Page 71 - The New Gold Standard

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younger element out there. Ritz-Carlton is never going to be all
things to all people. It’s going to be a little bit pricey for many
people in their twenties, and for some in their thirties.”
“But even then,” Robert continues,“I have a lot of clients who
have done well in the world of investing who are in their thir-
ties, approaching 40, and they stay at Ritz-Carlton. Those are
the hotels they have frequented while on business, and they want
their families and children to also enjoy the experience. In some
ways, the challenge for Ritz-Carlton is similar to that of Cadil-
lac. For a while young people thought of a Cadillac as being the
car of a prior generation. Both Cadillac and Ritz-Carlton have
had to change in order to appeal to an increasingly younger cus-
tomer, without losing the traditional guest. Times change, and
we must change with the times. Ritz-Carlton recognizes that.”
Yet changing markets don’t require dramatic departures
from current offerings as many business owners fear. Mark Fer-
land, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Orlando, Grande
Lakes, says, “A customer once commented to me, ‘So this Ritz-
Carlton is going away from the traditional and going to the con-
temporary.’ In our business, people often look at things from an
either/or mentality. The designs of our hotels today emerge from
a ‘sense of place.’ For example, in Bachelor Gulch, Colorado,
you check in and there’s a beautiful fire going with a Labrador
retriever sitting next to the fire. That is right for Ritz-Carlton in
a ski resort area, but it would be wrong at the headwaters of the
Everglades. As a company, we have learned to look at each hotel
from the point of view of that hotel’s customer.”
Mark continues, “That’s why, if you go to New York City,
in Central Park the guest expects a bit more traditional style
hotel. But when you go to Battery Park, which is in the finan-
cial district with a different clientele, there is a more contempo-
rary look. I think our president, Simon Cooper, says it best. He
calls it ‘comfortable contemporary.’” The market shift has gen-
uinely afforded Ritz-Carlton the breadth to offer a “comfortable
contemporary” feel without compromising its core elegance.

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