THE INTERVIEW
H : As father-son , do you have working boundaries ?
MF : Dad , do we have lines and boundaries ( laughing )? AF : No . But that ’ s a good idea ( laughing ). No , we have no lines or boundaries . I always stress that it ’ s a responsibility , not a privilege . Michael has taken on that responsibility really well . He is deeply respected at all the properties – the way he interacts with the staff . And I ' ve seen it for years , a special charisma , stopping and getting to know our associates at all levels … I continue to learn from Michael , as well , and especially as the world changes , to have his perspective , and his look at things makes us a much better company . MF : My dad set an amazing example , too – how you balance work and life , what it takes to create and inspire . You kind of know no other way … It never feels like I ’ m working for my father . It feels like we ’ re building something amazing together and it ’ s a credit to dad for making us feel that way , which is really nice . This is like a therapy session .
“ PART OF THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PENDRY BRAND IS THERE ARE MARKETS THAT MAYBE DON ’ T FIT THE COST STRUCTURE OF A MONTAGE , BUT THEY ARE STILL LUXURY MARKETS BY EVERY OTHER DEFINITION . WE ’ VE HAD GREAT INTEREST FROM DEVELOPERS FOR MONTAGE HOTELS , BUT WE WON ’ T DEVELOP THE BRAND UNLESS WE CAN REALLY JUSTIFY THE ECONOMICS FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT .”
– MICHAEL FUERSTMAN
H : What ’ s the communication like between the two of you ?
MF : Constant . AF : And we ' ve had to learn to temper it . There was a time when we ' d be at dinner and Mike and I would be engrossed in solving the problems of the world on Montage side . We ’ ve done a better job of either involving everybody ( Alan has four children ) in those conversations or trying to be a little bit more careful .
H : Any drawbacks to working together ?
AF : Actually , I ’ m surprised how comfortable it has been . In part it ’ s because we enjoy each other ’ s company so much . We have a lot of shared interest and that ’ s an important part of it . I also think having Jason makes a big difference . If there
42 hotelsmag . com November 2016