Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2008 - (Page 86)

LEADERS SPEAK Ali Kasikci, Managing Director Montage Beverly Hills Ali Kasikci, the managing director of the Montage Beverly Hills, (www.montagebeverlyhills.com), which is set to open November 21, has been toiling behind the scenes since last September to create one of the hottest new luxury properties to open in years. Prior to joining Montage Hotels & Resorts, Kasikci ran The Peninsula Beverly Hills for 16 years. During his tenure there, the hotel earned the Mobil Five-Star and the AAA Five-Diamond awards, earning the hotel and Kasikci a fiercely loyal following. When he’s not running a luxury hotel, Kasikci, who resides in Los Angeles with his wife Donanne, can be found teaching a variety of senior hospitality management courses as the Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer at Cornell University School of Hotel Management. What do you hope your guests will take away from their experience at the Montage Beverly Hills? I hope our guests will feel an emotional attachment to Montage Beverly Hills once they’ve stayed with us. Through our personalized and customized services we will create that emotional attachment, a “sixth sense” of satisfaction. Is the company looking to expand its locations? Montage Hotels & Resorts is a dynamic growth company with projects already underway in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Deer Valley, UT; and Royal Island, the Bahamas. What is your concept of luxury service? My idea of a luxury service is a gesture that anticipates your needs or even goes beyond your needs. It’s a gesture you never would have thought to ask for. What’s the affluent traveler market looking for? The affluent traveler is looking for value and seamless services. They are looking for customized and personalized services and hotels that are environmentally friendly and socially responsible. They are also looking for hotels that are in a great location, where everything is within their reach. What’s your favorite travel memory? As someone who works 24 hours a day in the industry, I have found that it’s the simple things in life, like embracing nature, that please me the most. Traveling to Singita, South Africa, allowed me to become close to nature and was a great escape from my day-to-day way of thinking. What is the top luxe experience you’ve enjoyed in a hotel? It is very easy for an hotelier to enjoy luxury services. Colleagues are typically extending gestures ALI KASIKCI is shown at the construction site of the Montage Beverly Hills. to other colleagues, so when I travel I’m often receiving the ultimate experience. However, it’s the simplest gestures that can create a sense of luxury. During one of my travels, I casually mentioned to a colleague that I really enjoyed the sour cherry gelato from the store down the street. After a grueling day of sales calls the following day, I returned to my room to find a bowl of sour cherry gelato. The most luxurious thing can be as simple as a thoughtful gesture. What’s your favorite non-Montage hotel? Why? All of my colleagues do an impeccable job so it is difficult for me to separate one from another. If I really had to insist, I’d say that Ed Steiner at The One&Only Pamilla Resort in Los Cabos, Mexico; Ed Mady at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco; and James McBride at The Carlyle Hotel in New York are all true hosts, offering a seamless experience. 86 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | August 2008 http://www.montagebeverlyhills.com

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Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2008 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter Maui Dubai Cape Town The Capella Resort and Spa, at Pedregal Cabo San Lucas Ritz-Carlton Cancun Presidential Suites The Palazzo, Las Vegas The Water Club Arrabelle at Vail Square Ferntree The Spa at Half Moon Fall Foliage Cruises New England Strong Travel On the Horizon: Luxury Travel Expo The Pulse Traveling Shopper Leaders Speak Sightings Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - August 2008

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