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Kempinski: the oldest & most unique hotel company
By: Reto Wittwer
The hotel industry gives one a hell of a good time. It is all about people, and it is lots of fun.
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As such, we have an obligation to pass on our enthusiasm to the younger generation. I want them to see there is a tremendous future.
Kempinski is the world's oldest hotel company. It was founded in Germany in 1897, and today it has a worldwide portfolio. We are in such places as Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, London, St. Petersburg, Moscow and St Moritz. We have just signed agreements for Huizhou, Jakarta and Khao Lak, which will take us up to a further 19 hotels by the end of 2009. Rich in tradition, the group today comprises a fine collection of sumptuous hotels and resorts, from the truly historic to the breathtakingly avant-garde.
The Kempinski guest does not want cookie-cutter. Go to the Emirates Palace, the world's most lavish hotel, and you could not be anywhere else than Abu Dhabi. Head for Kempinski Grand Hôtel des Bains, on the site of mineral springs dating back to 1366 (the water still runs out, and it tastes delicious) and you could only be up in the Swiss mountains, in St Moritz.
One big difference now from even a few years back is the essential need to stay connected today. Wherever you stay, you need to be able to keep in touch, via internet or the telephone. Kempinski may be old, but it is also highly up to date.
Kempinski will always be the world's most unique hotel company, stressing coherence, diversity, globalism, innovation and luxury. It is also innovative. We introduced the Paulaner microbrewery into Beijing in 1990 and the Chinese took to it so well that we now have them in all our growing number of properties in China.
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I will be around, leading the group, for a long time yet. There is much to do. Kempinski will never grow above about a hundred properties but we have an extended family in the Global Hotel Alliance. With our partners at Omni Hotels, Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts and Rydges Hotels & Resorts, we truly cover the world - already.
THE AUTHORReto Wittwer, President & CEO Kempinski Hotels, is renowned for his charm and style - and he probably has one of the biggest collection of genuine friends, in a myriad of countries. For him, luxury is Harvard, three-star Michelin restaurants or barely-cooked pasta with butter and fresh parmesan, Lufthansa's First and Priority cards, and the right neighbors at home. This is also a businessman: he gave his artistic son a company for his 18th birthday. www.kempinski.com
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