Armando Kraenzlin - Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru


Maldives
Interviews
Armando Kraenzlin - Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru
PUBLISHED October 01, 2019

Armando Kraenzlin began his Four Seasons career as an Executive Assistant Manager with Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta. He has since held various senior management roles with the company in India and at the Maldivian properties of Kuda Huraa, Landaa Giraavaru, Four Seasons Explorer and Voavah Private Island, as well as regional roles encompassing Bali, Vietnam, Langkawi and Mumbai. He is Swiss-born and a hotel management graduate from the Lausanne Hotel School, Switzerland.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My parents ran an interior design company that specialized in hotels and restaurants. As a child, I’d spend my holidays visiting their clients around Europe and other nearby properties. From my parents, I learnt the impact of design on customer experience, an appreciation of how luxury hotels and restaurants were envisioned from concept stage, and the elements that made them operational.

Growing up, my goal was to have my own restaurant so I attended hotel school to gain a deeper understanding of the hospitality industry as a whole. I had always loved to travel and while studying, realised the opportunities the industry would offer me to see the world. Asia had always held a special place in my heart, and after a year working in Saudi Arabia, I moved first to Malaysia and then to Thailand.

While in Thailand, I worked in a luxury resort styled between two traditional fishing villages. We created initiatives and experiences that helped preserve our neighbours’ heritage while offering guests authentic insights into the local way of life. As so many of the staff were local, they were also empowered to share their culture. It was a win-win for everyone and the first indication of the kind of hotelier I wanted to be: as equally committed to the local community, environment and staff as to the guests.

In 2000, I was offered the chance to join the team at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa, two years after it had opened. It was one of the country’s original pioneers of five-star luxury, and the market was very different back then. There were challenges, but everything about the

country appealed to me – the people, the beauty above and below the waves, the weather – and I was determined to make it work. An 18-month position turned into 6 years. I briefly left the Maldives for 3 years to open Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai but soon returned as General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, two years post opening. I had lived on Landaa during construction and had enjoyed working with the architect and construction team in the pre-opening phase. During this time, the Resort had become my ‘baby’ so coming back gave me the chance to nurture it and to help it grow. I have lived in the Maldives for more than 16 years and feel very much at home here.

What are some of the most defining moments of your career?

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was life-changing. We were fortunate not to suffer any loss of life at Kuda Huraa but the Resort was closed for 18 months and we faced many

challenges. We pulled together to raise money, deliver supplies to badly hit islands, and relocate our colleagues overseas – Washington, Dallas, Shanghai, France and the UK among other places – to continue their employment. Many are now back here in the Maldives while others have continued with our sister properties around the world; to this day those experiences unite us more as family than as colleagues.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has been creating properties of enduring value using superior design finishes, exemplifying style and luxury since the company’s inception. What is the impact expected in guest experience, hotel operations and design philosophy?

Four Seasons guests worldwide have a certain level of expectation, which the company aims to exceed in every hotel or resort. A key consideration when it comes to design philosophy, guest experience and operations is connection: to each destination, culture, environment, and perhaps most importantly of all, the people. Four Seasons values its staff as its greatest asset, and empowers them to be the custodians of the guest experience while inspiring them to be the best they can be; only this can bring the design, style and luxury to life. Whether you’re visiting a remote resort or a buzzing metropolis, the company aims to unlock parts of the destination that guests can’t access themselves, and elevate the experience in a way that is unique to each individual. Often, this is through the thoughtful touches of our staff; the deeper connections they make with guests; and because they are sharing experiences that are meaningful to them.

How do you define luxury? And, how does the Four Seasons brand intertwine luxury with environmental sustainability? Please elaborate on the philosophy behind the Four Seasons brand’s consistent focus on environmental sustainability.

Luxury means many different things to many different people. I believe that for many of the guests who stay with us, luxury is the full enjoyment of quality time with the people that are most important in their lives. We obviously have a huge role to play in that but to ensure our operations are sustainable, we also have to mitigate our impact wherever possible. In this way, luxury and sustainability have to operate hand in hand. By transplanting thousands of coral frames we not only regenerate local reefs but improve guests’ snorkelling experience; our water bottling plant and collaboration with Parley on nearby islands helps keeps waste out of the Maldivian oceans and improves our surroundings, our Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, fish- breeding program and Manta Trust research team preserve the surrounding UNESCO waters while offering guests fun and educational experiences. By involving all of our team members and guests in a common goal of preserving and protecting the planet, we aim to break down that misnomer that luxurious can’t be sustainable. There are many challenges but there are equally many steps that can be taken to make a difference.

For almost two decades, Four Seasons Resorts Maldives has been running one of the most successful apprenticeship programs in the Indian Ocean. How has this shaped the future stars of the hospitality world?

We implemented the program in 2001 to find a way to offer more on-site opportunities to local youngsters. We visited a lot of islands to interview candidates and realised that we could offer training in many more areas – housekeeping, engineering and front desk among others – and that there was, at that time, nowhere else in the country where young hoteliers could commit to gaining that kind of

experience, discipline and knowledge. We started with five students and will be entering our twentieth year with an intake of 65 apprentices taking our total to over 600 graduates since inception. Modules now include options like marine biology and diving, and the apprenticeship is a government-approved vocational training scheme. We are grateful that the government continues to support our endeavours in this way and are proud that many of our graduates now hold  managerial positions – in the Maldives and overseas – while others have become successful entrepreneurs. Many recommend the program to their cousins, siblings and neighbours, which also gives us the confidence that they have enjoyed the experience.

The second edition of the Baa Atoll Summer Festival ended last month. While this destination-dining concept is relatively new in the Maldives, what have been your biggest takeaways from it?

The most valuable thing is the community spirit that it fosters among the local resorts. It was this spirit that prompted us to establish BAARU – Baa Atoll Resorts United – an association that meets quarterly to plan community projects and initiatives, with a focus on supporting the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our member resorts include newly opened and well-established properties, from the super-luxury to the 3-4 star segment. All have different approaches and habits, but the fact that we are all able to sit around the table and discuss issues and interests that are common to us all has been incredibly uniting and positive. There is now a very strongsense of ease and respect among the member properties and we are able to share customers – something that would not have been possible ten years ago. To me, the festival is indicative of the wider sustainability movement that is affecting us all globally: the need for communities to unite, work together and share experiences for the common good.

Do you offer any loyalty programs or special offers to your guests?

Four Seasons guests are as loyal as they are discerning. I was speaking to an in- house guest yesterday who told me they have a few favourite hotels around the world, of which 90 per cent are Four Seasons and 10 per cent others. This couple travels extensively and stays at Four Seasons properties around the world yet the company does not have a loyalty program, so while our websites carry seasonal and year-round offers for all guests, there are no points- based rewards for frequent visitors for complimentary future stays. This makes a guest’s decision to stay loyal to the brand an emotional one, and it stems from the convictions of the company’s Founder, Isadore Sharp. His vision from the start was to drive the staff to create experiences that persuade guests to return because they want to. There are many ways that the team work to achieve this – and once again, it largely comes down to Four Seasons people. Great emphasis is placed on guest recognition, which not only improves our own relationship with our guests, but means if they then visit another Four Seasons property, our colleagues there will understand what is important to those particular individuals.

Is dynamic pricing a focus at Four Seasons in terms of corporate agreements, and  how has it been received?

Four Seasons were not at the forefront of this development, and joined rather late. Dynamic pricing is offered to guests who book directly and some properties are now beginning to implement it in the corporate and wholesale segments. The world is moving in this direction and it will happen with Four Seasons too. We tend not to be drivers of this type of development, but rather to adapt in destinations where the properties are mature and settled.

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru has been the first to introduce AntiGravity yoga to the Maldives, and the first hotel to open a spa in the Maldives – The Island Spa at Kuda Huraa. How important is wellbeing in the luxury hospitality industry?

Wellbeing is an integral part of life so it’s only right that it plays a significant role in any lifestyle environment. In the luxury hospitality industry, yoga and spa programs are also a great opportunity for properties to differentiate themselves. Our spas are a core part of our business and as such, are generally not outsourced so as to ensure a consistency of service standards in line with guest expectations. Long gone are the days when spas were simply about pampering. Today, the best spas offer much more tangible health benefits. Ours are mini resorts in themselves, spanning a wide range of wellbeing treatments as well as opportunities for lifestyle overhauls with renowned experts. Many of our customers approach seeking natural remedies for health issues. It was one such surge in guest requests that recently prompted us to launch Landaa’s new Yoga Therapy Centre, which now has four leading yogis creating tailormade yoga ‘prescriptions’ that target individual issues including diabetes, spinal care and mental health. When better to take steps to reset your wellbeing that in the company of experts in paradise?

What legacy would you like to leave behind from your leadership?

I am proud of the role that Four Seasons Maldives has played in sparking a passion for staff development, community collaboration and sustainability, not just here in the Maldives but elsewhere as well. I imagine most people’s ideal legacy would be to have left things better than they found them, so I’ll go with that.

“We are proud that many of our graduates now hold managerial positions – in the Maldives and overseas – while others have become successful entrepreneur”

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