Four Seasons

ritual of the morning meeting.

Golden Rule became the core of what we would later call our culture,

it’s not what you do on your own; it’s how many people have come along with you to reach higher than their expectations ever were.

capping our share of ownership at a small percentage of equity, no more than $3 million to $6 million per property. This was based on a simple principle: invest no more than our hotel fees would give us over the first five years, an amount we could easily borrow on our management contract, and if more money to invest was required, we had the option

All people are equal in our eyes, whether guests or employees.

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.

the meeting begins with our guest relations manager, who recaps who is staying at the hotel.

first by hiring more for attitude than experience,

joked about it. As one of them said, “Look, they’re selling hamburgers and we’re selling filet mignon. How can you even compare it?” “I know what we’re selling,” I said. “I’m talking about how we sell it. Quality doesn’t necessarily mean luxury. It means