Latest / The Restaurant Guys / Hotel Jerome and the Art of Quiet Luxury | Stephane Lacroix

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Hotel Jerome and the Art of Quiet Luxury | Stephane Lacroix · The Restaurant Guys

0:42
MIC2-1: Hello everybody and welcome.
0:43
MIC2-1: You are listening to The Restaurant Guys.
0:45
MIC2-1: I'm Mark Pascal and I'm here with Francis Schott.
0:47
MIC2-1: Together we own Stage Left and Cathal Lombardi restaurants in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
0:51
MIC2-1: We're here to bring you the inside track on food, wine, and the finer things in life.
0:56
MIC1-2: Hello there, Mark.
0:57
MIC2-1: Francis, how are you?
0:58
MIC1-2: I'm great.
0:58
MIC1-2: I'm excited for our guest today.
1:00
MIC1-2: Our guest today manages one of the best hotels in the world, the Jerome Hotel, uh, in Aspen, Colorado.
1:06
MIC1-2: we We recorded a bunch of stuff down there for people from the Food and Wine Festival, but we actually sat down,
1:11
MIC2-1: In the Hotel Jerome in one of their three-bedroom suites and recorded a, a great show with Stefan
1:18
MIC1-2: what's interesting is the group that he worked for, the Auberge Collection, it's a s- it's a small collection.
1:23
MIC1-2: Well, it's not, it's not a big hotel chain.
1:25
MIC1-2: Mm-hmm.
1:25
MIC1-2: They have a lot of hotels, some of the best hotels in the world, but they're all about running properties that are either historic
1:32
MIC2-1: Each of them are, are, are a boutique hotel.
1:34
MIC2-1: The first one was, in Napa, California.
1:37
MIC2-1: that's where this group sprung up from.
1:39
MIC2-1: And, uh, and I remember early in our years of running the restaurant, people talking about, Auberge du Soleil in Napa and what a special place it was, and it was just a, just a retreat kind of from everything, right?
1:52
MIC2-1: Yeah, yeah.
1:53
MIC2-1: that's kind of the philosophy of this group.
1:54
MIC2-1: Anyway, so it's-
1:54
MIC1-2: Anyway, so it's gonna be interesting to talk to him about how you run an organization like that.
1:58
MIC1-2: and plus he, he wound up being a super charming guy and very gracious, and,
2:02
MIC2-1: Not surprisingly
2:03
MIC1-2: ton of fun.
2:03
MIC1-2: Um, but we went, without him, we went to I think what was clearly far and away the best cocktail bar in Aspen, at the
2:13
MIC2-1: There, there's, we went to a bunch of them obviously.
2:16
MIC2-1: That's what Francis and I like to do is, cocktail bar hop.
2:19
MIC2-1: Bad Harriet is a speakeasy, a true speakeasy.
2:22
MIC2-1: You know, walk into a jewelry store, open the wall and go into the bar, uh, downstairs.
2:27
MIC2-1: Really, really special place with a really, special group of people running it
2:33
MIC1-2: it.
2:33
MIC1-2: Yeah, it's funny.
2:34
MIC1-2: We, we, we went there on Sunday night, which was the quiet night, and, uh, they told us we were glad we did that because-
2:39
MIC2-1: Mm-hmm And, uh, they told us we were glad we
2:39
MIC1-2: But the cocktails were great, the people were great, and the room is elegant and beautiful.
2:42
MIC1-2: The Jerome Hotel's a place I recommend overall.
2:44
MIC1-2: But if even if you're not staying at the Ro- Jerome, Bad Harriet's a pretty cool
2:49
MIC2-1: Yeah, it was really great.
2:50
MIC2-1: And y- you always know a place is great, there's one product, Francis, when you see it on the back bar, you know you're in a great place.
2:58
MIC1-2: curious to what you're gonna say.
2:59
MIC2-1: say.
2:59
MIC2-1: I'm gonna say Hans Reisetbauer Carat Eau de Vie
3:02
MIC1-2: de Vie.
3:02
MIC1-2: That's right.
3:03
MIC1-2: We had a cocktail w- and it said Carrot Eau de Vie, and, uh, Carrot Eau de Vie is, um, Carrot Eau de Vie is brandy made from fruit.
3:10
MIC1-2: Not flavored with fruit, but made from fruit.
3:11
MIC1-2: And then this guy, Hans Reisetbauer, who's a friend of ours, um, pioneered making eau de vie out of carrots, which is v- impossible because carrots don't have a lot of moisture anyway.
3:21
MIC1-2: Uh, when it had the Carrot Eau de Vie, we knew it was his, and then we asked them if, if it was Hans Reisetbauer, and they brought the bottle over, and then we took a picture, and we sent it to Hans, and he texted us back, and-
3:30
MIC2-1: It's, it's just a, it's a very expensive, product that if you don't know, you don't know.
3:37
MIC2-1: And when you see it, it's, you know that someone's paying attention.
3:40
MIC2-1: The moment you see some- that product, you know that someone's paying
3:43
MIC1-2: That's really great.
3:44
MIC1-2: All right, listen, we're gonna come back in just a moment.
3:45
MIC1-2: On the other side, we'll have a wonderful conversation with Stéphane Lacroix, a hotelier of small boutique hotels, and it was a really fascinating conversation, so stick with us.
3:54
MIC1-2: You can always find out more about us at RestaurantGuysPodcast.com.
3:58
MIC1-1: Hey there, everybody.
3:59
MIC1-1: We are starting off our Aspen Food Wine Classic adventure at the Jerome Hotel because, well, where the hell else would you start off your Aspen Food Wine adventure than at the Hotel Jerome?
4:09
MIC1-1: Uh, Stephane Lacroix is the general manager of the Hotel Jerome here in Aspen.
4:14
MIC1-1: Conde Nast says it's one of the 20 best hotels in the world.
4:16
MIC1-1: It holds a Michelin key.
4:17
MIC1-1: It's on the National Register of Historic Places, and it's awesome.
4:22
MIC1-1: Uh, Stephane took over about a year ago, a little more than a year ago, and he comes to Aspen from a, a long career.
4:27
MIC1-1: We wanted to talk to him,
4:29
Speaker 4: partially
4:29
MIC1-1: because of the pedigree he brings to this place and the waves you're making here.
4:33
MIC1-1: The Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo, the Ritz in Paris, the Ritz in San Francisco, the Bellagio in Vegas, the Bel-Air, the Baccarat in New York City, and wow.
4:41
MIC1-1: So we're here to talk about hospitality with you at one of the most historic hotels in
4:46
MIC2: Amazing.
4:46
MIC2: Well, Good morning.
4:47
MIC2: Good morning.
4:47
MIC2: Yeah.
4:47
MIC2: Welcome to Aspen and welcome to
4:49
Speaker 7: The Jerome.
4:49
Speaker 7: Great to have you.
4:50
Speaker 4: Well,
4:51
MIC1-1: you're welcome.
4:51
MIC1-1: Super,
4:51
MIC2: super, super fun weekend ahead.
4:53
MIC2: and actually super, super fun season ahead.
4:56
MIC2: When I hear the little background that you
4:58
Speaker 7: just
4:58
MIC2: mentioned and shared with the audience here,
5:01
Speaker 7: uh, I should essentially retire.
5:03
Speaker 7: it sounds
5:04
MIC2: it sounds like I've been in it
5:05
Speaker 7: for a little-
5:05
Speaker 4: oh oh
5:06
MIC2: a mi- for a minute.
5:07
MIC2: Oh,
5:07
MIC1-1: on a second.
5:07
MIC1-1: we're here till Monday.
5:08
MIC1-1: You can't
5:09
MIC2: retire till Tuesday.
5:09
MIC2: All right.
5:09
MIC2: All right.
5:09
Speaker 4: Tuesday.
5:09
Speaker 4: All right.
5:09
Speaker 4: All right, all right, all right,
5:10
MIC1-1: at the earliest.
5:11
Speaker 4: I'll work the
5:12
MIC1-1: You're responsible for our whole weekend.
5:14
MIC1-1: Well, you know,
5:14
MIC2: Well, you know, I would say I've been in the US now 32 years.
5:17
MIC2: I came here in
5:19
Speaker 7: 1994.
5:19
Speaker 7: At the
5:19
MIC2: time, I'd been very fortunate to, you know,
5:22
Speaker 7: go through
5:22
MIC2: a hotel school, hospitality school, four years, then two years of sommelier school, which is when the fun
5:27
Speaker 7: begins.
5:27
Speaker 7: And
5:28
MIC2: And I was fortunate at the time, and maybe still now, those amazing hospitality school, you
5:33
Speaker 7: know,
5:33
MIC2: get you into those amazing restaurants.
5:35
MIC2: So working with Roger Vergé at the Moulin Mougin back in
5:39
Speaker 7: 1988.
5:40
Speaker 7: Two weeks later, Alain Ducasse, Louis XV in Monte Carlo, Hotel de Paris.
5:44
Speaker 7: At the time
5:44
MIC2: in France, you had no choice, but you had to go through your military service one year.
5:49
MIC2: Okay.
5:49
MIC2: And I spent two, my first two months, uh, near the German border, very close to Nancy and, Nancy and Metz.
5:56
MIC2: See, I'm taking
5:57
Speaker 7: the English accent.
5:58
MIC2: Nancy and Metz.
5:59
MIC2: Um- and then I was for 10 months in Paris.
6:02
MIC2: Not a bad, place to be.
6:03
MIC1-1: Yeah, I've heard it's a, uh, it's a nice little town, that Paris.
6:05
MIC1-1: Yeah.
6:05
MIC1-1: Got a few nice restaurants there.
6:07
MIC1-1: So,
6:07
MIC2: Paris was so fun because it was military service, but was really working at what they called at The time, the Cercle National des Armées, which is all- where
6:15
Speaker 7: all-
6:16
MIC2: The global armies, armies from around the world
6:19
Speaker 7: but, you know, the top
6:21
MIC2: the generals, would stay and dine and meet.
6:24
MIC2: It was, um, in the eighth arrondissement near Place Saint-Augustin, and you worked
6:29
Speaker 7: eight hours, maybe even less, I think- In,
6:31
MIC1-1: in a kitchen?
6:32
MIC1-1: In a,
6:32
MIC2: less.
6:32
MIC2: No,
6:33
Speaker 7: front of the house.
6:33
MIC1-1: Front of the
6:34
Speaker 7: a maitre d' type of-
6:35
MIC1-1: the military?
6:35
MIC1-1: Yeah, in military.
6:36
MIC1-1: That's the job I want.
6:37
MIC1-1: in the military?
6:37
MIC1-1: Right?
6:38
MIC1-1: Yeah, Carrying a gun on the front line
6:40
MIC2: Forget about this.
6:40
MIC2: Yeah.
6:41
MIC2: No, no, no.
6:41
MIC2: no.
6:41
MIC2: I'll take care of the militaries
6:43
Speaker 7: no.
6:43
Speaker 7: I take care of the militaries safely.
6:44
Speaker 7: Uh,
6:44
MIC2: but what it did for us, it allowed for us to have time to also pick up shifts.
6:48
MIC2: So worked at the Ritz Place Vendôme back in 1991 for about a year on call, and that was, you know, the Ritz bar, the Ritz club, and it was just an amazing
6:57
Speaker 7: experience, a lot of fun.
6:58
Speaker 4: Yeah.
6:59
Speaker 7: And
6:59
MIC2: I was meant to, uh, when I was done, go back to Chef Alain Ducasse team in Monte Carlo, and I said,"You know, I love to speak English
7:07
Speaker 7: fluently." I still don't, but-
7:09
MIC2: said, And I and I, don't feel like, and I don't feel like going to England.
7:12
MIC2: He's like, You know what, Stéphane?" One of my best friend, Jean-Louis Palladin.
7:15
Speaker 7: have
7:15
MIC2: the same accent, those two.
7:17
MIC2: And we see...
7:17
MIC2: we used to see Jean-Louis actually come to Monte Carlo quite a bit for events or just fun.
7:22
MIC2: Sure.
7:22
MIC2: And I ended up at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC back in 1994.
7:26
MIC2: Wow.
7:26
MIC2: ......And was there
7:26
Speaker 7: there for 18
7:27
MIC2: 18 months.
7:27
Speaker 4: Fun time.
7:28
Speaker 4: Wonderful place to be.
7:29
Speaker 4: Fun time.
7:29
Speaker 4: And that's what brought
7:30
MIC1-1: you to the United States, was
7:31
Speaker 4: going to the Watergate?
7:31
Speaker 7: I never looked back pretty much.
7:33
Speaker 7: Yeah.
7:33
MIC2: you know, I got my J-1 visa.
7:34
MIC2: I got here.
7:35
MIC2: I spent a year and a half.
7:36
MIC2: I lived on George Washington campus,
7:39
Speaker 7: two blocks away from the Watergate, so easy in, easy out,
7:43
MIC2: no commute.
7:44
MIC2: On campus, fun time.
7:45
MIC2: Welcome to the US.
7:46
MIC2: Yeah.
7:47
MIC2: And
7:48
Speaker 7: I just never went back.
7:49
Speaker 7: I, you know, met a girl- Ah, these things happen and then the
7:51
MIC2: rest is
7:52
Speaker 7: history.
7:52
MIC3: these things do happen, for
7:53
Speaker 7: sure.
7:54
MIC2: how You learn the language.
7:55
Speaker 7: Now
7:55
Speaker 4: an American girl?
7:56
MIC2: Yeah.
7:56
MIC2: an American
7:57
Speaker 7: girl.
7:57
Speaker 7: Oh, that was her.
7:58
Speaker 7: Yeah.
7:58
Speaker 7: Initially.
7:58
Speaker 4: Oh,
7:58
Speaker 7: that's great.
7:59
MIC2: that's cool.
7:59
MIC2: An American girl.
8:00
MIC2: We were together for a while, and, um, I think- She did not quite understand that hospitality is actually a career.
8:06
MIC2: Yeah.
8:06
MIC2: Because as she went through her, you know, university, college, she picked up shift.
8:12
MIC2: That was to meet people and
8:13
Speaker 7: have fun, and make some money, but have fun.
8:15
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm,
8:15
Speaker 4: sure.
8:15
MIC2: she assumed my career was just fun every
8:17
Speaker 7: day.
8:18
Speaker 4: Right.
8:18
MIC2: Weekends, holidays, Valentine's Day working, and so, well, we were together
8:22
Speaker 7: for five years-
8:23
MIC2: Yeah.
8:23
MIC2: It was fantastic.
8:24
MIC2: We had fun, and she was like,"Okay, Nice to- Yeah.
8:26
MIC2: And, uh- nice
8:26
Speaker 7: to meet you." Yeah,"Nice to meet you." Well, in fa-
8:27
Speaker 4: Yeah in
8:28
MIC2: accept that a lot
8:29
Speaker 4: ...of people say,"I don't want this life."
8:30
Speaker 5: Yeah.
8:31
Speaker 5: 100%.
8:31
Speaker 5: People have to...
8:31
Speaker 5: People
8:32
MIC3: do, in this business, when you immerse yourself in this business, right?
8:36
MIC3: And there's a faction...of us who immerse ourself in this business, and when you do that, the person you're with has to either be immersed in it with you or understand that this is a lifestyle.
8:48
MIC2: It's a
8:48
Speaker 7: commitment- Yeah.
8:49
Speaker 7: of time, and You can't fight it, I
8:52
MIC2: guess, right?
8:53
MIC2: And then I, you know, a few years later, I met Estelle.
8:55
MIC2: Uh, we've been married now for 21 years.
8:58
MIC2: I should know that, right?
8:59
Speaker 4: You
9:00
Speaker 7: better.
9:00
Speaker 7: 2005,
9:01
MIC2: right?
9:01
MIC2: October 9.
9:03
MIC2: 21 years.
9:03
Speaker 7: And,
9:04
MIC2: uh, well, she was
9:04
Speaker 7: in the hospitality industry.
9:06
Speaker 7: Yeah.
9:06
Speaker 7: And, uh,
9:07
MIC2: she is somewhat still in the hospitality industry, but now she does consulting.
9:11
MIC2: Yeah.
9:11
MIC2: And so she understand.
9:12
MIC2: She never ask,"Hey, what time are you going in?
9:13
MIC2: What time are you leaving?" And
9:14
Speaker 7: just knows.
9:15
Speaker 7: She just knows.
9:15
Speaker 7: She's Swiss.
9:16
MIC3: She just knows.
9:16
MIC3: And she's- My my wife my wife asks- She does?
9:18
MIC3: Yeah.
9:18
MIC3: but, but She knows it's a lie.
9:20
Speaker 5: Yeah.
9:21
Speaker 5: Right?
9:21
Speaker 5: But,
9:21
MIC3: But, it's not a lie to her.
9:22
MIC3: Yeah.
9:23
MIC3: It's the lie I'm telling myself.
9:24
Speaker 4: yeah, yeah.
9:24
Speaker 5: Right?
9:25
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah.
9:25
MIC3: That's, not a...
9:25
MIC3: Is that truly a lie when it's, when you're lying to
9:27
Speaker 5: yourself?
9:28
Speaker 5: Can I, can I
9:28
Speaker 4: say, I'm not married, I'm single.
9:29
Speaker 4: but I'm here in, uh, Aspen, Colorado for the next few days.
9:32
Speaker 4: I'm just, it's-
9:33
MIC1-1: putting out advertisement out there.
9:35
Speaker 4: Uh, available.
9:36
Speaker 4: uh, no, but one of the things when I...
9:38
Speaker 4: I have had a couple of long-term relationships, and one of the things that Mark came up with that I think probably was great for your relationship, from what I understand, and certainly made me feel better about myself was, our office is in the basement.
9:49
Speaker 4: We have two, sto- two stories of restaurants, two 125-seat restaurants.
9:53
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
9:53
Speaker 4: And we'd be in
9:55
MIC1-1: our office
9:55
Speaker 4: 'cause of course you stick your office in the non-revenue generating spot, you know.
9:59
Speaker 4: Right.
9:59
Speaker 4: We're next to the furnace, right?
10:00
Speaker 5: Right.
10:00
MIC3: in the deepest, darkest hole
10:02
Speaker 5: you can find- Right, Right,...where
10:03
MIC3: where you would never want a
10:04
Speaker 5: customer.
10:04
Speaker 5: Right, right.
10:04
Speaker 4: Right.
10:04
Speaker 4: No one would want to sit there anyway.
10:06
Speaker 4: And we used to say,"Okay, honey, yeah, I'm, I'm on my way home.
10:09
Speaker 4: I'm
10:09
MIC1-1: leaving now,"
10:11
Speaker 4: And, you start, and you walk out of your office, and you walk up the stairs- Oh and the busboy runs into you And, says they need something there, and then the person from the wine shop runs into you, and then the bartender needs your attention, and the sous chef needs to tell you something, and then the pump broke, and then the air conditioning's not working, and you go home three hours later.
10:26
Speaker 4: You're like,"I said you were leaving right now," and you're like,"I thought I was leaving Mark's rule, I call from the car.
10:32
Speaker 7: That's What I do.
10:33
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
10:33
Speaker 7: Mark and I are the same.
10:34
Speaker 7: I have left.
10:35
MIC2: do not send a text
10:36
Speaker 7: with an ETA until I'm actually driving.
10:38
Speaker 5: Well,
10:38
MIC3: Mac and I have the same rule.
10:39
MIC3: That was cellphone.
10:39
MIC3: I have not-- I do not send a text with an ETA until I'm actually driving.
10:39
MIC3: Well, back then,
10:39
Speaker 7: Yeah
10:40
MIC3: Jennifer used to s- used to ask,"What phone are you calling me from?" Because if I was at the host
10:47
Speaker 5: phone That's why, you're almost out.
10:48
Speaker 5: You're almost out.
10:48
Speaker 5: by the front door- You're almost out.
10:48
MIC2: you're almost
10:49
Speaker 5: close.
10:49
Speaker 5: Doesn't
10:49
MIC3: not you're close.
10:49
MIC3: Doesn't mean you're out.
10:50
MIC3: You're not out.
10:51
MIC3: yet.
10:51
MIC2: just never know.
10:52
MIC2: And I, and I really believe it's whether-...it's the gas, whether it's
10:56
Speaker 7: the pipes, whether Mm-hmm...it's the hood, whether...
10:58
Speaker 7: Right?
10:58
Speaker 7: To me,
10:59
MIC2: one of the biggest lesson in leadership is your leaders, your team members, when they see you at time, they will wanna ask you a
11:07
Speaker 7: question.
11:07
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
11:08
Speaker 7: You
11:08
MIC2: no once because you're on the way out.
11:10
MIC2: You say no twice because you're
11:11
Speaker 7: busy.
11:12
MIC2: There won't be
11:13
Speaker 7: third.
11:13
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
11:13
Speaker 7: Correct.
11:13
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
11:13
Speaker 7: They will not
11:14
MIC2: ask you again.
11:14
MIC2: Right.
11:15
Speaker 7: Correct.
11:15
Speaker 7: They just assume you're just don't
11:17
MIC2: talk to them.
11:17
MIC2: Right.
11:17
MIC2: And so
11:18
Speaker 7: one of my,
11:20
MIC2: I dunno if it's a pet peeve, but with leadership is
11:22
Speaker 7: even
11:22
MIC2: if I'm on the
11:22
Speaker 7: way out
11:23
MIC2: and someone needs to talk
11:24
Speaker 7: to me-
11:24
Speaker 5: You have
11:24
Speaker 7: to be available I make the time.
11:25
MIC3: You have to deal with it
11:26
Speaker 7: So- And
11:26
MIC2: that's why I won't text ETA until I'm actually in the car, and the car is actually moving.
11:30
MIC2: and
11:30
MIC1-1: yeah, exactly.
11:31
MIC2: Yeah.
11:31
MIC2: ...I'm already down
11:32
Speaker 7: with it.
11:32
Speaker 7: Like, cause if, you look in your rear view mirror, they'll be chasing you.
11:34
Speaker 7: If I don't go.
11:35
MIC3: I will.
11:36
MIC3: say older me will occasionally now say,"I can't talk to you right now, but
11:43
Speaker 5: be here tomorrow at 2:30
11:45
Speaker 7: Mm
11:45
MIC3: and I, I'll schedule you a, a moment to speak with me at that time and we'll talk about
11:50
MIC2: But don't you feel, Mark, I mean, for me at least,
11:53
Speaker 7: least,
11:53
MIC2: day I get here very early.
11:54
MIC2: I get here at 7:15 in the morning.
11:55
MIC2: And I get the day going, and I
11:57
Speaker 7: go around the property, the
11:58
MIC2: drive, the courtyard, you name it, saying hi
12:01
Speaker 7: to the team,
12:02
MIC2: kitchen,
12:02
Speaker 7: stewarding.
12:04
MIC2: I know what my day's gonna look like when I come in at 7:15.
12:07
MIC2: By 8:30, It's already a new day.
12:09
MIC1-1: Mm.
12:10
MIC2: day already.
12:10
MIC2: Yeah.
12:10
MIC2: It's like you have either calls or meetings- or guests you need to
12:13
Speaker 7: follow up with or catch up broadcast, who knows, right?
12:17
Speaker 7: And so it's your day is
12:20
MIC2: not your
12:21
Speaker 7: day anymore- Mm very quickly.
12:22
Speaker 7: Yep.
12:22
Speaker 7: Very,
12:22
Speaker 4: very
12:23
MIC2: Yeah early, early in, I feel.
12:24
MIC2: Yeah.
12:24
Speaker 4: Well, I wanna t- I want to talk about this hotel because our listeners may not be familiar with it- Oh, yeah how extraordinary and, and historic it is.
12:31
Speaker 4: Right, Right, Um, and I wanna talk about your philosophy of hospitality.
12:34
Speaker 4: Cause you have this, and we'll talk about this in a second, your career is generally going to some
12:38
MIC1-1: of
12:39
Speaker 4: world's best places- Right and they hire you to make them better.
12:42
Speaker 4: That's a pretty good- It's fun place in, the industry to be.
12:45
Speaker 4: Yeah.
12:45
Speaker 4: But I wanna talk about this hotel, and I wanna let Mark start
12:48
MIC1-1: off talking about an experience at this
12:50
Speaker 4: hotel
12:50
MIC1-1: many years ago
12:52
Speaker 4: to
12:52
MIC1-1: kinda give
12:52
Speaker 4: people
12:53
MIC1-1: an idea of
12:54
Speaker 4: the long-standing
12:55
MIC1-1: hospitality of this place.
12:56
MIC3: hospitality of this place.
12:56
MIC3: So we're booking Aspen, Julie's our director of operations- And she says, I have to tell you a story about the hotel Jerome, and we've gotta make this part of our trip because it's one of the most important hospitality stories of my life." Julie says, I was seven years old.
13:16
MIC3: It's 29 years ago." And she tells me this story.
13:20
Speaker 5: So
13:20
MIC3: don't know, uh, most people have seen The show The Bear, And in The second season of the Bear,"
13:26
Speaker 5: Richie
13:26
MIC3: overhears somebody say that they're in Chicago, but they're not gonna have enough time to, have deep dish pizza,
13:32
MIC2: Mm-hmm.
13:33
MIC3: So Richie sends somebody to get the most famous deep dish pizza in all of Chicago, and they bring it back to the kitchen, and the chef makes it absolutely beautiful.
13:42
MIC3: And they bring it out, and they present this family as a mid-course, the deep dish pizza, And they show off the deep dish pizza to the people, and they're all excited, and,"Oh, it's this wonderful...
13:53
MIC3: What a gesture."
13:55
Speaker 5: And the
13:55
MIC3: restaurant's has gone to this extraordinary effort to make these people feel like they didn't miss- an experience.
14:02
Speaker 5: Yeah.
14:02
MIC2: Memorable moment.
14:03
MIC2: Yeah.
14:03
Speaker 5: So
14:04
MIC3: is seven years old.
14:06
Speaker 5: Her cousin
14:08
MIC3: is a persnickety eater, And he's complaining that all he wants is McDonald's, and they're taking him to this fancy restaurant, and why does he-- why can't he just have McDonald's?
14:18
Speaker 5: the
14:18
MIC3: entrees are served,
14:20
Speaker 5: And
14:20
MIC3: this is 29 years ago, so you beat the bear by 27 years.
14:23
MIC3: Right.
14:24
MIC3: Okay?
14:24
MIC3: The entrees are served, and the cloches come out, and they op- open up Julie's,
14:29
Speaker 5: Julie's,
14:30
MIC3: and she has a wonderful, beautiful filet mignon, And Julie is the happiest seven-year-old that ever lived.
14:35
Speaker 5: And
14:35
MIC3: they uncover her cousin's plate with his
14:38
Speaker 5: cloche, and
14:39
MIC3: a set of McDonald's french fries and burger, and he is as happy as he could possibly be.
14:46
MIC3: And It just imprinted on her what hospitality really is, and
14:51
Speaker 5: hospitality really is, is making
14:54
MIC3: the customer feel like
16:22
Speaker 5: they are the most important thing- Right......in
16:25
MIC3: the room......at
16:26
Speaker 5: that moment.
16:26
Speaker 5: Right.
16:26
MIC3: This is their moment to be really important.
16:29
MIC3: And that happened here at the Hotel Jerome
16:32
Speaker 5: 29 years ago, Amazing.
16:34
MIC3: and she is a hospitality professional- Right now, partially because of that moment at the Hotel
16:40
MIC2: And how
16:40
Speaker 5: many
16:40
MIC2: times has she told that story
16:42
Speaker 7: Two,
16:42
MIC3: that story two or three times.
16:42
MIC3: Yeah, exactly.
16:42
MIC3: right?
16:43
MIC3: Absolutely.
16:43
MIC3: To me, at least four.
16:46
Speaker 7: And you told that story
16:47
MIC2: 20
16:47
MIC3: And you've told the story maybe two or three times.
16:47
MIC3: I've told it at least two or three myself,
16:49
MIC2: I jacked the story.
16:50
MIC3: like that story.
16:50
MIC3: So you said this-
16:50
MIC1-1: So you--
16:51
Speaker 4: So this is what you're walking into.
16:53
Speaker 4: Now talk to us about this hotel.
16:55
Speaker 4: Right.
16:55
Speaker 4: It's on the National Register of Hi- Historic Places.
16:58
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
16:58
Speaker 7: It's
16:58
MIC3: part of the Auberge Collection, which is a big deal.
17:01
Speaker 4: Yeah.
17:01
Speaker 4: And, this was a hotel when Aspen was a mining town.
17:04
Speaker 7: Right.
17:04
Speaker 7: So- I mean,
17:05
MIC2: Aspen started around 1882, I think, the silver boom, and then, uh, Jerome B.
17:09
MIC2: Wheeler, who was, who
17:10
Speaker 7: well, he was married to
17:11
MIC2: the Macy's family, um, decided to come to Aspen, entrepreneur, right?
17:16
MIC2: There's silver, there's, there's resources
17:18
Speaker 7: here.
17:19
MIC2: decided to build a hotel to actually compete with some of the finest luxury hotel in Europe.
17:24
MIC2: And I think
17:25
Speaker 7: at the time
17:26
MIC2: he was mentioning The Ritz in Paris.
17:28
MIC2: Mm-hmm.
17:28
MIC2: And he wanted to have this amazing hotel.
17:30
MIC2: He
17:31
Speaker 7: could feel The
17:31
MIC2: destination was, you know,
17:33
Speaker 7: world-class.
17:34
MIC2: the
17:35
Speaker 7: hotel
17:35
MIC2: west of the Mississippi with actual power, with actually heat, with actually elevators.
17:41
MIC2: So that's
17:41
Speaker 7: 1889.
17:42
MIC2: And so- Wow.
17:43
MIC2: That's amazing.
17:43
MIC2: you know, that was 137 years ago now.
17:46
MIC2: But there's something to be said to me about a property that has soul, that has character, and, um, you can't, you can't build that.
17:54
MIC2: And over the course of my career, I've been fortunate to open brand-new hotel, which is kind of fun because you somewhat position, introduce a new product.
18:03
MIC2: But I've been
18:04
Speaker 7: very
18:04
MIC2: fortunate to work at properties such as The Ritz, uh, such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, such as Hotel Bel-Air, uh, such as the Hotel de Paris that are iconic historic hotel.
18:14
MIC2: And what I love about those properties is
18:17
Speaker 7: you're not
18:17
MIC2: looking at creating, inventing history.
18:19
MIC2: What you are, you're just an innkeeper that's coming in to say-
18:22
Speaker 7: to say,"Hey,
18:23
MIC2: let's assess.
18:24
MIC2: We wanna keep the history, We wanna keep the character, we wanna keep, what we call the soul of the place-"
18:29
Speaker 7: at Auberge." once you get
18:31
MIC2: on property, The biggest focus is the culture Mm-hmm.
18:35
MIC2: The
18:35
Speaker 7: The culture and
18:36
MIC2: the community.
18:37
MIC2: and so
18:38
Speaker 7: it's not coming in and say,"Okay, what, what could I
18:40
MIC2: do with this property?" It's more
18:42
Speaker 7: embracing the
18:43
MIC2: history, getting to immerse yourself.
18:46
MIC2: Tony DeLucia, who was actually the general manager here for 32 years so he should get the credit for that beautiful
18:53
Speaker 7: McDonald's
18:53
MIC2: burger and fries, right?
18:54
MIC2: 29 years ago.
18:56
MIC2: Um, I got to spend some time with Tony when I first got here, and actually when I got here in February of 2025.
19:02
MIC2: I met with Christian Clerc, who was longtime Four Seasons Hotel
19:06
Speaker 7: executive.
19:07
Speaker 7: For 12 years, he was the president
19:09
MIC2: Four Seasons Hotel worldwide, and he joined Auberge Collection back in September of
19:14
Speaker 7: 2024.
19:15
MIC2: I had drinks with Christian at the Beverly, uh, Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles in January
19:21
Speaker 7: 2025, And he convinced me that this was the, the right
19:25
MIC2: path, the right next chapter in my career.
19:27
Speaker 7: And so we talked about what happened in the past, but we
19:30
MIC2: really talked about what's the vision for Auberge Collection as a luxury brand, um, scaling and really taking the time to activate, launch unique one-of-a-kind properties around the world.
19:42
MIC2: And so I joined Auberge May 11, 2025,
19:47
Speaker 7: right?
19:49
Speaker 7: it's been a
19:49
MIC2: year and a month now, and It's been such a fun journey to first connect with the team.
19:55
Speaker 7: of
19:55
MIC2: the team members and leaders have been here for 5, 10, 15, 21 years, 30 plus years, stewarding dishwasher, um, and connect with the community.
20:06
MIC2: Mm-hmm.
20:06
MIC2: It's a small town, 8,000 residents.
20:08
MIC2: Yeah.
20:08
MIC2: and I like to remind myself and the team, when you're in a small town, when they
20:13
Speaker 7: love you, they
20:14
MIC2: tell the whole town.
20:16
MIC2: When they hate you,
20:16
Speaker 7: they tell the whole town.
20:17
Speaker 7: Yeah.
20:17
Speaker 7: Yeah.
20:17
Speaker 7: Yeah.
20:18
MIC2: Absolutely.
20:18
MIC2: and so being gracious host, being kind, being available, leading with, uh,
20:24
Speaker 7: being humble
20:25
MIC2: always, um, and celebrating the history of the property And so we have the luxury of closing the property
20:34
Speaker 7: spring break every year- Mm-hmm
20:37
MIC2: I would say, April the 15th, we reopen May 21st, five weeks.
20:40
Speaker 4: Oh, that's
20:40
MIC2: and each and every time, I mean,
20:42
Speaker 7: what luxury hotel
20:42
MIC2: has that luxury?
20:43
MIC2: That's wonderful.
20:43
MIC2: You always, once you
20:44
Speaker 7: you open.
20:45
Speaker 4: Yeah.
20:45
Speaker 7: we hit the pause button, we
20:47
MIC2: refinish
20:47
Speaker 7: all
20:47
MIC2: the hardwood floor, we renovate, we, just unveiled a new pool experience.
20:53
MIC2: Last w- uh, last year we
20:55
Speaker 7: unveiled the garden room, and
20:57
MIC2: we always look at what are those moments, how do we stay relevant is one, how do we protect the integrity of the guest
21:04
Speaker 7: and the history of
21:05
MIC2: the property, and how do we ensure that at all time that stage
21:09
Speaker 7: is pristine?
21:10
Speaker 5: But
21:10
MIC3: stay relevant is one.
21:11
MIC3: How do we protect the integrity of the guest experience and the history of the property?
21:11
MIC3: and how do we ensure that at all time that stage is preserved?
21:13
MIC3: But what's wonderful about that is
21:14
Speaker 5: you're not just giving
21:15
MIC3: the hotel a chance to reset,
21:17
Speaker 5: you're giving the people who work here
21:19
MIC3: chance
21:19
Speaker 5: 100%......to
21:19
MIC3: reset.
21:20
Speaker 5: And I, one of the things I, I talk to my
21:22
MIC3: staff about all the time is, first of all, I want them to have two weeks, two, two days off every week.
21:28
Speaker 5: Right.
21:29
Speaker 5: And
21:29
Speaker 4: why- Which is more
21:29
MIC1-1: common now, but when we started that, it was...six days a
21:32
Speaker 4: was
21:32
Speaker 5: the
21:32
MIC3: restaurant
21:33
MIC1-1: Most restaurants- restaurant
21:34
MIC2: Was the restaurant standard.
21:35
Speaker 5: and the first rule is you need one day to
21:38
MIC3: care of your stuff,
21:40
Speaker 5: and you need one
21:41
MIC3: day to become an interesting person.
21:42
MIC3: Right.
21:42
Speaker 5: And I want interesting people who work for me.
21:44
Speaker 5: Right.
21:44
Speaker 7: If
21:45
MIC1-1: who work for Right.
21:45
MIC1-1: If you work six days, your seventh day is spent doing laundry and going to
21:47
Speaker 7: cleaners and mopping the
21:48
MIC2: not just that that seventh day you're already thinking
21:50
Speaker 7: the next day Exactly.
21:50
Speaker 7: going back to work.
21:51
Speaker 7: 100%.
21:51
Speaker 7: Exactly.
21:52
Speaker 7: Your, your mind doesn't stop,
21:53
Speaker 5: when you give your employees
21:55
MIC3: five weeks off, and you're
21:57
Speaker 5: tell me if I'm right or wrong, that gives them
21:59
MIC3: a chance to become more interesting people,
22:01
Speaker 5: Because now I can go to Europe for two
22:03
MIC3: or
22:03
Speaker 5: three weeks.
22:04
Speaker 5: Right.
22:04
Speaker 5: I can go to, to some other property- Right...to some other interesting place.
22:09
Speaker 5: I can reconnect with my family.
22:11
Speaker 5: I can do things that make me a more interesting person- Right...which in in turn, makes me more interesting to the guests.
22:18
Speaker 5: Right.
22:18
Speaker 5: And I, I think that's a, that's a...
22:21
Speaker 5: it's a I,
22:22
MIC3: I wish we could close for five
22:23
MIC1-1: year and and,
22:24
Speaker 4: like that, and and, uh,
22:25
MIC1-1: to just to interject, it not only makes you more interesting to your guests, it lets you
22:27
Speaker 4: put-
22:28
MIC1-1: yourself in your guests' shoes,
22:30
Speaker 7: right?
22:30
Speaker 7: 100%.
22:31
Speaker 7: And
22:31
MIC2: I think what it does, it allows the team to disconnect, recharge, spend time with family, travel.
22:37
MIC2: They come back super excited.
22:38
MIC2: Yep.
22:38
MIC2: They know as soon as they come back, it's gonna be busy.
22:40
MIC2: They actually would not wanna be here- if we were open during that time.
22:44
MIC2: There's nothing happening,
22:44
Speaker 7: right?
22:45
Speaker 4: So let me ask you a question
22:46
Speaker 7: Ed.
22:46
Speaker 7: The snow is melting.
22:46
Speaker 4: Yep.
22:47
Speaker 4: You, you
22:47
MIC1-1: raise, you raise an
22:48
Speaker 4: point about...
22:49
Speaker 4: Or we've been talking about e- employees putting themselves in
22:52
MIC1-1: others' shoes.
22:53
Speaker 4: a lot of people would say that the Hotel Jerome is the center of, of food and hospitality in Aspen, and for this weekend of June every year, Aspen is the center of food and hospitality for the world.
23:05
Speaker 4: Right.
23:05
Speaker 4: So we know what that implies, right?
23:06
Speaker 4: Right.
23:06
Speaker 4: Right.
23:07
Speaker 4: But what is interesting to me and what I
23:09
MIC1-1: really wanna
23:10
Speaker 4: ask you about is being
23:12
MIC1-1: at
23:12
Speaker 4: center of a, festival like the Food Wine Classic- Right.
23:15
Speaker 4: Right which is amazing.
23:16
Speaker 4: Right.
23:17
Speaker 4: You have all sorts of wealthy clientele, you
23:19
MIC1-1: have
23:19
Speaker 4: of repeat clientele, you have locals, people from abroad, and people with high expectations who expect you to be worth your stars- Right.
23:26
MIC1-1: your- Right.
23:27
MIC2: Right.
23:27
Speaker 4: mentions.
23:27
Speaker 7: Exceed their expectations,
23:28
Speaker 4: actually.
23:28
Speaker 4: Exceed their expectations.
23:29
Speaker 4: Right?
23:29
Speaker 4: Right?
23:30
Speaker 4: But you also have a tre-
23:31
MIC1-1: trem- a tremendous collection
23:32
Speaker 4: of
23:32
MIC2: a tremendous collection
23:35
Speaker 4: other hospitalitarians,
23:36
MIC2: hospitalitarians,
23:37
MIC1-1: hospitalitarians,
23:38
Speaker 4: So the best chefs in the world.
23:39
Speaker 4: Chefs, for sure.
23:39
Speaker 4: Other restaurateurs.
23:40
MIC2: here right now.
23:41
MIC1-1: And so they
23:42
Speaker 4: come in and what's it
23:45
MIC1-1: like to
23:46
Speaker 4: them?
23:46
Speaker 4: And my follow-up question, I'll give you both the same
23:48
MIC1-1: time, answer any
23:49
Speaker 4: way you like I f- I love hospitalitarians
23:51
MIC2: hospitalitarians
23:52
Speaker 4: when they're into the restaurant for dinner because they
23:55
MIC1-1: bring, uh,
23:56
Speaker 4: with very rare exceptions, the ability to be great customers.
24:01
Speaker 4: Right.
24:01
Speaker 4: And I think that the best restaurant experiences are when you have generous hospitality-
24:07
Speaker 7: Right
24:07
Speaker 4: and generous guests receiving it.
24:09
Speaker 4: Agreed.
24:09
Speaker 4: So your thoughts on, on having those people, and so many of those people- Mm-hmm...in your town where you're still working and they've flown in from wherever.
24:16
Speaker 7: Right.
24:17
Speaker 7: Right.
24:17
Speaker 7: I think it's another day and
24:19
MIC2: what I mean by it's another day is if your focus each and every day is to be a gracious
24:24
Speaker 7: host,
24:25
MIC2: and you ha-- You mentioned it, you have
24:28
Speaker 7: ve-
24:29
MIC2: extremely wealthy travelers coming
24:31
Speaker 7: us.
24:31
Speaker 7: The
24:31
MIC2: average rate at the Jerome for
24:33
Speaker 7: year- Yeah it's about$1,800 a night.
24:35
Speaker 4: Okay.
24:35
Speaker 7: Does not
24:36
MIC2: include parking
24:37
Speaker 7: You still get
24:38
MIC2: charged for a$60 resort fee, does not
24:41
Speaker 7: include breakfast.
24:42
Speaker 7: Includes nothing,
24:42
MIC2: actually.
24:43
MIC2: Yeah.
24:43
MIC2: And so that means that guests are paying anywhere between
24:46
Speaker 7: $895
24:46
MIC2: $895
24:46
MIC1-1: $800 and$95
24:47
MIC2: to up to 10,
24:48
Speaker 7: 10,$12,000 a night.
24:50
Speaker 4: Yeah.
24:50
MIC2: Nobody stays for one night.
24:51
MIC2: right.
24:51
MIC2: Yeah.
24:51
MIC2: Many guests stay
24:52
Speaker 7: three nights at least.
24:54
Speaker 7: Some of them for
24:54
MIC2: two
24:55
Speaker 7: three
24:55
MIC2: weeks.
24:55
MIC2: And so
24:56
Speaker 7: what
24:57
MIC2: it does, what I love about it, it allows the team to be in focus.
25:00
MIC2: There's tremendous pride in ensuring that you deliver precise service execution, high level of engagement extremely consistently.
25:08
MIC2: And you know that all these world-class chef-- They're in the kitchen right now.
25:12
MIC2: We have four chefs tonight for our night of Chez Nino in prospect.
25:16
MIC2: And they are all Michelin-rated, James Beard Award-winning chefs.
25:20
Speaker 7: It's fun to work on them.
25:21
Speaker 7: Yeah.
25:21
Speaker 7: Melissa Perello
25:22
MIC2: Melissa Perello, who has one Michelin star in San Francisco, just flew in.
25:25
MIC2: Got here at 8:45,
25:26
Speaker 7: picked her up at
25:27
MIC2: airport.
25:27
MIC2: I greet her
25:27
Speaker 7: her in the lobby.
25:28
MIC2: She's
25:28
Speaker 7: "Stefan, I have
25:29
MIC2: no makeup on." I was like,
25:30
Speaker 7: Good morning."
25:31
Speaker 4: Yeah.
25:32
Speaker 7: Welcome to Geronimo." Yeah,
25:32
Speaker 4: yeah.
25:33
Speaker 7: And most of them
25:34
MIC2: have never been to Aspen.
25:35
MIC2: Many of them have never
25:36
Speaker 7: never been to Aspen.
25:36
MIC2: Aspen.
25:37
MIC2: We had three chefs, so I don't know if you saw our little party yesterday, the kickoff
25:41
Speaker 7: courtyard
25:42
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm
25:42
Speaker 7: party of our- Wonderful......it began about 300 attendees.
25:46
Speaker 7: My marketing team, probably more than our associates said,"Oh, it's gonna be on the floor." Well, guess what?
25:49
Speaker 7: They
25:50
MIC2: showed up.
25:50
Speaker 7: Nobody left.
25:51
Speaker 7: They're like,"This is fun." Five piece band, country
25:54
MIC2: music, folk, amazing champagne,
25:56
Speaker 7: And-
25:56
Speaker 5: It
25:56
MIC3: was a great vibe.
25:57
MIC3: I w- I was
25:58
Speaker 5: there for two hours myself.
25:59
Speaker 5: And we- It was a great vibe I was flying in,
26:00
Speaker 7: I
26:00
MIC1-1: was flying
26:00
Speaker 7: an airplane-
26:02
Speaker 4: and you guys had a
26:02
Speaker 7: little- Hey, you made it little portable tent
26:04
MIC2: You made it.
26:04
MIC2: You made it.
26:05
MIC2: I was like,"We're gonna make it." But we had three chef
26:06
Speaker 7: from OVERSEAS Collection properties Mm-hmm
26:08
MIC2: that
26:09
Speaker 7: most of the resident from Aspen and most of the
26:12
MIC2: attendees
26:12
Speaker 7: to this weekend have
26:13
MIC2: never been to.
26:14
MIC2: You had Michael from
26:15
Speaker 7: Den in
26:15
MIC2: South Carolina.
26:17
MIC2: You had uh, Cornelia from, uh, White Barn Inn in Maine, and then you had Anthony,
26:22
Speaker 7: Chef Anthony from Stanley
26:23
MIC2: Ranch in Napa.
26:24
Speaker 7: And
26:25
MIC2: the food was
26:25
Speaker 7: unbelie- was amazing.
26:27
Speaker 7: And people were like- Yeah, it was nice
26:27
MIC2: like,
26:28
Speaker 7: What's happening?" And so what I
26:30
MIC2: love about this
26:31
Speaker 7: is we
26:32
MIC2: hosted those chef.
26:33
MIC2: I gave them pass to go and enjoy
26:34
Speaker 7: Aspen Food Wine Classic.
26:36
MIC2: They're in the kitchen.
26:37
Speaker 7: They had dinner last night out in
26:39
MIC2: town, and they're like,"What is
26:41
Speaker 7: place?" None
26:41
MIC2: of them have
26:41
Speaker 7: have been to Aspen before.
26:43
Speaker 7: Yeah.
26:43
Speaker 7: That's great.
26:43
Speaker 7: And so
26:43
MIC2: what I love about
26:44
Speaker 7: It's great is allowing anyone who's coming
26:46
MIC2: in-
26:47
Speaker 7: High profile travelers, world-class chef to immerse themself and be like, is this town?
26:52
Speaker 7: What
26:52
MIC2: What is this
26:53
Speaker 4: Do you know what's fu- do you know what's funny about this hotel is, so I know the, tariff, right?
26:57
Speaker 4: and I know the, the, that this is very wealthy people.
27:00
Speaker 7: Right.
27:01
Speaker 4: Um, we just had coffee in your coffee shop, and the place is top-notch.
27:06
Speaker 4: Everything's perfect.
27:07
Speaker 4: Nothing
27:07
MIC1-1: is showy, nothing is ostentatious-
27:10
Speaker 7: Right,
27:10
Speaker 4: right and nothing is outwardly would tell you that it's$1,800 a night to$10,000 a night.
27:16
Speaker 4: Right, right.
27:17
Speaker 4: Uh, in the hotel, it j- it feels like a very homey, like, I don't know.
27:21
Speaker 4: It, it It
27:21
Speaker 7: feels like
27:22
Speaker 4: it's been here forever.
27:22
Speaker 4: Yes.
27:23
Speaker 7: Feels like
27:23
MIC2: forever.
27:23
MIC2: It is it, is...
27:24
Speaker 7: it is...
27:24
Speaker 7: you know, and
27:24
MIC2: you, you mentioned earlier, I forgot what you...
27:26
MIC2: To me, it has a strong sense of identity to the location.
27:29
MIC2: yeah.
27:29
MIC2: Which can be rare, uh-...in hotels and hotel brand Well, some hotel brands want-...that are opening around the world
27:34
Speaker 5: hotel brands want your hotel
27:37
MIC3: experience in New York City to be the same as your hotel experience in Miami, to be- your same
27:41
Speaker 5: in San Francisco.
27:42
Speaker 5: Or- That's what they want...Which
27:43
Speaker 7: mean you wake up in the
27:43
MIC2: morning, you don't
27:44
Speaker 7: know where you are.
27:44
Speaker 7: Or you When,
27:45
MIC2: When, you wake up here,
27:46
Speaker 7: Well, and this isn't a
27:47
Speaker 5: sh- Well- Well, hold on.
27:48
Speaker 5: The, our, our guests can't see it, but- Can't...when you wake
27:51
MIC3: up in the morning and you look out that window and-
27:53
Speaker 7: There's a mountain
27:53
Speaker 5: you know, uh,
27:54
Speaker 7: there's a beautiful mountain.
27:55
Speaker 7: there's Jesus mountain Yeah, There's a high
27:56
MIC2: a high of a...
27:56
MIC2: I mean, think of it, you're at 8,000 feet elevation
27:58
Speaker 4: Yeah.
27:59
Speaker 7: And you're about 12,000 feet
28:00
Speaker 4: there.
28:00
Speaker 4: Yeah.
28:00
Speaker 4: Right?
28:00
Speaker 4: Well, I
28:01
MIC1-1: guess the,
28:01
Speaker 4: the, other thing is, I mean, there are...
28:03
Speaker 4: And
28:03
MIC1-1: this isn't a shot
28:04
Speaker 4: on these types of hotels or anyone who may own those types of hotels- No, no but you
28:09
MIC1-1: don't have a golden escalator.
28:10
MIC1-1: Right There's no
28:11
Speaker 4: gold or Right...diamonds or whatever.
28:13
Speaker 4: And I think that's understated and, and, beautiful.
28:16
Speaker 4: How many employees to guests?
28:19
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
28:19
Speaker 4: How many employees do you have here?
28:20
Speaker 4: How many guests do you have at a time?
28:21
Speaker 4: Right.
28:22
Speaker 7: So We
28:22
MIC2: have 101 room and suites.
28:24
MIC2: we have 350
28:26
Speaker 7: employees.
28:27
Speaker 7: That's- So
28:27
MIC2: think of this, right?
28:28
MIC2: Yeah.
28:28
MIC2: When I was at Hotel Bel-Air, Beverly Hills Hotel, opened the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, we did not have three and a half employee per key.
28:34
MIC2: Yeah and so
28:35
Speaker 7: it's one
28:36
MIC2: thing to charge a rate-
28:37
Speaker 4: Yeah
28:38
Speaker 7: it's
28:38
MIC2: another to have a
28:40
Speaker 7: culture
28:40
MIC2: of excellence and a mindset to deliver a world-class product.
28:45
Speaker 7: And so you talked about
28:45
MIC2: Felix
28:46
Speaker 7: Shop, right?
28:47
Speaker 4: Right.
28:47
Speaker 7: Felix is only
28:48
MIC2: in New York.
28:49
MIC2: you you've been to some of their coffee
28:51
Speaker 4: Yep.
28:51
Speaker 7: And in Aspen.
28:52
Speaker 7: And
28:53
MIC2: Matt, the owner, is flying in because he wants to be, he's arriving today at 2:00 PM.
28:57
Speaker 7: wants to be here during
28:58
MIC2: Food Wine because, well, the town is
29:00
Speaker 7: fully activated.
29:01
Speaker 7: Yeah.
29:01
Speaker 7: But what
29:02
MIC2: I love is
29:03
Speaker 7: the
29:03
MIC2: locals love to go to Felix.
29:05
MIC2: the locals love to go to the J Bar.
29:07
Speaker 7: you are connected to the community.
29:07
MIC2: you're gonna see the courtyard open for lunch today.
29:09
MIC2: Mm-hmm.
29:11
MIC2: 80 per- 80% of the guests are
29:12
Speaker 5: What
29:12
MIC3: I was just about to say is what I've noticed-
29:15
Speaker 5: in my 36
29:17
MIC3: hours here so far
29:18
Speaker 5: is the locals are very much intermixed with
29:22
MIC3: everything that's happening in this town right now.
29:25
Speaker 5: It is not-
29:26
MIC3: Just the tourists- and just the people who are, who are out and about and are in the shops
29:31
Speaker 5: and in the stores.
29:31
Speaker 5: Right.
29:32
MIC3: It is everybody.
29:33
Speaker 7: And maybe- It's a, it's a total mix and maybe
29:34
MIC2: that's the magic
29:35
Speaker 7: Aspen.
29:35
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
29:36
MIC2: Right?
29:36
MIC2: To have truly a community where it's all about The residents.
29:41
MIC2: Mm-hmm.
29:41
MIC2: The residents are here, and They are
29:42
Speaker 7: out, and they
29:43
MIC2: they are
29:44
Speaker 7: welcoming.
29:44
Speaker 7: they are gracious.
29:45
Speaker 7: I mean, I spent 13 years in LA, four
29:47
MIC2: years in New York.
29:48
MIC2: You come to Aspen, It's this is la, la, land.
29:50
Speaker 7: It's clean.
29:51
Speaker 7: It's
29:51
MIC2: safe.
29:52
MIC2: You can walk around
29:52
Speaker 7: street- Yeah...at 4:00 in the morning.
29:53
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
29:54
Speaker 7: Yeah.
29:54
Speaker 7: Well, there may be a moose.
29:55
Speaker 4: Yeah.
29:55
Speaker 7: There may be a bear.
29:56
Speaker 7: Right?
29:56
Speaker 7: Right.
29:57
Speaker 7: But you're
29:58
MIC2: fine.
29:58
MIC2: Your
29:59
Speaker 7: your bag are safe,
30:00
Speaker 4: Yeah, Yeah,
30:00
Speaker 7: yeah.
30:00
Speaker 7: For sure.
30:00
Speaker 7: And so something to
30:01
MIC2: be said, but I was back in LA a
30:03
Speaker 7: few months ago, just for a week.
30:05
Speaker 7: Loved it, but It's
30:06
Speaker 4: Oh, yeah
30:06
Speaker 7: it's- a different, it's a different-
30:08
Speaker 4: It's an urban-
30:08
MIC2: different town, sensibility.
30:09
MIC2: It's a different town, right?
30:10
MIC2: And when actually, when I walked in a year ago,
30:14
Speaker 7: and
30:14
MIC2: I connected with chief of poli- w- of fire department chief, local businesses, city official.
30:21
MIC2: They said to me they say,"Stephan,
30:22
MIC1-1: said,"Stéphane, don't,
30:23
MIC2: don't change a thing."
30:25
Speaker 7: And actually they, they, said the J Bar is...
30:28
Speaker 7: Don't start taking the TV out or-
30:30
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm people just love.
30:31
Speaker 7: Yeah.
30:32
Speaker 7: We have the World- we have the World Cup right now happening.
30:33
Speaker 7: Actually- Oh, yeah
30:34
MIC2: Oh the US is playing
30:35
Speaker 7: this afternoon, be ready, Yeah.
30:36
Speaker 7: Against Australia.
30:37
Speaker 7: J
30:38
MIC2: Bar is gonna be packed.
30:38
Speaker 7: People are gonna be watching the game.
30:39
Speaker 7: That's great.
30:40
Speaker 7: And they're gonna go back and enjoy wine tasting.
30:42
Speaker 7: That's great There's,...There's
30:43
MIC2: ...there's so much to do.
30:44
MIC2: But to me, the key to success
30:47
Speaker 7: is you have an historic
30:49
MIC2: legacy property.
30:51
Speaker 7: There's already a culture that is here.
30:52
Speaker 7: It's not about reinventing the wheel.
30:54
Speaker 7: It's about understanding that culture and see, how can we further elevate, improve, enhance, and ensure
31:02
MIC2: that
31:02
Speaker 7: everyone on property
31:04
MIC2: understand how to spell
31:05
Speaker 7: luxury?" Because
31:07
MIC2: that's truly what
31:09
Speaker 7: the guests are expecting from
31:10
Speaker 4: us.
31:10
Speaker 4: All right.
31:10
Speaker 4: So, so we agree that culture beats policy seven days a week, right?
31:15
Speaker 4: Right.
31:16
Speaker 4: Yeah.
31:16
Speaker 4: But I have a couple policy questions for you.
31:18
Speaker 4: Right.
31:18
Speaker 4: Because there's, you're like, okay, I got the right culture, but I'm an operator.
31:21
Speaker 4: We operate our own restaurants, Right in New York.
31:23
Speaker 4: But you also have to have the wherewithal as to like,"Okay, this is our culture, and then here are
31:27
MIC1-1: the steps
31:28
Speaker 4: service by which we can implement them." Right.
31:31
Speaker 4: And, and I've already heard you say that you, you've, you've got to have, have policies of things that you do- Mm-hmm and procedures for things that you do- Mm-hmm...that leave your employees enough wiggle room to make ad hoc decisions for when people need stuff- Right that doesn't fit in the policy.
31:44
Speaker 4: Right.
31:44
Speaker 4: But you still need those policies there.
31:46
Speaker 4: Right.
31:46
Speaker 4: So one of the first people we interviewed when, when it was a radio show, when The Restaurant Guys"
31:50
MIC1-1: was a radio
31:50
Speaker 4: 20 years ago, we went to the Inn at Little Washington For sure.
31:54
Speaker 4: Yeah where Patrick O'Connell was first starting out.
31:55
Speaker 4: Yeah.
31:55
Speaker 4: And he shared with us some of his little systems, you know, which, you know, every...
32:00
Speaker 4: The, all the gentlemen are given a
32:01
MIC1-1: boutonniere.
32:02
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
32:02
Speaker 4: Well,
32:02
MIC1-1: the boutonniere is a different color depending on how
32:04
Speaker 4: days you've been there, so everyone knows how many days you've been there.
32:07
Speaker 4: every, time
32:07
MIC1-1: you interact with
32:09
Speaker 4: staff member, whether it's a concierge or the restaurant host or the, waiter or the bartender or the bellman, a report, there's a a, a central report is kept on you, and that employee rates your mood from one to 10.
32:22
Speaker 4: And their job is every time you interact with someone, our goal is to move them up a notch.
32:28
Speaker 4: Right.
32:28
Speaker 4: So you have to leave a certain number of notches before you- Right.
32:30
Speaker 4: And so these- Three,
32:31
Speaker 5: three notches before you- leave.
32:32
Speaker 4: Right.
32:33
Speaker 4: So these-
32:33
Speaker 5: are- We want
32:33
MIC3: we want you three
32:34
Speaker 5: points better than you were when you walked in.
32:35
Speaker 4: Right.
32:35
Speaker 4: So if you're a seven, you
32:36
MIC1-1: need to
32:36
Speaker 4: jubilant.
32:37
MIC1-1: if you come in
32:37
Speaker 4: you're depressed, you need to be better.
32:39
Speaker 4: Right.
32:40
Speaker 4: So those are concrete systems that he put in place- Right.
32:44
Speaker 4: Right that his employees could use- Right to make that
32:47
MIC1-1: happen.
32:48
MIC1-1: What are your
32:48
Speaker 4: tricks?
32:49
Speaker 4: What are your systems?
32:49
Speaker 4: There's a
32:49
Speaker 7: lot.
32:50
Speaker 7: I
32:50
MIC2: won't
32:50
Speaker 7: be able to share all of them.
32:51
Speaker 4: One or two?
32:51
Speaker 4: Just give us one or two.
32:52
Speaker 4: Yeah.
32:52
Speaker 4: One or two.
32:53
MIC2: I think the key is how do you, welcome the new team members and leaders?
32:57
MIC2: So we have what we call circle, which is a one-day orientation onbo-
33:02
Speaker 7: on boarding So many
33:04
MIC2: properties do that, right?
33:04
MIC2: There's nothing new there.
33:06
MIC2: But ensuring they understand the culture of
33:08
Speaker 7: Auberge, we call that the
33:09
MIC2: Auberge Promise, focusing on heartfelt service, So being genuine, being yourself.
33:15
MIC2: Yes, we're gonna
33:15
Speaker 7: look at where you've worked before, and that's great.
33:18
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
33:18
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
33:18
Speaker 7: that's yesterday.
33:19
MIC2: Today, what's your personality like?
33:22
MIC2: We
33:22
Speaker 7: will
33:22
MIC2: share with them our standards, our standard operating procedure.
33:26
MIC2: We'll ensure that the first week, they spend one week, with a trainer in each and every venue,
33:31
Speaker 7: do a catch up.
33:32
Speaker 7: You know,
33:33
MIC2: uh, we, we...
33:34
Speaker 7: I call that coffee chat, no coffee.
33:36
Speaker 7: One-on-one, right?
33:37
Speaker 7: Right.
33:37
Speaker 4: Right.
33:37
Speaker 7: Just to
33:38
MIC2: ensure you're in
33:38
Speaker 7: great place.
33:39
Speaker 7: And
33:39
MIC2: then 90 days later, we'll do somewhat of a
33:43
Speaker 7: follow-up to ensure you're in
33:45
MIC2: a great place, you have all the tools,
33:47
Speaker 7: you understand, you are having fun, and you
33:50
MIC2: able to be yourself.
33:51
MIC2: One thing we won't provide them is script.
33:54
Speaker 7: There's no- I love that.
33:55
Speaker 7: We
33:55
MIC2: don't want
33:56
Speaker 7: robots.
33:56
Speaker 7: We want them...
33:58
MIC2: They are hired for their personalities.
34:00
MIC2: And I would say if I look at, I've been fortunate to work with so many leaders by now, the most successful one
34:06
Speaker 7: to me,
34:06
MIC3: to me, the
34:07
Speaker 7: the first day
34:08
MIC2: they met you, they meet you,
34:09
Speaker 7: they trust
34:10
MIC2: you, 100%,
34:11
Speaker 7: right?
34:12
Speaker 7: And then try
34:13
MIC2: not to lose that trust.
34:14
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
34:14
Speaker 7: But I also
34:15
MIC2: work with leaders that
34:16
Speaker 7: when you start, they trust you 0%.
34:18
Speaker 7: You have to...
34:18
Speaker 7: You have to earn
34:19
Speaker 4: their-
34:19
Speaker 7: You have to prove, you have to prove yourself.
34:21
Speaker 7: Yeah.
34:21
Speaker 7: And so
34:22
MIC2: to me, empowering, um, leading with a glass
34:26
Speaker 7: full, positive reinforcement, getting to know them.
34:29
Speaker 7: And guess what?
34:30
Speaker 7: Stefan, as
34:30
MIC2: a general manager spends an hour and a half during that orientation that first morning, not just to say, Hello,
34:36
Speaker 7: good morning.
34:37
Speaker 7: Welcome," to talk about the culture, to talk
34:39
MIC2: about the soul of
34:40
Speaker 7: place, to talk about heartfelt service
34:42
MIC2: and what does that mean, to bring it to life.
34:45
MIC2: And so it's not just a slide
34:46
Speaker 7: say you went through the orientation It's how
34:48
MIC2: do you bring this to life?
34:49
MIC2: And then
34:50
Speaker 7: it's every day, just like any relationship, right?
34:53
Speaker 7: If my wife is listening, it's every
34:54
MIC2: day.
34:55
Speaker 7: You have to invest so that they are fully
34:58
MIC2: engaged.
34:59
Speaker 7: And
35:00
MIC2: I spend 80% of my day when I on the stage,
35:03
Speaker 7: 20% in my office.
35:05
Speaker 7: Mm.
35:05
Speaker 7: Email is one thing- Mm but email is just a communication tool.
35:08
Speaker 4: Yes.
35:08
Speaker 7: I could come to work and do emails all day.
35:10
Speaker 7: Yes and go home and tweet,"Well, I was so busy." Yeah.
35:12
Speaker 7: "What did you do?" I responded to
35:13
MIC2: email.
35:14
MIC2: I filed email." It's like, Is that
35:15
Speaker 7: job?
35:15
Speaker 7: Mm-mm.
35:15
Speaker 7: so spending time in the front drive, in the
35:18
MIC2: courtyard, inspecting
35:19
Speaker 7: room, inspecting suite, but not just different.
35:22
Speaker 7: With the team.
35:22
Speaker 7: And connecting
35:23
MIC2: with the team.
35:24
Speaker 7: With
35:24
Speaker 5: the team.
35:24
Speaker 5: They're connecting with
35:24
Speaker 7: people.
35:24
Speaker 7: Coaching,
35:25
MIC2: mentoring, igniting, inspiring, bringing it to life.
35:28
Speaker 7: Having fun.
35:29
Speaker 5: Those are the
35:29
Speaker 7: Those are, the, most important.
35:29
Speaker 7: things.
35:29
Speaker 7: Having fun.
35:29
MIC2: You know what I say to them all the time?
35:30
MIC2: They've heard it a thousand times.
35:32
Speaker 7: Hospitality is
35:33
MIC2: is not the word hospital.
35:34
Speaker 7: look at me like...
35:35
Speaker 7: It's, it's about
35:36
MIC2: being hospitable, being gracious, welcoming, j-
35:39
Speaker 7: being yourself.
35:40
Speaker 7: Yeah.
35:40
Speaker 7: But
35:41
MIC2: it's every day you have to repetition, repetition.
35:43
MIC2: You have to keep saying it until they really hear it, and then
35:46
Speaker 7: really- and then you stop keep saying.
35:48
Speaker 7: it And then they live it
35:48
Speaker 5: Yeah.
35:49
Speaker 5: You,
35:49
MIC3: you know, you talked about two things that I talk about with my staff
35:53
Speaker 5: constantly.
35:54
Speaker 4: Right.
35:54
Speaker 5: And the first one is trust.
35:57
Speaker 5: you came here for the right?
35:58
Speaker 5: reasons, right?
35:59
Speaker 5: In our
35:59
MIC3: organization, almost everyone starts at the bottom and works
36:02
Speaker 5: way up, Right.
36:02
Speaker 5: And
36:02
MIC3: and some people, can
36:03
Speaker 5: it very quickly, Mm-hmm......and some people, it takes a long time.
36:05
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
36:06
Speaker 5: But you don't do that generally if you're an experienced person if you don't believe in our place, if you don't believe in the mission of, of our
36:14
MIC3: place.
36:15
Speaker 5: And so what, the first
36:16
MIC3: thing I tell people
36:17
Speaker 5: all the time, and, and most people don't believe me, but if you're working here, I trust in you, I believe in you.
36:26
Speaker 5: That's why you're working here, Okay?
36:28
Speaker 5: And you.
36:29
Speaker 5: have to understand that, the only time I'll stop trusting you or believing you is if you
36:34
MIC3: give me a reason- to stop believing you.
36:36
Speaker 5: and trusting in you Right, right.
36:38
Speaker 5: And that's very new for a lot of employees- 100%......for a lot of people.
36:41
Speaker 5: 100%.
36:41
Speaker 5: for you to say,"I trust you."
36:43
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
36:44
Speaker 5: I, now I wanna teach you The way we do things, and I wanna teach you our, our, how it's, how our place is.
36:49
Speaker 5: Right.
36:49
Speaker 5: But that, that's unusual in the restaurant business.
36:52
Speaker 5: And to hear you.
36:53
Speaker 5: say that was- Right...was very gratifying for me.
36:54
Speaker 5: Right,
36:55
Speaker 7: right.
36:55
Speaker 5: The other thing you
36:56
MIC3: said is
36:58
Speaker 5: It is a
36:58
MIC3: relationship.
37:00
Speaker 5: Every employee and I, every employee in my building and I-
37:03
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm
37:04
MIC3: have a relationship.
37:06
Speaker 5: And, people say
37:07
MIC3: all the time, and I hate this expression,"Well, it's business." Okay?
37:12
MIC3: My business is about
37:13
Speaker 5: being personal.
37:14
Speaker 5: Right.
37:15
Speaker 5: It's
37:15
MIC3: about the...
37:15
MIC3: It, it is about being personal.
37:17
MIC3: And yes,
37:18
Speaker 5: the numbers have to add up at the end of the day.
37:20
Speaker 5: Sure.
37:20
Speaker 5: and yes, you need to
37:20
MIC3: make a certain amount of money in order to, to, pay your bills and be happy.
37:24
Speaker 5: But realize that I take it personally- Right that you need those things.
37:28
Speaker 7: Right.
37:29
Speaker 5: and I loved hearing what you said because I don't hear enough people
37:32
MIC2: people say that.
37:32
MIC2: You know what I like, you know, what I like to say to them as well is
37:35
Speaker 7: I want it to be mis-- I I
37:36
MIC2: want you
37:37
Speaker 7: you to make mistakes.
37:38
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
37:38
MIC2: And actually, here is what we do.
37:40
Speaker 7: I
37:40
MIC2: remember hearing Jean-Claude Vrinat from Taillevent saying, we are one of the
37:43
Speaker 7: best
37:43
MIC2: restaurant in the world,
37:44
Speaker 7: but we probably make as many mistake or more, but we are very good at hiding- Mm-hmm and focusing on recovery and resolution." Mm.
37:51
Speaker 7: So what we
37:52
MIC2: do is whenever there's
37:53
Speaker 7: what we call a glitch or a
37:54
MIC2: service recovery, a guest, you know, we...
37:58
MIC2: There was
37:58
Speaker 7: delay to get them into their suite, or the burger was
38:01
MIC2: overcooked,
38:02
Speaker 7: or- Mm-hmm they went to Felix and there was a long line, doesn't
38:05
MIC2: matter.
38:06
Speaker 7: We tell the whole property.
38:08
Speaker 7: We
38:08
MIC2: have a
38:10
Speaker 7: technology, right, that we use, and it's G
38:14
MIC2: Chat.
38:15
Speaker 7: All
38:15
MIC2: the operations are connected,
38:17
Speaker 7: and whenever
38:18
MIC2: we have Mr., uh, Peter Miller checking in
38:22
Speaker 7: as, an issue, right
38:23
MIC2: away we say,
38:25
Speaker 7: "I messed
38:25
MIC2: up.
38:26
Speaker 7: I took them to the wrong
38:27
MIC2: room,"
38:27
Speaker 7: or,"I gave them the wrong key." And from
38:29
MIC2: that point on, that guest become what we call
38:31
Speaker 7: a notable guest, and we
38:32
MIC2: won't stop
38:34
Speaker 7: monitoring them and catching up with them.
38:37
Speaker 7: Not overly doing it.
38:38
Speaker 7: So you keep- Monitoring.
38:39
Speaker 7: So- You keep- Mr.
38:40
Speaker 7: Miller
38:40
MIC2: is heading out
38:41
Speaker 7: to have dinner at San Campos tonight.
38:43
Speaker 7: Great.
38:43
Speaker 7: In housekeeping, good time to tear down.
38:46
Speaker 7: Mr.
38:46
Speaker 7: Miller is joining us for breakfast.
38:47
Speaker 7: Great.
38:48
Speaker 7: Staff has to go,"Mr.
38:48
Speaker 7: Miller, how was your day?
38:49
Speaker 7: How was your
38:50
MIC2: stay?"
38:51
Speaker 7: We are over-communicating and paying close attention- Mm to everyone, not just
38:55
MIC2: VIP.
38:56
Speaker 7: Everybody is a VIP.
38:57
Speaker 7: And so
38:58
MIC2: before you check in,
39:00
Speaker 7: there's a picture that's being circulated.
39:02
Speaker 7: How
39:03
MIC2: are you staying?
39:04
Speaker 7: What do we know about you?
39:05
Speaker 7: What room you're gonna be in?
39:06
Speaker 7: And then from
39:07
MIC2: that point on, that communication won't stop
39:09
Speaker 7: until we take you
39:10
MIC2: to the airport.
39:11
MIC1-1: airport.
39:11
MIC3: know- So- the-
39:12
Speaker 4: the one of the things that we talk about- Yeah this place is a much smaller level, obviously.
39:16
Speaker 4: Right.
39:16
Speaker 4: Right.
39:17
Speaker 4: a restaurant experience is two hours, a hotel experience could be two weeks.
39:20
Speaker 4: Right.
39:20
Speaker 4: Right.
39:20
Speaker 4: So you guys keep it up and you do an amazing job here.
39:22
Speaker 4: the thing that's corollary to that is, uh, we tell our staff when we make a mistake, and we will ev- inevitably make mistakes- Every
39:29
Speaker 7: day
39:29
Speaker 4: the natural inclination of the new waiter, the new maître d', the new bartender is to run from the problem.
39:34
Speaker 4: I can't go
39:35
MIC1-1: there.
39:35
MIC1-1: I can't face them."
39:36
Speaker 4: Right.
39:36
Speaker 4: No, no, no.
39:36
Speaker 4: Right.
39:37
Speaker 4: You-- now we have to over- Deny.
39:38
Speaker 4: Oh, deny...over
39:39
MIC2: "It did not happen."
39:40
Speaker 4: no, we ne- we don't have that problem very often.
39:42
Speaker 4: Right.
39:42
Speaker 4: But even if they they're like,"Oh, I'm so sorry," And but they, they go to
39:45
MIC1-1: the table less cause
39:46
Speaker 4: they feel
39:46
MIC1-1: uncomfortable every time they go to
39:47
Speaker 4: table.
39:48
Speaker 7: Right.
39:48
Speaker 4: No, it's just the opposite.
39:49
Speaker 4: You have to go more.
39:50
Speaker 4: Right.
39:50
Speaker 4: Embrace it.
39:51
Speaker 7: Embrace it.
39:51
Speaker 7: Embrace it.
39:52
Speaker 7: Embrace it.
39:52
Speaker 7: Uh,
39:53
MIC2: and give your
39:53
Speaker 7: team the ammunition.
39:54
MIC2: We just
39:56
Speaker 7: $600,000 to modernize all our
39:59
MIC2: elevators.
40:00
Speaker 7: There's only three
40:01
MIC2: and four floors, huh?
40:02
Speaker 7: not a high rise.
40:04
Speaker 7: And through the renovation, we were hoping to have those elevators back and active before we reopen.
40:11
Speaker 7: Well, as we all know- Sometimes it doesn't.
40:14
Speaker 7: Sometimes it doesn't Sometimes it's not in our power.
40:15
Speaker 7: So,
40:15
MIC2: you know, one inspection, two inspections, suddenly you are, you know, inconveniencing your guest.
40:20
MIC2: Well, that morning before the guests are checking in, give the team somewhat of the messaging.
40:26
Speaker 7: Apologize as soon as the guests get here.
40:29
Speaker 7: Want to apologize for the inconvenience.
40:30
Speaker 7: We are still waiting for
40:31
MIC2: the inspection.
40:32
MIC2: We just
40:33
Speaker 7: our elevators.
40:34
Speaker 7: Here are the options.
40:35
Speaker 7: We have sets of elevator that
40:37
MIC2: are in the north building that
40:38
Speaker 7: have access to your
40:39
MIC2: room As,
40:41
Speaker 7: an apology to the inconvenience, we're gonna waive your daily resort fee.
40:44
Speaker 7: So the guests get you- Yeah before they've been inconvenienced, you're already saying,"I'm sorry."
40:47
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
40:47
MIC2: I apologize." Mm-hmm.
40:48
MIC2: And they're like,"Wow,
40:49
MIC3: "I'm
40:49
Speaker 7: And they're like,"Wow, They care.
40:50
Speaker 7: you.
40:50
Speaker 7: they- All they
40:51
MIC2: s- all they hear is,"We care.
40:52
Speaker 7: We see you.
40:53
Speaker 7: You're not just a
40:54
MIC2: room number." Right.
40:55
Speaker 7: 100%.
40:55
Speaker 7: "We're
40:55
MIC2: gonna ensure that your experience
40:57
Speaker 7: flawless, seamless, even though we have to deal." with whatever we have to deal." But give your team, not just say,"Apologize to guest." Give them the ammunition so they are...
41:05
Speaker 7: So only if you have the knowledge, I always feel the knowledge is confidence.
41:07
Speaker 7: Yeah.
41:08
Speaker 7: And then they can really be themself.
41:09
Speaker 7: Yeah,
41:09
Speaker 5: yeah.
41:09
Speaker 5: Right?
41:10
Speaker 5: The other thing you mentioned was you have systems in place because people will make mistakes.
41:15
Speaker 5: People are human beings.
41:16
Speaker 7: Right,
41:17
Speaker 5: right.
41:17
Speaker 5: there are systems in every great restaurant- Mm-hmm and every great hotel, I suppose- Mm-hmm because
41:21
MIC3: I've
41:21
Speaker 5: run a great hotel-
41:22
MIC2: Gate-
41:22
Speaker 7: gatekeepers.
41:23
Speaker 7: Gatekeepers,
41:23
Speaker 5: yeah that where where you can try and mitigate those problems.
41:26
Speaker 5: Right.
41:26
Speaker 5: Doesn't mean you will never have them.
41:28
Speaker 5: Right.
41:28
Speaker 5: But you, if you can catch those- Right the, the first mistake Right before it's customer facing- Right, right you've solved so many problems.
41:34
Speaker 5: I
41:34
Speaker 7: also
41:34
MIC2: feel that if you empower the team,
41:36
Speaker 7: that's a great feeling when you get empowered.
41:38
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
41:38
Speaker 7: You feel you have the authority and the freedom, and it's quite rewarding to have an impact
41:42
MIC2: on a guest experience, and know that at any moment
41:45
Speaker 7: you can go above and beyond and make a difference.
41:46
Speaker 7: and that's where you're like,"Wow."
41:48
Speaker 4: Well, I
41:48
Speaker 7: also- Tremendous sense of pride there, and I'm feeling good.
41:50
Speaker 7: And if
41:50
MIC2: I see something, I wanna do something about it because not only am I gonna do something about it
41:54
MIC3: not only am I
41:55
MIC2: guests who check
41:56
Speaker 7: out will give us feedback Mm...most of them, and most of the
41:59
MIC2: feedback is fantastic.
42:00
MIC1-1: fantastic.
42:01
Speaker 7: want
42:01
MIC2: to celebrate anything.
42:03
MIC2: Oh,
42:03
Speaker 7: Jack upon check-in was fantastic.
42:05
MIC2: gave us some recommendation.
42:06
MIC2: The next day
42:07
Speaker 7: we have what we call daily rally.
42:10
Speaker 7: First with all the leaders on the fourth floor balcony looking
42:12
MIC2: at the mountain,
42:13
Speaker 7: talk about the arrivals, talk about all
42:16
MIC2: the wins, but also
42:17
Speaker 7: opportunities.
42:18
Speaker 7: Who do we
42:18
MIC2: need to pay attention to?
42:19
Speaker 7: But
42:19
MIC2: celebrate Jack.
42:20
Speaker 5: Yeah.
42:21
Speaker 7: Because when
42:21
MIC2: you celebrate Jack, Jack's gonna be like,
42:22
Speaker 7: Wow, I'm feeling good here." That's right.
42:24
Speaker 7: Not only that, the
42:25
MIC2: team around him
42:26
Speaker 7: is like,"Wow, I want to get some of that
42:28
MIC2: attention too.
42:29
Speaker 7: Now suddenly I'm going above and beyond." And so
42:32
MIC2: that positive
42:33
Speaker 7: culture
42:33
MIC2: of reinforcement acknowledgement, and celebrating even the small wins,
42:37
Speaker 7: instead
42:37
MIC2: of saying,
42:38
Speaker 7: I caught you making a mistake,""Well, great.
42:39
Speaker 7: Shit, now I'm scared to make a mistake.""Well, I caught you doing something amazing.""Well, now I
42:44
MIC2: wanna do more amazing things." So
42:46
Speaker 7: I just think that positive reinforcement is very powerful, I guess I would say.
42:50
Speaker 7: So
42:50
Speaker 4: in, in the spirit of that, and we're running a little short on
42:53
MIC1-1: time, I have
42:54
Speaker 4: You
42:55
Speaker 7: have to
42:55
MIC2: extend your stay.
42:56
MIC2: The, the-
42:56
Speaker 4: You got caught.
42:57
Speaker 4: Hey,
42:57
Speaker 7: you got
42:57
Speaker 4: caught we'll be back, we'll be back again tomorrow.
43:00
Speaker 4: So Julie, uh,
43:01
MIC1-1: who is our director of operations,
43:02
Speaker 4: we mentioned earlier, did buy me a roll of stickers once that said, You got caught doing something good," and suggested that I hand them out to people.
43:10
Speaker 4: Oh.
43:10
Speaker 4: So she believes in that philosophy as well.
43:12
Speaker 4: Listen, I've learn, we've learned
43:13
MIC1-1: something from you today
43:14
Speaker 4: I
43:14
MIC1-1: think luxury used to mean flashy stuff,
43:17
Speaker 4: ...lots of stuff, more stuff.
43:20
Speaker 4: Uh, and
43:20
MIC1-1: I think what, luxury means
43:22
Speaker 4: what you helped define is the people that are taking care of you.
43:25
Speaker 4: Right.
43:25
MIC1-1: Absolutely.
43:25
MIC1-1: Human interaction.
43:27
MIC1-1: Celebrating people and making it great.
43:28
MIC1-1: I think you do it great.
43:29
MIC1-1: here.
43:30
MIC1-1: We
43:30
Speaker 4: talk to you literally for days, but I'm
43:33
MIC1-1: gonna go
43:33
Speaker 4: some cocktails in the bar.
43:34
MIC2: I love that.
43:35
MIC2: I love that.
43:36
MIC2: And listen, to me it's luxury is
43:39
Speaker 7: quiet luxury.
43:40
Speaker 7: Ah.
43:40
MIC2: Understand who your guests are, and be there.
43:43
MIC2: when they need you, and just let them be when they don't want you
43:46
Speaker 7: be there.
43:47
Speaker 7: And so
43:47
MIC2: it's paying attention and always looking at it's not what you're gonna say to people.
43:53
MIC2: you make them feel?
43:54
MIC2: How do you make
43:54
Speaker 7: feel?
43:54
Speaker 7: How do you make them feel?
43:55
Speaker 7: We knew this interview was gonna be fun.
43:56
Speaker 7: I didn't know I was gonna make a new friend, so thanks
43:58
Speaker 4: for
43:58
MIC2: And it's still early.
43:59
MIC2: Yes.
44:00
MIC2: great to have you.
44:01
MIC2: Welcome to
44:01
Speaker 7: Aspen.
44:01
Speaker 7: Truly our pleasure.
44:02
Speaker 7: Have a
44:02
MIC2: our pleasure.
44:03
MIC2: Have a lot of fun at Aspen Food Wine Classic, And uh,
44:06
Speaker 7: we'll be here for you.
44:07
Speaker 4: And Michel, we're gonna put all the information up on this hotel and any of the other crazy stories you've mentioned throughout this interview in the show notes.
44:14
Speaker 4: Uh, stick with us, we'll be back in just a moment.
44:15
Speaker 4: You can always find out more about the Restaurant Guys at
44:18
MIC2: restaurantguyspodcast.com.
44:19
Speaker 4: restaurantguyspodcast.com.
44:20
Mark OUTRO: What a great conversation with Stephane Lacroix
44:23
Francis OUTRO: Yeah, an old-fashioned hotelier is amazing.
44:25
Francis OUTRO: The rooms are, it's, I, we, th- we didn't do it justice,
44:28
Mark OUTRO: You know, one of the things that I loved most about our trip to the Hotel Jerome, because obviously we went there before we interviewed Stefan, was the way the people who worked for him spoke about him.
44:40
Mark OUTRO: yeah.
44:40
Mark OUTRO: You
44:40
Francis OUTRO: y-
44:40
Mark OUTRO: Absolutely.
44:40
Mark OUTRO: Every- everybody talked about, you know, he's a hands-on guy.
44:44
Mark OUTRO: He wants to be on the floor.
44:45
Mark OUTRO: He wants to be talking to the patrons.
44:47
Mark OUTRO: He wants to be talking to the staff.
44:49
Mark OUTRO: He wants to be involved with what's happening.
44:52
Mark OUTRO: And to be honest with you, not all hotel managers act that way
44:56
Francis OUTRO: Well, and, look, you can't.
44:58
Francis OUTRO: I mean, if you don't have the kind of staff and experience that he has, uh, and there's a lot of resources there.
45:03
Francis OUTRO: I mean, people have a right to expect that with the amount of money they pay for it.
45:06
Francis OUTRO: And but even that being said, he goes above and beyond.
45:09
Francis OUTRO: And everybody says, people who've worked in the restaurant business for a long time, in the high-end hotel business, say he's, the best they've ever worked with.
45:15
Francis OUTRO: Everyone who was there said he was the best they'd ever worked with.
45:19
Mark OUTRO: Everybody says people who worked in the restaurant business for a long time in the high-end hotel business say he's, uh, the best they've ever worked with.
45:20
Mark OUTRO: Yeah, he- Everyone who was there said he was the best they'd ever worked with.
45:20
Mark OUTRO: Yep.
45:20
Mark OUTRO: He's one of...
45:20
Mark OUTRO: Y- you could feel it.
45:20
Mark OUTRO: He's one of those first in, last out guys.
45:21
Speaker 10: Uh, I do wanna talk a little bit about Aspen, because one of the things that you get warned about when you go to Aspen is, oh, you know, The elevation is very high up.
45:29
Speaker 8: Oh, yeah.
45:30
Speaker 8: It is.
45:30
Speaker 10: Uh, but the thing that I didn't hear about until we arrived was you need to drink a lot of water.
45:37
Speaker 8: Oh, yeah.
45:37
Speaker 10: One afternoon, I was not feeling great.
45:41
Speaker 10: I had seven glasses of water, and I was like,"That was it." Yeah.
45:45
Speaker 10: "Now I feel better." It was, it was absolutely amazing, that the altitude removed water from your system like that.
45:51
Speaker 10: It's just not something you expect.
45:53
Speaker 8: Well, we, we looked it up, and turns out that that's a thing.
45:55
Speaker 8: and it can affect you.
45:56
Speaker 8: But it also, I mean, I think the oxygen affects you.
45:59
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
45:59
Speaker 8: I thought it was great that when we got there they gave us little oxygen kits.
46:02
Speaker 8: They're very serious about the oxygen up there.
46:04
Speaker 8: You can get, uh...
46:05
Speaker 8: They have IV salons, so you can- There
46:07
Speaker 10: is an IV salon in downtown Aspen-
46:10
Speaker 8: Well, they're everywhere now,
46:11
Speaker 10: but- where you can...
46:12
Speaker 10: Well- There where you can go and get oxygen and IV fluids to get you all caught up
46:17
Speaker 8: Yeah.
46:17
Speaker 8: I love that.
46:18
Speaker 8: I love that.
46:18
Speaker 8: And they have little cans of oxygen.
46:20
Speaker 8: It worked for you.
46:20
Speaker 8: It didn't work for me.
46:21
Speaker 10: Oh, the cans worked, absolutely.
46:23
Speaker 8: Isn't that crazy?
46:23
Speaker 10: Cleared me right up.
46:24
Speaker 10: Let's go.
46:25
Speaker 8: Well, listen, we had a great time when we were there.
46:26
Speaker 8: Uh, the hotel- I brought some home.
46:29
Speaker 8: We don't need it here.
46:30
Speaker 8: You're at sea level, for God's sake.
46:32
Speaker 8: anyway, I, I had, I had a great time over there.
46:34
Speaker 8: The Hotel Jerome is truly spectacular, truly unique, and it was a privilege to be there, and if you're in Aspen, you should go, but not if you don't have a lot of money.
46:44
Speaker 8: Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this.
46:46
Speaker 8: I'm Francis Schatt.
46:47
Speaker 10: I'm Mark Pascal.
46:48
Speaker 8: We are The Restaurant Guys.
46:49
Speaker 8: We'll catch you next time at restaurantguyspodcast.com.