Crafting Timeless Hospitality Experiences - Chris Norton, Equinox Hotels

Chris: The basics in luxury hospitality really haven't changed. There are certain things that we do differently. There are procedures that we do differently. There is technology that we do differently. We have streamlined travel, but the basic experience of getting into a bed, taking a shower, having breakfast, or being warmly welcomed has not changed. The human interaction is exactly the same. And the way you focus on your guest and the way you make sure that you custom make the experience, it's not different. Many things as a young man or boy I learned and I still think back of things that struck me back then, tiny little lessons that influenced the way of how we think and creating a value system. It wasn't necessarily about learning a specific task but how we think about tasks and how they affect the guest experience. I do think back to these times very often. And I'm still in touch with my first hotel when I was 16, and I'm in touch with the owners and in touch with many people that went through that hotel. So it has been an amazing journey since then.

Josiah: Tell me more about that value system. How would you describe some of those values that have been foundational for you?

Chris: So we're a very people-intense business, depending on the level of industry and the level of service we provide, more or less. But typically, in the luxury segment of our industry, it's a very people-intense business. If you go to countries outside the developed Western world, sometimes the labor pools are much larger. And so you realize that if you want to deliver consistently at a high level to guests that are around 24-7, you depend on people to deliver thousands of experiences a day that make up the entire image. And so the values around people and people leadership and the way we treat people and the way we make people feel is fundamental to the success of a luxury hotel. That hasn't changed. I hate to say I've been doing this for 50 years. So it's still the same. And I think with AI coming in, and I know you want to discuss AI a little bit, I think even more important because that's something computers will not be able to replace.

Josiah: That timeless nature of hospitality is actually very attractive to me. You have an extensive background in luxury hospitality leadership. To bring this notion of timelessness to life, I wonder if there are specific practices that you can recall from some of your work in other brands that you've integrated or adapted into your work at Equinox Hotels now?

Chris: So I think it goes back to sincerity and authenticity. Let me give you examples that literally just happened to me in the last week. So I just came back from an extensive trip for the last 10 days. I started off flying into Miami, from Miami into Dubai, from Dubai into Riyadh, from Riyadh up to the west coast of Saudi Arabia, up and down the coast, and then back via Qatar into London, and London back....

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