by Kevin Sinclair

Ritz-Carlton president and COO Simon Cooper is allowing the brand let its hair down a little. He explains his philosophy to Kevin Sinclair
 

Ritz-Carlton is hunting hard for opportunities in Asia but, says the group's president and COO Simon Cooper, they are hard to find in the key cities where the US-based luxury chain would like to expand. The roll call of new Ritz-Carlton's scheduled to open in the next three years is focused mostly on North America, with others in Chile, the Caribbean and Berlin. Asia is noticeably absent. Why? "There are no suitable projects," explains Cooper, who was in the region last month heading a 20-strong sales and marketing delegation calling on key customers.

Simon Cooper

This doesn't mean the company does not regard Asia as vital for its future global development.

He would like to be in Phuket to balance the tremendous success of the Ritz-Carlton Resort in Bali, and something definite is about to be announced in the Maldives. 
But it is the big cities that gnaw at him. The Ritz-Carlton Osaka is so successful that he seems to be literally aching to get into Tokyo - but then those huge problems loom.

Cooper is frank and open when answering recent criticism of the group which appeared in the Wall Street Journal, accusing the brand of moving away from its core business of running spectacularly lavish hotels with signature decor based on refined elegance. 

Also questioned was its decision to branch out into timeshare-type structures and residential units, both labeled with the brand�s lion logo. Does this mean a basic change in the group� philosophy?

"Not one word of it," insists Cooper. "Not one word."
 

How about the new Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan�s Battery Park, which has 287 rooms in the hotel and condominiums on top. Does that dilute the brand? �No,� says Cooper, �that gets you into places where you otherwise couldn't have a hotel. The size of that property would call for about 800 rooms and, with just a hotel, it would not be feasible as a Ritz-Carlton. �It's good for Ritz-Carlton - we can get the right size hotel for the market - and the developers love it because they get quick return on investment by selling the condos. �The Manhattan project has just 11 apartments on

The Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park

Ritz-Carlton Clubs are another change from the strictly hotel format. He uses Aspen as an example: here, investors pay US$250,000 for two weeks use of their apartments in the peak season, and another two weeks off season. With houses in the resort area costing up to $3 million, many see this as excellent value.

But, Cooper emphasises, the core of the group remains strongly with hotels, and its portfolio now numbers 44 (28 city hotels and 16 resorts).

Some of the newer properties are different from the classic Ritz-Carltons which have graced central business districts in North America, Europe and Asia since the first branded property opened in Boston in 1983. (Ritz-Carlton likes to proudly date its provenance even further back, to the immortal Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz, who died in 1918.) 

Besides the original Ritz-Carlton, Boston also has the 192-room Boston Common, which is the new version of the modern, still elegant, but casual Ritz-Carlton. 

The company describes this evolution of the brand, with a lighter touch in furniture and a more casual feel, as "Nouveau Ritz, letting its hair down". 

The feel is contemporary and there's a relaxation of the dress code expected of guests. Colours are lighter and brighter and fabrics are less formal, while furniture has a slightly modernistic look.

Isn't this somehow a rejection of the classic style for which Ritz-Carlton is famed? 

�No, not at all,� argues Cooper. "Design needs to reflect your environment, and this is making people flexible in an elegant atmosphere," he says.

�The new disciplines of the information, computer and finance industries, as well as the young urban market, call for a more relaxed approach in some city hotels. In resorts, the decor must strive to make people feel comfortable wearing shorts in the lobby. But these changes of emphasis don't affect the basic values.

"In the end, the Ritz-Carlton philosophy remains simple. We build an absolutely outstanding property and staff it with absolutely outstanding people."