SPECIAL REPORT
Fasel during his days as GM of The Dorchester in London
But perhaps the biggest challenge for Fasel was developing the New York project in the midst of the pandemic . “ Anybody who wants to develop a building in New York should think long and hard about whether it ’ s an undertaking they want ,” Fasel jokes . “ New York is so complex for anything from planning to licensing , labor and craftsmanship . Then add COVID on top it … Vlad [ Doronin ] was instrumental as a developer and in the design of the project . But there were so many things you think you have under control as part of your circle of influence – yet there were so many things always leaking and slipping out of that circle .”
At the end of the day , Fasel says Aman came out with what is now a fantastic project in Manhattan . What remains is the continual battle for talent – getting the right people to deliver the Aman experience , which is the furthest thing from transactional .
Even more humbling , Fasel admits , was managing the portfolio through COVID , especially on the heels of 2019 being the company ’ s best year to date .
“ We had a big meeting in January 2020 and everybody was so pumped up ,” he recalls . “ And then , within three or four weeks , we started to scramble for our survival with 16 owned hotels … It makes you really humble very quickly .”
Fasel says he adjusted the company structure very early on during the pandemic and intensified all communications . “ The other decision , which from a sales and marketing and pricing perspective we really got right , was the reemergence of the European and the U . S . markets and understanding that our product was what people were looking for . So , we were able to optimize whatever business came back to a greater degree than others … The recovery came back quickly , and I think it was due to communicating better , being much more agile , much more transparent and taking these positions very early on during the crisis .”
ASPIRATIONS , INSPIRATIONS What Aman is also known for to a greater degree than its competitive set is its service , and what Fasel brings to the table is more than ample experience in the ultra-luxury space .
“ My aspiration is to create as many seamless experiences as possible . But ultimately , my aspiration in the ultraluxury space is to be able to individualize and personalize the service to an extraordinary level ,” Fasel explains . “ We have craftsmen and artisans in our business who deliver that level of detail . And for me , it ’ s important to create the frameworks for the people to deliver that … My philosophy is that it ’ s still a less scripted environment and I hire employees who have that intuitiveness and passion to deliver all these pieces . Ultimately , what you want to do with all the anticipatory , personalized , individualized service propositions is create seamlessness in the customer ’ s journey … Having employees who are the true craftsmen and artisans is still where I think the ultraluxury business is going .”
If Fasel has any hotel pet peeves , it would be overcomplicating processes perhaps because a company or hotel fails at some of the basics . “ It ’ s difficult to do simple stuff right but it ’ s first and foremost most important ,” he says . “ If you cover the basics in a hotel context , I ’ m quite a happy guy .”
68 hotelsmag . com Nov / Dec 2022