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must listen to me !’ And you can hear in my voice that it was a very open and wonderful relationship . Very transparent as it still is today .”
“ And we would talk out the situation and we would always , always , come to some sort of agreement which was beneficial for the employee as well as the hotel ,” she adds . “ As far as a guest perspective , you ’ re not going to find someone who ’ s much more guest-centric than that man is . He just gets it .”
There ’ s a saying in French , Verneuil says , which Leboeuf often quotes . “ Seul on va plus vite , ensemble on va plus loin ”: “ Alone we go faster , together we go further .”
“ CHANGE IS GOOD ” The mother who drove him into his life ’ s work died in 1995 from cancer . He had just received his first GM post at the Crillon at the time of her death and told her the news while placing a rose on top of her coffin .
He says he entered the Hotelier of the World contest for her , as a tribute .
“ She loved me so much ,” Leboeuf says . “ She wanted me to get out of the country and succeed .”
For all the famous hoteliers who have influenced him – ex-Carlyle GM Frank Bowling , Ritz Paris President Frank Kline – when asked who inspires him every day , it ’ s A Chacun Son Everest ’ s Janin and his partner , Pepita . Why ? “ They are positive people , they make me happy , make me laugh ,” he says .
Leboeuf does not so much have regrets as he does lingering thoughts about how the past could have been prioritized differently .
“ I wish I would have spent more time with my children , which I didn ’ t as much going into the industry ,” he says . “ Retirement , I don ’ t know . I ’ m a bit Buddhist about it . Like the frog ,” he says , gesturing to the meditating statue on his desk .
It ’ s at the mention of having more time that his eyes finally light up .
“ If I could meditate , instead of five or 10 minutes , maybe 20 minutes a day ? That would be ‘ wow ,’” Leboeuf says .
As to where this industry is headed , his thoughts may mirror his own personal preference when staying in hotels . Despite a history of working within luxury , when he travels , he stays in offbeat , experience-driven properties .
“ Because I don ’ t want to wear suits . I don ’ t want to be the ‘ suit ’ with a capital ‘ S ’ or be confined to one image ,” Leboeuf says .
“ We ’ re in the middle of a huge transition ,” he continues . “ Things like Airbnb are extremely important and cannot be ignored by hoteliers . These things in a way are good , because I think change is positive . That ’ s a good thing about Asian culture and the Asian heritage that we have in our brand . It ’ s really build into our genes . Change is good . Constantly .”
26 hotelsmag . com November 2018