TRENDING
TURN , TURN , TURN
FOUR SEASONS CEO J . ALLEN SMITH NAVIGATES GROWTH AMID CHANGING DEFINITIONS OF LUXURY AND SHIFTS IN THE EXECUTIVE SUITE .
BY BARBARA BOHN , MANAGING EDITOR
J . Allen Smith is leading Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts at a time when competitors are not only entering the market but redefining it . His challenge : delicately adjust the luxury pioneer ’ s narrative to contemporary travelers and maintain continuity amid executive staff changes – and all the while grow at a brisk pace .
He asserts that Four Seasons ’ elegance isn ’ t as far off the more modern luxury movement as its reputation might indicate . “ I think one of the things that is impressive about our brand is the diversity of product ,” he says . “ We have ( properties ) that are very contemporary … And yet we also have things that are very traditional , whether it ’ s the George V or ( in ) Florence . I do think one of the unique things about our brand is the bandwidth it has to present different types of product and buildings to the market .”
It ’ s also in the company ’ s DNA . “ One of the things that ’ s unique about our employees and general managers is that they must be a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 in emotional intelligence . And we have a lot of people in our company who are exceptional in that regard , and they end up being the culture carriers for the company ,” says Smith , who joined the Toronto-based company in 2013 . “ What ’ s critical is that we continue to assert to the marketplace what that really means and what ’ s important about how we ’ re different and how they should think about us in the marketplace . But it ’ s all grounded in those cultural attributes .”
SCORING POINTS However , he ’ s not ignoring his newer competitors , which include companies such as
London ’ s The Set , Auberge Resorts Collection and Proper Hospitality in California .
“ I think what we ’ re trying to do is look at those sorts of trends , look at what it is about those sorts of projects and challenge ourselves to say what elements are important and relevant to our guests ,” Smith says . “ We ’ re making sure that we stay highly relevant to a fairly broad segment of the marketplace that we refer to as the modern luxury traveler .”
Modern luxury , ultimately , is a response to evolving guest demographics and demands . “ It ’ s clear that the guests have far more power today than they did in the past ,” Smith says , from transparency on pricing to how they want to be treated . “ We want to serve you in the manner you want to be served , not in the manner in which we think you and 10 other people like you want to be served ,” he says . “ I don ’ t know whether that ’ s new luxury or not , but for us
14 hotelsmag . com January / February 2017