Four Seasons

The last time "luxury was no longer in vogue," Four Seasons hotelier Isadore Sharp increased advertising and refurbished his hotels, reports Laura Landro in a Wall Street Journal (4/29/09) review of Isadore’s new book, "Four Seasons". He believes he always managed to get through tough times because guests appreciate "the reliable, time-saving service they could depend on from Four Seasons." Consistency was the key, in that a Four Seasons hotel might be housed in a Western lodge, a modernist high rise "or a renovated Baaroque landmark and yet always know that they are staying in a Four Seasons Hotel."

Another secret of survival: When times were really bad, Isadore also asked his employees to take pay cuts and work four-day weeks. This is curious because Isadore says his ultimate success secret is to follow the Golden Rule: "Workers, he says, are vital assets who should be treated accordingly. At most hotel companies, he notes, housekeepers, cooks, bell staff, waiters and clerks are often the lowest paid and ‘the least motivated people.’ But at the Four Seasons, those who might otherwise be considered the most expendable ‘had to come first,’ because they were the ones ‘who could make or break a five-star service reputation’."

That formula certainly worked for Isadore, who started out running a 100-room hotel originally known as Thunderbird, growing to "83 hotels in 35 countries," eventually selling out all but a five-percent stake "in 2007 in a deal valued at $3.8 billion." He changed the name to Four Seasons after someone told him about a fine hotel in Munich called Vier Jahreszeiten, which translates as Four Seasons. Along the way, Isadore claims to be the first to introduce such touches as "comfortable beds, fluffy towels, lighted makeup mirrors, fancy toiletries and hair dryers." He also lays claim to introducing "European-style concierge service and Japanese-style breakfast menus, in-hotel spas, and the possibility of residence and time-share units."