Seasonal service

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Nile view rooms offer backdrops of the Nile River or Zamalek Island.

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The Nile Plaza property has eight F&B outlets.

"Early on during our move into the Middle East, the Cairo owner wanted to see our (non-existent) training manual to discuss the contents since he felt that people would not have the ability to deliver in Egypt as in the rest of the world," says Corinthios.

Since that time, more than 250 staff have moved on from the Four Seasons First Residence to open other hotels both in the region and elsewhere, creating a mythology of the Four Seasons ‘college' in the Middle East.

Family feeling

But, with global expansion a priority, the willingness of staff to commit to Four Seasons and move with the company to new destinations has stood the group in good stead in challenging environments.

"When going to out of the way places, our ambassadors are vital," says FitzGibbon. "It helps that the staff holiday with us, as they have 12 days a year free at any of our hotels and 50% discounts on F&B."

This commitment to people as a resource, the creation of trust, an open line of communication between management and staff and a very real corporate family dynamic is apparent both back and front of house.

At the Four Seasons at the Bosphorus in Istanbul, for instance, a typical back of house environment includes the restaurant and internet lounge used by both management and staff; great ideas board; media board displaying articles written about the hotel; cartoons of the management adorning the corridors along with staff party photos; a world map showing all group hotels (also known as the holiday board); a library of management and training books.

There, the concierge in an average day had fixed some glasses, glued a pair of cuff links and sourced a musical instrument, as well as buying a novel for a guest who was in the middle of reading it but had left the book at home.

The result, according to general manager Marcos Bekhit, is that a warmth has been created by his staff in just nine months that is already exciting letters of praise from customers.

"These are coming in not just for the product, but for the employees," he says.

"As general manager, I spent 15 minutes with each member of staff, but in talking about culture and hotels, they have heard it all before and to build the culture, we have to build trust and respect. We have 450 staff, half of whom are new to Four Seasons, but I tell them all that we are like pieces in a puzzle that is not completed without one piece."

And while the commitment to nurture and evolve staff to intuitively deliver great service is a staple ingredient of the Four Seasons product, the only downside comes in the real world.

"We aim to treat others as we would have them treat ourselves, both guests and staff, but the challenge sometimes is when we leave the hotel at the end of the day and go in to the outside with its rough edges," says a hotel employee.

It's a feeling many guests experience too...

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