Turn of the Seasons


5 May 2011 Kathleen Taylor


Kathleen Taylor is the president and CEO of Four Seasons. In an exclusive interview she talks to Christopher Kanal about the challenge of being in control of the world's most luxurious hotel brand and the new markets the business is reaching.


The Four Seasons story began with a modest motor inn that Isadore Sharp opened in Toronto, Canada, in 1961. The company moved into luxury when Sharp opened a hotel in London in 1970 to compete with the city's elite, such as Claridge's. From there, he built Four Seasons into the most-recognised luxury hotel group of all with a present portfolio of 82 hotels.

Four Seasons does not own most of its properties; it operates them on behalf of real-estate owners and developers. The most recent openings include the 78-room Four Seasons Hangzhou in China and a 320-room property in Beirut, designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon.

A Four Seasons veteran, Kathleen Taylor, 52, was appointed president and CEO of the luxury group in August 2010, taking over from Sharp, who remains chairman. Taylor joined Four Seasons in 1989 and served as president and COO from 2007.

Christopher Kanal: What's it like following in the footsteps of your famous predecessor?

Kathleen Taylor: I am the first CEO who is not Issy Sharpe. In many respects you don't fill the shoes of a founder - the founder of the company always remains the founder. My role is to figure out how to take the company to the next level.

I am taking over at the cusp of what will prove to be the largest expansion in the history of the company, and making sure that we get that right. We have over 50 projects in construction and development around the world.

Has the overall strategy of Four Seasons' changed at all due to the economic downturn?

It's fair to say that it has adapted. Our strategy as a company is to continue to be the undisputed leader in the world of luxury hospitality.

 To do that we not only have to focus our energies on ensuring our existing hotels are the best in their local market places but we also have to make sure the hotels we are opening in new destinations represent themselves in their particular market in exactly the same way.

As competition grows in the luxury market, does the Four Seasons template need to adapt?

A lot of what has gone on in the last ten years relative to our competitors has really been about style, décor, interior design and architecture, all of which is very important.

The real differences come in the overall experience that the guest has in each hotel, which is seen or unseen. Much of what makes Four Seasons special is the infrastructure, things behind the walls, which don't sound very exciting but ultimately are the key to making sure that the guest has a restful, efficient and very productive stay.

"China has exceeded expectations that were on the table when we first started to investigate it as a market."

Are you taking Four Seasons to a new direction or following the founder's grand plan?

If you ask Issy about his original vision, there wasn't one. All that happened in the early days was that he was building one hotel at a time, and trying to make that work. The Four Seasons that we are today is a relatively recent invention in that we didn't begin our global expansion until the early 1990s. We have always had our hotel in London, which was our third, but for years it was our only hotel outside North America. In 1992 we opened the first Four Seasons in Tokyo, and then we bought the Regent Brand, which allowed us to expand into Asia, and from then we accelerated our growth in the region.

Where are the opportunities in China and India, and do you have any plans for any sub-brands to cater specifically for them?

Our strategy is to have very high-quality product offerings in all the major cities in both countries. In India we are open in Mumbai, and have projects we are working on in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore, but we are also looking at resort destinations, like Goa.

The same is true in China. We have 14 projects, four of which are open. We just opened in Huangzhou and have Beijing coming. We are also working on a resort development on Hainan Island. We don't have any plans for sub-brands at the moment.

Do you not feel that predictions for growth in the Chinese market are unsustainable?

People have been saying this for a long time. From my experience, China has met and exceeded expectations that were on the table when we first started to investigate it as a market. We continue to see very high levels of confidence by our investor groups there.

How did the relationship with your developers change during the economic slowdown?

The recession put a huge amount of pressure on businesses. When we were in the depths of it, it's fair to say that there was not one region that was spared. However, some destinations, like Hong Kong, got out quicker than others.

It was a highly stressed opportunity for us to work with our hotel owners and developers to make sure that we had looked at every possible angle. Fortunately we shared the philosophy of staying focused on the needs of the guest. We never changed our product but we did reorganise things that were not related to the guest experience, like supply chain management.

What did your company learn from the recession?

Much of the fixed cost of a hotel relates to the basic footprint of the building. These are huge costs so we have a big initiative underway to figure out how we make existing operations more efficient and how to design better buildings. Efficiency has become a very big part of the dialogue concerning the guest experience.

"It is vital that CEOs stay focused on the world around them and are able to interpret changes in order to drive their businesses forward."

How has the CEO's role changed as a result of the economic crisis?

The crisis caused the CEO to become more inward-looking and perhaps a lot more involved in the detail of the business. CEOs have to be involved in self-examination. That may or may not be a permanent change. At the end of the day, it is vital that CEOs stay focused on the world around them and are able to interpret changes in order to drive their businesses forward.

What are your strengths as CEO?

I'm a reasonably impatient person. I like making sure we are moving our agenda along. I tend to think about the future and the outside world, and how it will change the nature of our business. What is the guest room in 15 years going to look like? What does Generation Y mean for the future of the luxury hotel? I'm always looking ahead and encouraging debate among my senior team to forge a successful strategy.

How would you describe your work philosophy?

Four Seasons runs a highly decentralised operation. Wherever you visit a Four Seasons in Paris or Cairo, the team on the ground will determine to the visitor whether or not we are a great hotel. I believe no amount of supervision that can be provided from afar will change the outcome if the team on the ground isn't capable of delivering a great experience. Leadership excellence and guest experience enhancement is directly in the hands of the hotel team themselves.

You focus your energy into supporting those individual people in doing great things as opposed to supervising them to do great things. There is a huge difference between the two.

You give them what they need not what you think they need. We do a lot of collaborative teamwork on the ground to make sure we are providing the right amount of support through all avenues from IT to human resources.

Can you sum up what leadership means to you?

A leader by definition is someone people want to follow. You can be a director and try to get things done that way but, if you want to be a true leader, people must believe in what you stand for and identify with your values. If you want to get people to follow you it is all about being authentic, trustworthy and transparent. It simply comes down to those in your company saying: 'I believe her'.

You are the only female CEO among the world's top ten hotel operators. Do you feel your position is symbolically important in the industry?

I didn't really focus on the fact that it would be. But there is no getting round the fact that, now I'm here, it is. This is an industry that employs 50% women. I think it's important in any industry for people to have role models, so ultimately it's a great thing.