Most hotel and restaurant jobs share a vocabulary with the luxury end of the industry. A front desk agent is a front desk agent, a chef de partie is a chef de partie. What changes at the top is the standard each of those jobs is held to, and the people who run the top properties describe that difference more precisely than any brochure does.
The standard of detail
The first difference is the number of things that have to be right. A luxury hotel at full occupancy produces several hundred guest interactions a day across arrival, the room, housekeeping, concierge, the restaurants, the spa and departure, and the inspection systems the industry answers to grade every one of them. A property that performs brilliantly at the spa and acceptably at the front desk does not get the rating. The bar is the floor rather than the average. Pinar Kartal Timer, then general manager of Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah, in Istanbul, told me that as a perfectionist, good is never enough: it is not enough for her and it is not enough for the luxury hotel business. Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin names the kitchen’s version. The greatest challenge to success in a restaurant of his caliber is consistency, because every guest at every table must have the best experience possible, whatever their reason for coming.
The expectation of anticipation
The second difference is what the guest expects without saying. In most of the industry, service answers requests. At the luxury end, the job is to notice the need before the request exists. Aaron Kaupp, then general manager of Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris, told me that anticipation is key to delivering on the notion of taking care of things seen and unseen. Amit Majumder gives the definition the whole segment works to.
“True luxury is having what you’re merely thinking about be presented to you before you voice that desire.” Amit Majumder, then general manager of Jumeirah Vittaveli, Maldives
That expectation changes every job on the ladder. The housekeeper who notices a guidebook on the bedside table is expected to pass it to the concierge. The server who knows a guest’s allergy is expected to say so before the guest asks. Mahmoud Skaf, then general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur, told me that one of the hallmarks of the luxury hospitality industry is never saying no to a guest request, no matter how big or small, and that his staff are empowered to act on that.
The pace
The third difference is the hours. The people in my books are candid about it. Guy Savoy has worked sixteen hour days since he was fifteen. Richard Ekkebus of Amber describes bone breaking sixteen hour work days. Torsten van Dullemen, then general manager of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, remembers eighteen hour shifts on The Savoy’s front desk early in his career, in a role where his rent was higher than his salary. Timer wrote in A Wealth of Insight that if you don’t mind working 24/7, a career in luxury hospitality is incredibly rewarding, and Graham Ledger of Singita told readers to be prepared to sacrifice and to be absolutely certain this is the career for them. The kitchen’s pace is the most visible: Ripert describes a brigade producing several hundred plates a service, each required to land at the same standard as the first.
The training culture
The fourth difference is how much teaching happens. Tom Roelens, then general manager of Four Seasons Resort Lanaʻi, runs a two day onboarding so that recruits learn the goals and beliefs of the company and the culture of the island before they serve a guest. Stephen Ansell, then general manager of Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow, assigns every new team member a personal coach in their department for the first three months. Marc von Arnim, then general manager of Park Hyatt Sydney, attends every new recruit’s orientation himself. Timer rotates new department heads for a week as guests of other units so they understand each operation. In the kitchens, the apprenticeship is the training culture: every chef in my books is the product of another chef, and the correction they received at the pass is the correction they now give.
The mobility
The fifth difference is geography. The profiles in my first book each open with the countries the hotelier has worked in, and the lists run long. Krister Svensson’s career passed through eleven countries before he ran The St. Regis Bangkok. Christian A. Hassing of Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, worked in Denmark, Norway, the United States, Malaysia, Turkey and Japan. Ansell, who grew up moving between countries, encourages his associates to travel extensively in order to broaden their horizons. The large luxury groups move their people between properties as a matter of course, and a career at this level usually means a passport that fills up.
What general managers and chefs say they look for when they hire
Across eighty interviews the answer is the same: character first, because the rest can be taught. The hoteliers say it from the lobby side.
“I have no hesitation saying that I recruit for attitude over skills. We can teach virtually every skill, but changing an attitude can take years, if ever.” Pinar Kartal Timer, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)
Philip Barnes, then general manager of The Savoy, put it in his own dry way.
“We’re trying to look after guests in the best possible way, and the one thing we can’t teach is the right attitude. If they have the presence, manners and wherewithal, we can teach them pretty much anything else.” Philip Barnes, then general manager of The Savoy, London
Anneke Brown of COMO The Treasury hires for personality, personality, and personality. Alexander van Gastel of Pulitzer Amsterdam has focused less on an applicant’s résumé and more on attitude, because knowledge can be imparted but an attitude towards the industry, towards people and towards life is harder to change. Christian A. Hassing looks for executives with a certain independence, curiosity, and initiative. Axel Bethke of Qasr Al Sarab looks for warm hearted people with a positive attitude and involves the existing team in every hire. Damien Bastiat of Ballyfin Demesne recruits for personality over skill and asks two questions: describe yourself in three words, and why should I employ you over other candidates. Marc von Arnim listens for people who speak from the heart. Mariano Silvestri of Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa says the most important quality he looks for is integrity. Nicholas Yarnell of Six Senses Douro Valley will always hire an optimistic young person with a burning desire to do good work over an experienced professional with years of bad habits to unravel. Taljinder Singh of The Taj Mahal Palace asks whether a recruit is the right fit from a values perspective, and his advice to anyone considering the field is to ask the question of themselves first.
“If you are looking to join the world of luxury hospitality, the most important advice I can give is that you need to understand whether your own temperament is geared towards genuine care and assistance or not, and whether creating memorable experiences for others is something you aspire to do and something that brings you joy.” Taljinder Singh, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)
The chefs say the same thing about the kitchen, where technical skill is assumed at every rung and character still decides the hire. Matthew Orlando of Amass hires based on personality more than skill. Jonnie Boer of De Librije puts applicants on trial for a few days and looks for passion, perseverance and the right personality rather than experience. Sean Gray of Momofuku Ko hires for technical ability but is really looking for a personality fit. Emmanuel Stroobant of Saint Pierre and Shoukouwa in Singapore states the rule for both crafts.
“For me, the right attitude will always trump skill. Skills can be taught, but possessing the right attitude can only come from a willingness to learn with patience, passion and integrity.” Emmanuel Stroobant, in A Wealth of Insight (2019)
The brands and the groups
The people in my books have run properties for Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz-Carlton, Raffles, Rosewood, Belmond, Aman, The Peninsula, Park Hyatt and Grand Hyatt, Kempinski, Jumeirah, Six Senses, COMO, Anantara, St. Regis and Marriott International, Waldorf Astoria, Capella, Auberge Collection, Taj and IHCL, Singita and Wynn Resorts, and hotels such as The Plaza, The Surrey, Pulitzer Amsterdam, Ballyfin Demesne, Pera Palace, The Savoy, The Reverie Saigon and Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort. The chefs run kitchens inside Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz-Carlton, The Langham and Marina Bay Sands, and their own restaurants. The Careers section’s page on management training programs covers how to get in.
What it asks of you
The interviews come down to a few plain demands. It asks that you care about strangers, in Singh’s phrase, as a matter of temperament rather than technique. It asks that you accept being watched: Barnes told me that when he stays in his own hotel it is like being stalked by 600 people, and that if you don’t like that scrutiny you are in the wrong role. It asks for years at the bottom before the title, and for a willingness to move when the next rung is in another country. And it asks for the attention the title of my third book names, given daily to guests and colleagues who will rarely see what it cost.
If that sounds like you, the question on how to become a luxury hotelier sets out the first steps, and the Roles section describes what each job at this level actually involves.