Four Seasons Hotels Case Study

The Four Seasons Hotels are a chain of deluxe hotels and resorts with a 45-year tradition of elegance and superior customer service. The Four Seasons is no. 88 on Fortune's list of the 100 best companies to work for, notably because "Rewards are big here: Each location has an employee of the month, and the employee of the year gets $1,000, an all-expense-paid trip for two, and an extra week's vacation" ("88. Four Seasons Hotels"). The New York Four Seasons Hotel alone is an award-winning hotel that was voted "North America's best" according to 2008's UltraTravel Magazine ("Welcome to New York"). As the photos of the New York hotel's entrance and one of its restaurants (below) indicates, the hotel's style is marked by massive scale, clean lines, and elegant d�cor.

Known for their beauty, elegance, and tranquility, Four Seasons' hotels and suites such as the one pictured below provide an oasis of comfort and service for high-end travelers.

The company's presence, both here and abroad, includes brick-and-mortar hotels in 31 countries on every continent, as well as a web site at http://www.fourseasons.com/ (Staley). Hotels exist in such exotic locales as Bali and Hawaii, as well as in major metropolitan cities, and even in more obscure locations such as Jackson Hole, Wyoming ("Worldwide Directory"). Its own web site hails the company's history as "a tale of continuous innovation, remarkable expansion, and a single-minded dedication t

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ch in every aspect of its complete renovation" (Rielly). This hotel is "entirely self-sufficient" thanks to its use of two diesel generators to create all of its own energy and ceramic tile floors constructed with integrated radiant heat plus sound and heat insulation (Rielly). The Four Seasons Hotels are not for the light of pocketbook, and some of their suites are notably expensive. The "Ty Warner Suite on the 52nd floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, for example, boasts waterfalls on the walls and a crystal sink, as well as a round-the-clock butler (Tyler). The butler, Johannes Walz, states that "Everything is custom made or chosen individually to complement" (Tyler). At $34,000 per night, the suite is not for everyone, but international businessmen and financiers-those that "won't have to scrimp because of the economic downturn"-find it perfect (Tyler). Four Seasons' spokesperson Leslie Lefkowitz comments that "The individuals who would stay in a suite like this are probably the last people to be affected," noting that "There are always going to be economic changes and downturns, and with that will always be that very small handful of people [who] can afford it" (Tyler). Thus, with its higher-caliber

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