It also sent a morale-boosting message to all employees, long-term and new, that we realized how important they were.

Rather than cut back on service by laying people off, senior managers took a pay freeze and asked their employees to vote on flex hours: working four days a week instead of five.

During cyclical downturns, we gave all staff members the hotel numbers and the big picture as we saw it—we didn’t try to cover anything up.

pleasing customers.

Our concierge was also a significant factor in the unusually early success of Four Seasons Washington:

Empowerment was synonymous with trust.

friendly staff remembered their foibles and anticipated their preferences.

quality, service, culture, and brand.

customers what they expect, meeting customers’ expectations every time. That’s performance, value.”