in New York City to the Regent in Singapore .
And as exciting a professional life as he has had , an interview with Le Calvez also showed how grounded he remains , preferring to throw bouquets and admiration toward his team members while espousing the importance of unending attention to details so guests feel special .
“ My mother worked until she was in her 80s and has always remained a very passionate person ,” Le Calvez reflects . “ I see passion in 18-year-olds and 80-year-olds . It ’ s a mindset and you can ’ t change it . I ’ ve always loved what
I have done and I have always done it with incredible enthusiasm , and that doesn ’ t change .”
What did change last year in Paris , however , was life for the café society . Terrorist attacks in January and then again in November impacted every Parisian ’ s way of life , even if just for a short time , and they hit the hotel business hard . Business dropped right away after the second attack in November , but in early December Le Bristol was still running at 64 % occupancy ( rates remain above € 1,000 per night ). Le Calvez expects a rough first quarter of 2016 but says much better days lie ahead .
In an early December interview , Le Calvez talked to HOTELS about how terrorism has affected his life and shared his thoughts about the bigger trends of the day , as well as plans for the Oetker Collection , which owns and operates nine luxury hotels with more on the way .
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