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Leisure travelers today are so knowledgeable
By: Michael Sagild
Leisure travelers are more loyal than their business counterparts, says Michael Sagild, CEO of Franklyn Hotels and Resorts, and Stein Management, both based in Barcelona, Spain.
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Leisure travelers today are also knowledgeable, and I am thrilled that I head a portfolio that is ideally placed to capitalize on experience-seeking consumers who are seeking alternatives to large, chain-operated hotels. My guests want smaller, unique and iconic properties in areas of great natural or urban interest, places that deliver bespoke, individualized quality - and recognition, and great value.
Franklyn Hotels and Resorts, which so far is a portfolio of 13 best-of-the-best properties, is the consumer face of Stein Group International. Why is it called Franklyn, you may ask? Well, Franklyn is the middle name of our US-born chairman, David Stein. Franklyn also has a historical resonance that portrays the classic and contemporary core values of the company. I see the word 'Frank' as straightforward. It denotes sincerity, authenticity and honor, all of which are essential to any Franklyn hotel, resort, restaurant or spa.
Yes, restaurants and spas are essential ingredients of the Franklyn DNA. I feel strongly about keeping our restaurants run inhouse rather than going along the 'celebrity chef consultant' route. I think this is the single most important element of any hotel or resort if you want to be part of the local community.
Stein Management, the operating arm of Stein Group International, includes the Luxury Lifestyle consortium and Lux magazine. At The Luxury Lifestyle consortium we are working hard on search engine optimisation, reinventing enhancement (it is like buying a handbag, I feel: a consumer knows when one feels right, and will stick to that brand). There are 116 properties in the consortium, and I intend to take it up to 200.
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Stein Management also includes the development side of the company, and not surprisingly I want many more hotels and resorts. In Europe I am looking for management contracts for properties with around 65 keys that are probably owned by high net worth individuals.
In Asia, we now have an office in Singapore, headed by newly-appointed MD Asia Pacific, Dean Schreiber. SGI is half owned by the KOP Group, also based in Singapore, and between us we are prepared to invest in bigger properties, around 140 keys. We want iconic buildings, both in cities and for countryside resorts.
THE AUTHORMichael Sagild was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He graduated from Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland, and Cornell School of Hotel Administration, USA. He has moved professionally round Asia-Pacific and the UAE with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. He then became Hong Kong-based MD Asia Pacific for Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts, after which he moved to Bangkok as COO for Minor Hotels and Resorts. He relocated to his present role as CEO of Franklyn Hotels and Resorts, and Stein Management, both based in Barcelona, Spain, late 2008.
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