Mariam Nihal Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — “My mission in life is to see people succeed,” said Herve Humler, president and COO of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. He recently inaugurated the new look for Ritz-Carlton in Dubai last week. “I started with a vision to be the best company in the world.” A story of success and passion, Herve is a prime example of achievement as he leads one of the world's most established hospitality companies today. Herve is also one of the architects of the company's “Let Us Stay With You” philosophy that focuses on creating everlasting memories for its customers. A globetrotter, Humler admitted his office maybe in Washington but he is usually on a plane touring Ritz properties around the world. Wishing he had more time to spend at home, he remembered: “I got into the hospitality 40 years ago.” French by birth, Humler is a global citizen. He speaks a language that is human, unpretentious and eager to better every kind of relationship. He rightfully lives the philosophy of living in the moment. “I was raised on Africa's Ivory Coast and spent 14 years there. My parents would travel a lot and I think because it was exciting to travel and meet people I joined the hotel business. I want to be the creator of luxury lifestyle. I enjoy the luxury part of the business,” he said. He described the key elements of running to the hotel industry and said the key is to work with customers, to create expectations, the product and to have passion. “To be a hotelier today, you have to work hard, have the passion, the vision and I always say you need to have the compassion.” He said people travel for different reasons than what they used to few years ago. “Luxury business. People used to travel to accumulate position, painting, vase and so on. “Today they travel for the experience. We in the hotel business have to create memories. You have to capture an emotional memory. You have to engage with the customer and deliver on their emotions.” Humler started at the bottom, from washing dishes, making beds to waiting near tables for his guests. He was assigned to look after a small property and that is where he learned everything. Humler later invested in a business empire and lives to fulfill his dreams of achieving excellence in his field, but he holds people in high regard and builds on human relationships as part of life. And this is why he refers to his staff, from the cleaners to managers as “Ladies and Gentlemen.” He personally oversees company operations daily and takes care of the 42,000 ladies and gentlemen of the company. Despite many changes in the hotel industry over the years, Humler still uses the Ritz-Carlton Credo as his road-map to success. It is known that his award-winning philosophy is deeply rooted in Ritz Carlton's culture. Traditionally the company reminds its ladies and gentlemen every morning in a lineup session to treat their guests as they would like to be treated. When a hotel is about to open, Humler conducts a visionary orientation session for every employee from general managers to cleaners. Whenever Humler visits a hotel, he said he meets everyone, all his “ladies and gentlemen.” While in Dubai to celebrate the repositioning of Ritz, he said: “The first place I went to today is the laundry room because these people are the most important part of the company.” He reaches out to every staff member personally, from the top of the hierarchy to the lowest. He said: “They are the reason Ritz Carlton is what it is.” He revealed his top management leadership roles belong to people who were previously working jobs like valet, housekeeping and concierge services. Humler was responsible for the development of the brand's growing group of international hotels from Riyadh to Bali and Abu Dhabi to Santiago. He said the employees pledge to give their best. Talking about employees and what they mean to him. Humler said he tells his “ladies and gentlemen” they are the most important part of Ritz Carlton. “That's our GPS and road-map to success. They make me who I am. They are the ones serving our customers. I don't have any interaction with customers these days.” “Without luxuries like spas, a hotel might function. But without an engineer, a housekeeper, people washing dishes, my hotel will not function,” he said. He added: “You need compassion. It's not about people; it's what you make out of people. When an employee leaves, you blame yourself first. I am going through agony when somebody leaves my company.” Talking about the identity of the hotels: “We have a process. There's a meeting in every department. We remind our people. We define service. We actually defined it 30 years ago. And service is greeting.” Defining the significance of good service, he said: “I want to own a gas station. That's the worst place to get service. And I am sure if I owned a gas station I would have people lining up. I would have a coffee station for them; I would have the cleanest bathrooms in the city. I would put the others out of business tomorrow.” When asked about the secret to his success, Humler searched his pockets and pulled out a four-inch cream-colored booklet and laid it on the table. He said: “This is the secret of my success.” He said all you needed to know at Ritz Carlton was penned down in the four-fold booklet. “This is what sets us apart from other hotels. They ask me, is this it? I say yes, this is all.” Talking about the new generation and changes, he said everything Ritz Carlton does is based on customer feedback and needs. The customer today is very connected. They prefer to connect than talk to people. “I am not a technology guy but I do have a vision. Let me bring you to the future.” Humler gave a futuristic vision of Ritz Carlton relating to social media. “You develop apps for it.” He said you could order your meal, choose your preferable newspaper, set your wake up call before even checking in. In the future OF corporate hotels, you don't have to go to the front desk; you can just go to the elevator, scan your details and go straight to your room. “Everything will be available on a mobile device.” He said everything you do at Ritz Carlton has to be well defined. When you pay for a product, it better be a good product. “We are not in business to sell food. We are not in business to sell clothes. We are in business to provide service. And if we do that well, we can do anything.” He talked about the “Pledge” and Credo of Ritz Carlton, printed on the folded four-inch card. “We pledge to do our best everyday.” On a personal note, Humler advised: “If you want to be successful you have to take care of your personal matters.” Awfully truthful, he laughed and said: “My personal mistakes were probably made because of not listening to my wife.” He said he wished he had allocated more time to just family. “Thing that I don't do and should do more is to be a better planner for my family. You know my wife thinks my business is more important to me. But no, she is more important to me than anything.” He said he is getting better with time and takes time off for important events. Humler believes Ritz Carlton is still a dream in the making. “It's the journey not the destination. And it's a long journey. Create excellence. This is done by spending time with people.” Brimming with enthusiasm, Humler believes in “There's more to come.”
