Hospitality Design - September 2012 - 121

perspectives interview
meinhard
huck
By Alia Akkam
1
1
1. Swissôtel unveils its
first Southeast Asian
resort in Phuket,
Thailand.
SWISS ROLL
Business and leisure travelers converge at Swissôtel
Every time Meinhard Huck, president of
Zurich-based Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, heads
to Chicago, he is buoyed by the sight of the
only North American property in the brand’s
portfolio. “I just love it,” he says—and with
good reason. Originally designed by architect
Harry Weese, aſt er a $10 million renovation
earlier this year the Swissôtel Chicago now
sports a revamped lobby with check-in pods
replacing a commonplace front desk, the city’s
skyline etched into backlit glass, and an artistic
lighting installation comprised of an impressive
plethora of dangling glass bubbles.
When Swissair and Nestlé launched
Swissôtel in 1980 with the Hotel Le Président
in Geneva, discerning corporate travelers were
the targeted demographic. That hasn’t changed.
“Ostensibly, we are a deluxe business hotel,” says
Huck, who fi rst started working for the company
in 1997 as a senior vice president for Europe.
The face of business travel, however, has
altered considerably from the days of Swissôtel’s
debut, and that’s why Huck has made technology
a priority. “We have to fi nd our brand DNA. It’s
not always about introducing new things but
delivering something on a consistent basis,” he
says. “A few things we do we must do right. Of
course what we’re doing is continually eyeballing
the IT sector. We want to make sure that our
IT strategy is something the guest wants, that
gadgets are user-friendly. There must be an
added value. I still want my coff ee to be served
by a waiter, not by pressing a but on.”
Business travel has also surged in Asia in
particular, and Swissôtel has kept that in mind
for its long-term vision. “Our Asia customer base
has increased—Japanese business, Australian
business, Singaporean business. We opened
a hotel in India two years ago and there are
now two hotels under construction there as we
speak,” Huck notes. Earlier this year, Swissôtel
also expanded its reach in Thailand with its fi rst
Southeast Asian resort property, a takeover of
the Courtyard by Marriot at Kamala Beach
in Phuket.
Ever since the brand’s partnership with the
now shut ered Swissair has dissolved, Huck is
quick to point out how Swissôtel has gradually
expanded to appeal to the leisure segment as
well. “We are a small company but represented
globally,” he says, pointing to the Swissôtel
presence across fi ve continents, including such
up and coming destinations as Estonia and
Saudi Arabia. In 2013 and 2014 hotels will also
make their mark on locations like Sochi, Russia,
and Bodrum, Turkey.
One way Huck has brought recreational
travelers into the fold is to reinvent the idea of
the executive lounge. “It’s a new concept. Let’s
move away from the words ‘executive lounge,’”
he says. “The defi nition means it’s only for
executives and that it’s boring. We also want
leisure guests. In Dresden [at the Swissôtel
Dresden Am Schloss], for example, it’s more of a
huge lounge with all natural wood and a kitchen
at ached to it, crossing the line from business to
hospitalitydesign.com September 2012
121
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