Editors’ Note

Born into a family of hoteliers in Hamburg, Bernard Lackner began his career at that city’s Four Seasons Hotel (Vier Jahreszeiten). Following appointments at the Hilton and the Hotel George V in Paris, he emigrated to the United States and attended several management seminars at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. From there, Lackner joined the management team of Four Seasons Hotels at The Pierre, New York. Soon thereafter he became Resident Manager of the Maxim in Palm Springs, California, and eventually assumed the same post at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée New York. A year later, he was promoted to his present position.

Property Brief

On a quiet, tree-lined street on Manhattan’s fashionable Upper East Side, the Hôtel Plaza Athénée New York (www.plaza-athenee.com) is steps from some of the city’s most celebrated attractions, including Central Park, Museum Mile, and Madison Avenue shopping. The European-style, boutique hotel offers discerning guests a selection of 114 guest rooms and 35 suites, as well as award-winning dining at Arabelle, the hotel’s stylish restaurant. Owned by the Imperial Hotels Group of Thailand, it is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.

Many in New York have talked about how strong the market was in 2007, in terms of both occupancy and rates. Have you been happy with recent business at the Plaza Athénée?

It’s true that 2007 was a terrific year, for a variety of reasons. One is that some hotels have undergone conversions from hotels to condominiums. A couple of these hotels are in the process of being renovated and they will reopen soon. That definitely helped us last year. Furthermore, the weak dollar has made it very attractive for Europeans to travel here.

Looking ahead, I’m not sure if the increased rates we have seen are sustainable for this year. If we did an industry survey, I would expect the anticipated increase for this year to be less than what we witnessed last year.

You mentioned your rates. Do expectations go up as rates go up? Is it difficult to ensure that guests feel like they have received good value, no matter how high the rate is?

You need to make sure that you provide excellent service and an excellent product for the rates you are charging. It’s all about personalized service, attention to detail, and making sure that you have all the facilities people want – the spa, the gym, etc.

Are you happy with where your product is today? Are there any developments on the horizon?

It’s always a work in progress. We are seriously considering putting a spa in the building adjacent to the hotel, and we are continuing to invest in the room product in order to stay competitive. The plan is to create a product that is really cutting edge, as well as being consumer friendly, functional, and competitive.

How large a role does technology play in your quest to be on the cutting edge?

In my view, technology has to be very carefully planned. I don’t believe in adding so much technology to a room that you need an employee to give you a 15- or 20-minute tutorial about how the system works. I’ve worked with these types of rooms in prior situations and it’s hit or miss. We make sure that our system is user friendly.

How challenging is it to run a hotel restaurant in a city like New York, where there are so many excellent stand-alone restaurants?

It has always been a challenge to run a restaurant in a New York hotel, because there are 7,000 other restaurants in the city. New York is probably one of the greatest restaurant cities in the world, with such a variety of restaurants serving diverse cuisine. Many of our clients have their favorites, and they have specific destination restaurants in the city in mind, which they have been going to for a long time. It’s obvious that many hotels are going the direction of employing celebrity chefs, and that probably adds value.

In maintaining the success of a hotel today, how important is the relationship between the owner and manager?

I think it’s of utmost importance that both parties are on the same page. In this type of competitive environment, both parties need to have the same basic philosophy, to a large extent, and the same principles as they relate to a long-term plan, so that the property can be positioned properly for the future.

This industry has a notoriously high turnover of staff. How challenging is it to retain the talent you need in order to remain competitive?

It’s a big challenge. In this type of hotel, employee retention is extremely important, because guest recognition plays a very important role in how we service our guests. That said, we have been lucky. We have many employees who have been here for more than 20 years in key guest contact positions. That is one of our strengths. How do you achieve this? You have to make sure that you treat your people well. For example, the compensation has to be right. In addition, the employees have to identify with the overall operating philosophy of the property.

General Managers are pulled in many different directions these days. Do you still have time for direct contact with your guests?

In my view, you’ve got to prioritize this, and it’s a matter of proper time management. I feel that it is of utmost importance that a General Manager has a good amount of personal guest contact, in order to understand what a guest’s expectations are. By being involved on a daily basis, you get a pretty good idea of what’s going on, and you have the opportunity to react if you spot any discrepancies in the quality of service or product. Hopefully, you can learn from those situations, correct the mistakes, and go forward.

When you think back to when you first took this job, could you have imagined that you would stay at this property for so many years?

When I started here, I definitely did not foresee staying here for such a long time. But you get caught up in the New York energy – the activities, the lifestyle, the excitement – and before you realize it, 20 years have gone by. We have a great product in a fantastic location. We have wonderful guests. We have a lot of repeat guests, so it almost feels like a private club here at the hotel, and very much like a home. People feel comfortable here.