Hotel business booming due to free market<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Isadore Sharp, the chairperson and chief
\nexecutive officer of the Four Seasons and Regent Hotels and
\nResorts, was in the city recently for the gala opening of the
\nRegent Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Sharp opened the first of what has now become a chain of 38
\nhotels in 16 countries under the Four Seasons and Regent, in
\nToronto, Canada, in 1960.<\/p>\n
Amid the tight schedule of his short visit, Sharp shared with
\nThe Jakarta Post his experiences and vision of the hotel
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
Below are some excerpts from the interview:<\/p>\n
Q: Back to the 1960s when you started Four Seasons, what did
\nyou imagine about your hotel at that time? About the future of
\nyour hotel?<\/p>\n
Well, I wasn't thinking much on the future, I was thinking of
\nthat one hotel, so I wasn't thinking how it would work well. So,
\nI had only one developer, one hotel, and one thought:
\nconcentration. I used to think a lot; you worked at it a long
\ntime. So the idea was the same, that is, to do something
\ndifferent. To do something well is pretty small. It's pretty hard
\nto prove to people, to make them see or understand what you might
\nrepresent, so you have to be different in a manner to which
\npeople will respond positively.<\/p>\n
Q: At that time what was your concept of a hotel?<\/p>\n
I had an idea to combine what was then the rage. The motel was
\na building of one or two stories, built on the outskirts of a
\ncity, so the motorists, travelers using a car, would holiday in
\nit. It's actually how it started. It wasn't a very successful
\ntype of business. So I thought, why do that on a highway, why not
\ndo it right downtown? So I took the concept of combining the best
\na motel has to offer: middle access, informality, service that
\nyou'd ask for if you wish, but one that is not overbearing. A
\nhotel which is conveniently located near businesses, the city. So
\nit's the combination of these I called the motor hotel, the Four
\nSeasons motor hotel. And because you need a lot of land to do
\nthat, and land downtown is usually very expensive, I went to the
\ncheapest part of downtown where land is inexpensive. But it was
\non the wrong side of the tracks, so everybody looked at it and
\nsaid \"Who's gonna go there? This is a real slum area.\"<\/p>\n
But I felt we could do something which was important enough to
\ncreate our own image; it wouldn't be associated with its
\nsurroundings. So, it's all the principles of old Europe, where
\nthey used to build homes or a compound within a walled city. It
\nwas to protect people who lived inside from elements on the
\noutside. So I took the same concept. I asked myself: Why don't we
\ncreate a courtyard that all the rooms will face? We can control
\nthe environment and the outside wouldn't matter. You come into
\nthis building and you have the courtyard as your environment
\nrather than the rough traffic on the street.<\/p>\n
So that's what we did. We created a garden setting in the
\nmiddle of the city, in the slum area. It was like a diamond in
\nthe rough, so extreme compared to that surrounding it. It was
\ndifferent but it was very pleasantly different. So it became
\nsuccessful. That was the beginning.<\/p>\n
So I always use a lot of landscaping, natural materials,
\npleasant environment. That's what everybody likes. I don't know
\nanybody who doesn't like to sit in a garden. No matter who you
\nare, it will appeal.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you still build your hotels with the same concept?<\/p>\n
Same considerations, yes. Most of our hotels, no matter where
\nthey are, even in a city of nothing, no land, we would bring in a
\nlot of flowers and plants, maintain that pleasant environment
\nwithin the hotel. Sometimes we build a major area like this with
\nits own garden. So, you're sitting in the garden lounge. The name
\ngarden lounge has been carried for many years in Four Seasons,
\nit's a first start.<\/p>\n
Q: You said that within the hotel it can be very pleasant, but
\noutside it can be very rough. So, how can your hotel go along
\ntogether with its surrounding?<\/p>\n
For a hotel, the location is important. You want convenience
\nto businesses you are trying to attract. So our hotels are
\nusually convenient to business centers and business districts so
\nthat business travelers can have easy access. But also access to
\nthe part of the city where people like to visit, tourists for
\ninstance.<\/p>\n
So you try to get a location which works for customers who
\ncome to the city for more than one reason. The architecture
\nshould suit the location. You build what will be apt. It has to
\ncomplement the city, really, because you're part of the
\ncommunity. What you do should is add something to the city.<\/p>\n
Q: But what kind of services will you offer? Because all the
\nhotels boast that they emphasize service.<\/p>\n
Yes, that's true, everybody does say so. But we cannot say it.
\nWe'd rather be judged on the experience, the result. The success
\nof what we do at the Four Seasons and Regent is really based upon
\nthe people who produce the product. It is the quality of the
\nservice, our employees attitude, their enthusiasm and their
\nhonest concern for the customers.<\/p>\n
We always want to make sure that every customer's experience
\nis a pleasant one, a successful visit, and it needs everybody in
\nthis hotel to think that way and to commit to doing it. You can't
\npossibly achieve good service without having everybody taking
\npart. It's not only the people you meet, it's also the people
\nwhom you've never seen, because this hotel operates like an
\niceberg.<\/p>\n
Most of the things that take place to make the customer's
\nexperience a successful visit happen behind the scenes. It's the
\npreparation, the planning, the execution by many, many people.
\nMost people who have to take the dish to the dish washer have to
\nmake sure that all the dishes are clean. So, everybody's mind has
\nto be thinking. Everybody must not only work with their hands,
\nbut also with their heads.<\/p>\n
That takes time. It takes time to bring people together, to
\nhire the right people, to train the right people, to organize
\neverybody to work as a smooth working team. When it happens you
\nthen have your customers getting a different experience. The
\nbeauty of it and the problem with it is that when it happens, you
\ndon't realize what you're getting. So you build this credibility
\nnot by what we say, but by perception.<\/p>\n
Q: But how about the degree of trainability of the local
\npeople here, can they meet your standards?<\/p>\n
Definitely. It's like two and two is four. There is no
\nquestion about that. There is no question that the workforce here
\nwill meet the standards that are probably not the best in Jakarta
\nbut in international standards because we're competing against
\npeople traveling around the world.<\/p>\n
So, we're not competing with what might be the best local
\ncompetitors, we're competing at the Olympics, we're competing
\nwith the world's best. So, people here who have been hired and
\ntrained will reach and meet those standards.<\/p>\n
Everywhere in the world there are workers who want to succeed.
\nWe create an environment which allows them to meet and reach
\ntheir best selves. But we must work at that.<\/p>\n
We had applicants from 22,000 people. The last 600 applicants
\nwere interviewed by five people at five different times, so you
\ngo through an interview process which is intended to explain to
\nthe people what is expected, to understand what it is they need
\nto compliment, so it's the hiring process that you spend a great
\ndeal of time at.<\/p>\n
Q: But what do you offer to them to make them commit
\nthemselves to all this?<\/p>\n
An opportunity to succeed in their jobs and a work environment
\nwhich respects them as people, respects them as individuals,
\ntreats them with respect and dignity. That deals honestly with
\ntheir needs, in one simple statement: the company's culture.<\/p>\n
We've written the principles as other companies, it's for them
\nto read. But we base ourselves on a more profound statement. It's
\nthe golden rule: Do unto to others as you would have done unto to
\nyou. In fact, it's the only approach when dealing with people,
\nwhether they're your shareholders, partners, owners, your
\nemployee or employer.<\/p>\n
You don't have to tell them much more than that because most
\npeople have the common sense to make that discrimination \"What is
\nit I should do?\"<\/p>\n
So, if you ask what we offer to these people, we offer them a
\nchallenge to be their best, to succeed and to have what they've
\ndecided they want. I don't know how much more people want. We pay
\nthem according to the market. The monetary reward has to be fair.
\nBut that's not why people want to work here. They can get a job
\nhere, but they can have a job elsewhere if it's only money, so
\nthere's more to it.<\/p>\n
And the other part of the job that makes them want to do what
\nI've described is all just a matter of time, in getting people to
\nplay a role in relationships. That's what it is, a series of
\nrelationships.<\/p>\n
Q: How can you manage to provide personalized service in such
\na big hotel? A small hotel with, say 20 rooms, might do it
\neasily, but this a big hotel.<\/p>\n
No, we can handle it. Our hotels are built in order to be able
\nto handle such services. You have to have staff available to do
\nit. It is the way you organize the system. You must have the
\nhotel staff organized in a manner which can always meet what you
\nhave said you can do. So our approach is to only talk about the
\nthings we can provide every time. So what you talk about, what
\nyou advertise, that is what you should do all the time. Our
\nquality is to meet the customer's expectation every time,
\nwhatever it might be. In North America, the most successful fast
\nfood operator is McDonald's. It's the quality, because every time
\nyou go there you get exactly what you expect. It's not fine
\ndining, but it's the quality. That's why I said it's what we talk
\nabout that you get every time.<\/p>\n
Q: What's the future of the hotel industry and what kind of
\nhotels will be needed in the future?<\/p>\n
The industry is growing and will become bigger with the
\nexistence of the free market. You have to travel a lot and get to
\nplaces to do business.<\/p>\n
The hotel industry is growing, so you need accommodation for
\nevery level, you need the budget for inexpensive accommodation
\nand you need the top accommodation for the international
\ntravelers whose time is valuable. For those we offer our
\nservices. They aren't for luxury, they are for purpose, so
\neverything we do is for a purpose. Therefore, for a busy
\ntraveler, we believe it is something that will be appreciated.<\/p>\n
Q: In Jakarta alone now there are maybe seven or more five-
\nstar hotels, how will you compete with them?<\/p>\n
I think we will set a standard which will perhaps alter
\npeople's perception about five stars. We will be able to compete,
\nand I think get a fair share of the market as we have done
\nbefore. I'd much rather go into that situation, a city where a
\nlot of businesses are, and compete for a share of it, rather than
\ngo to a place where there is no five-star hotel with nobody going
\nthere.<\/p>\n
Q: There will be another resort hotel of Four Seasons Regent
\nin Sentul, West Java, next year. Do you think it's viable?<\/p>\n
Yes, we have run the same concept to that in Dallas, Texas,
\nwith resort and conference facilities. People go there for a
\nconvenient meeting. It's only a three-quarters-of-an-hour-drive
\nor less to go there, in a conducive environment to hold a seminar
\nfor two or three days. In the weekends, you go there and you'll
\nget exactly like if you travel six hours by plane: Golf, tennis,
\nhealth club, beautiful environment. So you get a shorter vacation
\nand business opportunity. So you get resort and business. You're
\nnot competing for people who travel to Jakarta for business for a
\nday or two. You don't compete for them. They're not going to stay
\nthere.<\/p>\n
So it's a good place to get away without having to take an
\nairplane. (als)<\/p>",
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