Luxury Travel Advisor - March 2008 - (Page 50)

COVER STORY THE MANSION ON PEACHTREE, A Rosewood Hotel & Residence, opens in Atlanta in May (bathroom shown at right). Rosewood designs unique bathrooms for each of its new hotels. if it performs poorly and the owners are looking for a solution, we want to make sure that we can actually effect change, that we can improve its results and that the experience we can provide our guests will be ultra-luxury,” says Boulogne. Additionally, the property has to provide a unique and experiential addition to the collection. In the case of Cordevalle, a Rosewood Resort in St. Martin, CA, the 45-room property’s main attraction was its golf course, an amenity Rosewood’s portfolio had previously not been able to provide to its clientele. Promoting Rosewood Until recently, Rosewood only used its name as a tagline on its properties’ names before deciding that its brand had enough cache to be part of the hotel’s proper monicker. For example, The Mansion on Turtle Creek, A Rosewood Hotel is now The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. Ditto for the Crescent Court and Little Dix Bay. Existing hotel owners can decide where the Rosewood designation will fall in their properties’ names; however, going forward, all new-builds will carry the Rosewood name upfront. “The only difference would be if we took over an iconic hotel that already has its own brand,” says Boulogne, emphasizing that there will be no correlation in the Rosewood name placement and the quality of the hotel. “A brand is nothing more than a promise. Our promise is to provide great service, to offer a sense of place and experience and to create memories,” he says. While developing new Rosewoods tends to be the more exciting, sexy side of the business, the operation of his existing properties is Boulogne’s key focus. “We spend the majority of our time running great hotels and returning margins to our owners that they are happy with,” says Boulogne, whose Dallas headquarters house 80 people whose role is to support the company’s hotels. “I’ve learned in the past few years that hiring a great managing director who brings everything to the table makes things significantly better,” he says. “My challenge is, how do I get the best people to manage these properties and to lead by example, who know our philosophy, who know about ‘a sense of place’ and have a gentle but firm hand? That’s what I spend a lot of my time thinking about,” says Boulogne, whose management style is to “allow people a tremendous amount of freedom to make choices. As long as they are making good choices, I let them do their thing. It’s only when the results aren’t what I expected that I get involved.” Boulogne is a big believer in hiring from within. When he appoints general managers, he looks for positive attitudes, for those who can generate a luxury experience and for people who understand an entrepreneurial spirit. They also have to be able to implement the “Rosewood Responsibilities,” which are service tenets that are reinforced to hotel staffers during their daily lineups. A responsibility could include walking a guest to a destination, rather than pointing to where they should go, as I experienced at The Carlyle. Boulogne says the overall service mantra boils down to having fun, doing the right thing and empowering employees to make decisions when it comes to the guest, to use judgment that “comes from the heart.” That’s vital in a world where affluent travelers, according to Boulogne, are looking for a great experience that will make them feel happy, peaceful and well taken care of. “Our guests generally live in luxury every day,” he says. “They have beautiful and welldecorated homes. They seek the luxury they are accustomed to but in unique settings with ample amenities and, particularly in the case of a resort, with interesting activities.” Boulogne also feels that today’s luxury travelers are taking a “less-is-more” approach. “Luxury-minded guests want choices but not so many choices that it becomes cumbersome,” he says. “It’s all about managing the delicate balance between attentive service and too much service.” That’s all too apparent as I begin to leave The Carlyle. The maître d’ of the restaurant spots me and hastens to the coat check to retrieve my belongings himself. “Was it a good interview?” he asks me as he walks me through the lobby and to the front door. “It was,” I reply, as I retreat into the outdoors, feeling as if I’ve been shaken from a well-crafted cocoon. 50 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | March 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Travel Advisor - March 2008

Luxury Travel Advisor - March 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Dublin: We Tour the Irish Capital’s Top Offerings Puglia, Italy: Where to go for Complete Tranquility Small Meetings: Inspiring Settings for your Corporate Client The Thompson Beverly Hills: Bold New Style Arrives in Southern California US Grant: Unabashed Luxury in Downtown San Diego Sailing the Danube: Low-Key Luxury on River Cloud II Sin City Spas: The Latest From Some of our Favorite Las Vegas Retreats Bob Boulogne: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts' COO Targets Elite Travel Advisors The Pulse Exotic Car Rental Jetset Report Sightings Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - March 2008

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