Dorchester Collection CEO Christopher Cowdray is keeping the fires burning, teams motivated and guests reminded as he works mostly alone from his London office and communicates mostly electronically with his executive teams and property managers.
While business continues to suffer across most of nine-hotel portfolio, he is optimistic business will start to pick up in the second half of 2021. In the meantime, the group continues to focus on adjusting operational protocols and implementing a state-of-the art CRM system to drive business when consumers are ready to travel again.
Yesterday, HOTELS published the first part of this Q&A, where Cowdray spoke about how he is adjusting his work-life habits and expressed what he has learned most during the pandemic. Today, the 30-year industry veteran, who has been running this ultra-luxury collection since 2006, talks about innovation and opportunities within his group and the ultra-luxury segment.
HOTELS: How are your hotels operating differently through the pandemic?
Christopher Cowdray: We’ve put a lot more people onto the front line. We don’t have signs saying keep your distance. We don’t have screens in front of cashiers and so on. But we have people who technically are there guiding, helping and keeping a calmness.
H: What innovations or changes need to take place in ultra-luxury?
CC: People come to our hotels because they want a certain guest experience. We’re not going to change what we do. Yes, there’s some of the protocols that we’ve learned which will be there to stay. But otherwise there’s nothing particular that I think will happen. I think one of the things we’ve all learned is about shaking hands, and I think that’s probably one area which will not come back.
H: How are you addressing demand for outdoor space?
CC: The outdoor space in current times is being very well-received. In Los Angeles, the Beverly Hills Hotel has a nice lawn which is close to the Polo Lounge, and they’ve erected a tent with a Polo Lounge feel. At the Bel-Air there’s an outdoor fireplace and they have dining under the stars once a week. They put fire pits out, and that’s been incredibly popular. At Coworth Park [U.K.], they covered outdoor areas as well for winter.
These investments have become positive enhancements. At Cédric Grolet pastry shop at Le Meurice [Paris] they developed an app called click and collect for people to pick up their little pastry or two, and in some cases they’re doing whole meals.
H: Any thoughts on how your owner, the Brunei Investment Agency, is looking at acquisitions or dispositions going forward?
CC: We’re looking very much at management contracts at the moment, and that pipeline hasn’t dried up. What’s happened is it has slowed. A lot of developers or owners are still moving things along, but the whole process of doing deals has slowed down. When it comes to the acquisition side, if there is a hotel that would fit into the portfolio and in the right geographical area, and if there was a compelling business case to add it, they would be supportive. But at the moment there’s just nothing out there in this sector.
H: What’s the biggest opportunity as we come out of this pandemic?
CC: Short term, it is doing the things that we do well and continue to engage with our existing clientele. Communication is going to be really important – that engagement and making them feel comfortable. You must have belief in what you’re doing, and you must be able to promote it in a way which resonates with guests. We’ve really been identifying what our brand means and what it means to our customer and how to translate that into an experience.