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Pierre Jochem: Persuasive Force

Pierre Jochem was bitten by the travel and hospitality bug early on. Born in what eventually became the Republic of Congo, his father was an airline pilot and flight instructor who relocated frequently to establish new routes across Africa for several commercial airlines. Young Jochem embraced the lifestyle. “I liked staying in nice hotels, and I liked traveling,” he recalled. At 14, he determined hotel school was the path for him, and at 16, he enrolled in a hotel school in Strasbourg, France.

HOTELS’ 2021 Independent Hotelier of the World as voted by his global peers dreamed of being a general manager at a luxury hotel; fortunately, the job suits him well. A mix of worldly, congenial, analytical and detail-obsessed, he takes as much pleasure in seeing that the lobby flower arrangements are just so as he does in developing staff and posting strong numbers.

“Renovate, reposition, relaunch and retrain—A to Z in terms of people, product and profits. I could write a book.” – Pierre Jochem on his stint and complete repositioning of The Imperial in New Delhi
“Renovate, reposition, relaunch and retrain—A to Z in terms of people, product and profits. I could write a book.” – Pierre Jochem on his stint and complete repositioning of The Imperial in New Delhi

Over the last four decades Jochem has made his way around the globe, rising within prestige luxury brand organizations and setting high standards for independent trophy hotels, expertly navigating systems, demanding guests and a diverse culture all the while.

For the last eight years, he has helmed the award-winning La Mamounia in Marrakech as general manager and senior vice president of operations. Last year, the hotel completed a major renovation, with a proper launch slated for this year. He is also working with the owners on four additional projects, including the renovation and relaunch of the Palais Jamai in Fes.

“Pierre is so open to travel, curious and interested in his surroundings and to move around to see what is going on,” said Laurent Branover, CEO of Les Domaines de Fontenille, a collection of luxury hotels in Spain and France and who worked with Jochem years ago at Raffles in Singapore. “He is a man in perpetual motion, a persuasive force with a very, very big heart. Pierre has changed my life as many have, he spread it everywhere. I was very lucky, I thank him for being my mentor, my friend, a second father.”

Jochem’s book

Like many hoteliers who have followed a traditional European career arc, Jochem started out in food and beverage. After an entry-level catering position with Eurest Nestle in France, in 1985 he moved to London to take on his first hotel post, as food and beverage director at the Hyatt, Carlton Tower, Park Hyatt. From there, he transferred to The Regent in Bangkok, where he joined a team that renovated and repositioned the F&B outlets and created new ones, including banquet facilities.

By 1990, Jochem moved to Hong Kong to help open the Island Shangri-La; after that experience he made the leap to operations, taking on the resident manager spot at Le Saint Geran Hotel in Mauritius. His next stop was another big step: the Peninsula Group’s Palace Hotel in Beijing, where he was hotel manager for four years. There, he managed a staff of 1,700, oversaw a renovation of half the hotel and development of a retail and shopping arcade. From there he moved to The Oberoi in New Delhi, followed by The Pierre, Four Seasons in New York, also as hotel manager.

Jochem took on his biggest challenge yet in 2002: the complete renovation and repositioning of the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi. The seven-year project elevated him to general manager, then vice president. By the end of the work, annual profits at the hotel had grown from US$1.5 million in 2002 to US$27 million.

“It was a beautiful property that had really fallen to sleep and had not been properly managed for 30 to 40 years,” Jochem recalled. The owners gave him free rein to do what needed to be done with the property and its 1,000-person team—“renovate, reposition, relaunch and retrain—A to Z in terms of people, product and profits,” he said. “I could write a book.”

Jochem in front of Raffles in Singapore, which he led for five years starting in 2008
Jochem in front of Raffles in Singapore, which he led for five years starting in 2008

His next act was a return to Asia, where he was hired by Raffles Hotels & Resorts as general manager of the Raffles Hotel in Singapore and regional vice president of operations in the Asia Pacific region. Among his accomplishments during his five years there: improving the workplace culture, guest satisfaction scores—and profits—at the storied flagship.

Five years later, in 2013, he made the move to Marrakech and his longest post yet at La Mamounia. Under his leadership, the hotel has been singled out for honors including the Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Award for Best Hotel in the World (2015) and Best Urban Hotel in the World (2018). Despite those accolades—or because of them—he shepherded the historic La Mamounia through a major renovation last year.

Heart and performance

At Jochem’s properties, as one might expect, guests come first; policies and procedures are meant to provide a framework that ensures their satisfaction. “Procedures will help you out and show you the path to follow,” he noted. “But after that you want people to deliver service from the heart.”

Jochem describes himself as performance-driven and very demanding, but fair. He believes in inspiring and developing his staffs, encouraging that from-the-heart attitude. To him, that means “as much as you can, go beyond the guest’s expectations and try to sense that somebody wants something before they ask for it.”

He’s put his stamp on teams globally, managing cultures as diverse as London, New York, New Delhi, Tianjin and Marrakech. His strategy for adapting to new locations: assess the staff’s skills, determine their strengths and weaknesses, understand cultural quirks and tailor your philosophy of service to the locale. “French people can be a bit cold, people in India are great but have difficulty planning ahead, those in Morocco tend to cut corners when they can. You have to understand and adapt to their culture, then work out a system for how you are going to get there,” he said.

Pierre with his wife, Evelyne
Pierre with his wife, Evelyne

Former Le Meridien Hotels Asia CEO Jean-Gabriel Peres called Jochem a natural host. “He is one of the very few GMs or regional managers who has made the transition between the traditional hotelier’s style and the ones who have embraced the new digital generation,” he said. “They not only meet guest expectations while the guest is on location, but also know how to create the addiction to return.”

How guests relate to the hotel motivates Jochem to keep standards high. “When you see and interact with guests and everybody seems very happy and enjoying themselves during their stay or event, that drives me. I like people to be pleased,” he said. The numbers-oriented side of him gets gratification from the payoff for his efforts: healthy growth in profits.

He also likes challenges: at least twice he has been tasked with mounting a lavish catered event in a remote location. The first time was in China, at the Louis Vuitton Classic car rally, at a temple 1,000 kilometers from the hotel. His hotel handled the event with military precision. More recently his staff served a three-course lunch for 250 VIPs invited by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to experience Morocco’s first high-speed train. The stakes were high, he admitted, and the conditions were less than ideal—setting up a kitchen and serving in crowded train cars—but the crew of 60 pulled it off with aplomb.

Jochem admitted to one flaw that might have limited his potential: he doesn’t play politics. For that reason, he prefers working on independent hotels, where he can deal directly with ownership. “You can judge me on my results, but if you want me to get results, then you have to get out of my way. In a corporate environment, this has always been a challenge,” he said.

Despite his distaste for politics, Jochem has achieved his youthful ambition—to manage luxury properties and see much of the world. He’s also had an impact on the many individuals whose paths have crossed his over the years. “I’ve been able to develop a lot of people professionally and personally; today, many of them are presidents or area GMs, or heads of sales and marketing. I find that very gratifying,” he said.

For those following in his footsteps, Jochem advises having an open mind, learning as much about the industry and hotel departments as possible, working hard and ideally speaking several languages. Above all, he adds, one quality is essential: passion. “You have it in your belly or you don’t, I guess,” he said. “We deal with important matters, numbers and strategy, but at the same time I still love getting involved in the quality of a flower arrangement, I still taste every dish on a new menu, I’m still involved in the details that are quality driven, that make a hotel different from others.”

Jochem notices negative details, as well. Hotels that don’t smell the way they should. Sloppy grooming. Bad lighting. Dirty uniforms. Used room service trays lingering outside guestrooms. And don’t get him started on trollies. “If you have a beautiful hotel with the right lighting and flowers, and you see an ugly room service or housekeeping trolley, that just spoils the atmosphere,” he said.

He admires fellow hoteliers who obsess over the details and treat their staffs well. “When you’ve had a bit of experience, you can sense within five or 10 minutes of walking around if the hotel is well run,” he observed. “Small matters are still important in our business.”

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