Luxury Hotelier - February 2008 - (Page 18)

18| Personalities “They want privacy and exclusivity.” Mr. Himelstein says the Ritz-Carlton reputation and credibility allow it to take a calculated risk with the new Reserve brand. “[The Reserve brand] allows us to play a little more on the product side and the service side,” he says. “It’s smaller in size, the experience will be a little more intimate, but it will still have a very clear Ritz-Carlton service mentality threaded through the property.” Mr. Rehmann says operating such properties will take a different approach than guiding the large tankers. “We are building the operating model for how we’re going to run these,” he says. “We’re looking at how other independent, smaller resorts operate—how they staff and how they get the required amenities.” THE RITZ-CARLTON, TOKYO THE RITZ-CARLTON, TOKYO company presidents are as engaged when it comes to their employees. “You saw a guy that happens to have a great set of manners and a great set of caring attributes about him as a human being,” says Bruce Himelstein, senior vice president of sales and marketing. “The fact that he can use it in a company that values it as much as Ritz-Carlton is a wonderful opportunity.” That relationship with employees goes well beyond the Chevy Chase, Maryland, corporate offices, says Kenneth Rehmann, executive vice president of operations, who worked with Mr. Cooper at Marriott before following him to Ritz-Carlton seven years ago. “Simon’s probably at his best when he’s interacting one on one with our ladies and gentlemen at the properties,” Mr. Rehmann says. “If he’s in the office for more than two days, he gets cabin fever. He wants to be out. He loves spending time with people.” He also loves finding new places for Ritz-Carlton to fly its flag. Since taking over the reins, Mr. Cooper’s team has opened 30 hotels around the world—and they’re usually not in run-of-the-mill locations. “They have a tremendous sense of place—they feel like they fit in the local area,” Mr. Rehmann says. That sense continues with the launch of The Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand—the first of which is scheduled to open during 2008. The Turks & Caicos location (Molasses Reef, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve) will have 125 suites and 75 private villas. “Some guests might not be attracted to a typical 400-room Ritz-Carlton,” Mr. Cooper says. “That’s what spurred the idea of Ritz-Carlton Reserve.” “In luxury, you tend to go into more remote locations because that’s what customers want,” Mr. Rehmann says. Moving beyond hotels It’s not only hotels that Ritz-Carlton is interested in. The brand operates 18 residential communities and five fractional clubs. In North America, most projects need a residential component to be successful, Mr. Cooper says. “If we had a Beverly Hills, [California,] opportunity, could we do it without residential? Yes,” he says. “But most of what we do is mixed-use, especially the resorts because that creates more activity in the resort; and even in the city hotels, it makes a big difference.“ There’s a good chance that sooner rather than later, loyal guests will be able to enjoy Ritz-Carlton hospitality on land and on sea. “There’s a great opportunity for the brand to expand into cruising,” Mr. Rehmann says. “It is complementary to what we do today. I’m not an expert in cruising, but I don’t think there’s a global luxury brand that has the awareness of Ritz-Carlton in the cruise business today. “Simon and I are very interested in expanding into that space, and I think it’s Luxury Hotelier | February 2008 | www.LuxuryHotelier.com http://www.LuxuryHotelier.com

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Luxury Hotelier - February 2008

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