Ritz-Carlton President Simon Cooper talks economy, industry and luxury

by Melanie Nayer on

The term ‘luxury’ is synonymous with glamour, grandeur and extravagance, and often accompanied by a hefty price tag. But what if you were told you could travel luxuriously without breaking the bank? That’s the concept of Ritz-Carlton’s brand strategy, and more travelers are finding that ‘casual elegance’ means living it up without breaking the bank.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has been around for nearly 100 years and has set the gold standard in luxury hospitality worldwide. Its first hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Boston opened on May 19, 1927 with a room rate of just $15 – mere pennies in today’s pockets, but a stretch for those recovering during the Great Depression. Throughout its century-long life, the Ritz-Carlton weathered the economic storms and continued to provide a level of quality synonymous with luxury.

I recently spoke with Simon Cooper, president and chief operating officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, to get his thoughts on how luxury, by definition, has changed over the years, and I also got a sneak peak at what’s to come in the next 100 years for the Ritz-Carlton.

How has the luxury customer changed–do they want the bells and whistles or does price matter?

Simon Cooper: Obviously, consumers have less disposable income today than they had 18 months ago. Demand has been constrained and we have more vacant rooms than we used to have. In 2009, by comparison, we filled more rooms than in 2008, but the average rate was lower. The point being that people are still traveling and looking for luxury experiences.

The luxury customer has changed. First, there is less disposable income so people are more focused on what they spend. Authentic, real products are going to succeed. Second, there is a certain degree that people don’t want to flash their money around – a lot of people are suffering so others are asking themselves, “Should I really be doing this?” People are being a little more careful with their spending. From our point of view, we can live with that. We aren’t a see-and-be-seen place; our guests come to relax and enjoy time with their families.

The number one household expense annually is the vacation – we knew that 2009 was going to be really challenging and we looked ahead. Consumers are making a choice to stay with us and it’s not because the hotel down the street didn’t have space – right now, everyone has space. Our philosophy: if you’re going to take only one vacation, take it with us.

Has the Ritz-Carlton brand changed to keep in tune with the new generation of customers?

SC: We are more ‘casually elegant.’ It’s been a long journey, but we didn’t like what we were hearing, which was often ‘the most traditional brand in your space.’ We needed to be in a global space and as the traditional Ritz-Carlton guests were changing, we needed to shift off of their positioning.

It seems the Ritz is doing a lot of international development, specifically in the Middle East and Asia. Does that mean the development of luxury hotels in the U.S. is done for awhile?

SC: There is a trend – there aren’t a lot of places in the U.S. where you can say, “This needs to be a Ritz.” There aren’t a lot of gaps in the U.S. so we’ve been working internationally and we’re working to open two hotels in Shanghai in the next few months, and Cairo and Israel are coming.

Mr. Cooper shared with me details of the upcoming Kowloon [Hong Kong] Ritz-Carlton, which will rival Dubai’s Burj as the world’s tallest building. More on that later…

Meanwhile, the hotel business overall continues to weather the tough economic times. Earlier today, we announced the Ritz-Carlton Aruba resort, set to open in 2012, and the newest member of the family, the Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles at LA LIVE opens next month.

When it comes to luxury, The Ritz-Carlton has been the front-runner. While new hotels continue to pop up around the nation and globally, Ritz relies on its brand to be a success, and this brand is committed to doing it right.

Ritz-Carlton announces exclusive resort project in Aruba

by Melanie Nayer on

One “happy island” just a got a little happier…

Ritz-Carlton executives, together with newly elected Aruba Prime Minister Mike Eman, announced plans to open The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba, an exclusive 320-room oceanfront resort set on the island’s popular Palm Beach. The new resort, scheduled to open in 2012, will feature several restaurants, an on-site spa, two swimming pools and a 24-hour casino. The Ritz-Carlton Club Level will be available to guests who want a more private stay, complete with concierge service.

The announcement is one of a few new hotels scheduled to join the Ritz family this year. The focus: to bring a new level of elegance to Aruba, and keep the concept of luxury travel affordable.

“Aruba is an island destination with growing appeal to discerning travelers from Europe and the United States. Its stunning beaches and majestic views make the island one of those exceptional places in the Southern Caribbean, blending serenity and scenic attractions our guests seek when planning a vacation,” said Ezzat Coutry, senior vice president, Southeast Region, Caribbean and Latin America, in a press statement.


Aruba is one of the most visited islands for east coast travelers. Legacy carriers including American Airlines, Continental, and Delta offer daily flights to Aruba, and the emergence of JetBlue’s daily flights to Aruba have helped the happy island boost tourism efforts over the past year.

The Ritz-Carlton Aruba is the hotel group’s latest project in the Caribbean. Ritz-Carlton has hotels in St. Thomas, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, Mexico and The Bahamas. The hotel group will welcome the Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles at LA LIVE next month, and continues its expansion into the Middle East and Asia. Check back later for my exclusive interview with Ritz-Carlton’s President and Chief Operating Officer Simon Cooper…

Chocolate bars: Ritz-Carlton redefines classic desserts

by Melanie Nayer on

Some things are just necessary for survival, and some of those things come dipped in chocolate. There’s something to be said for the local delicacies in foreign destinations, and as Scott mentioned earlier, the Gadling team would travel around the world for their some of their favorite food. Me? I’ll take chocolate.

While few things will ever top chocolate squares from Belgium, or tiramisu from Italy’s hidden cafes and best restaurants, we can’t always get to our favorite places for our favorite foods. But, if you look close enough in your own backyard, you might be able to taste some of your favorite comfort foods without needing your passport. Enter: The Ritz-Carlton’s decadent chocolate bar.

I’ve made myself comfortable on many a Friday night at Boston’s Ritz-Carlton dining room with a glass of red wine and a plate of goodies from the hotel’s chocolate bar, so when I heard the Ritz was redefining their dessert menu I immediately went into panic mode. I caught up with George McNeill, Ritz-Carlton’s corporate chef, to get a sense of what the new menu will feature. Seems the chefs have taken a new approach to dessert and put a bit of flair on some of their local favorites. From English bread butter pudding to an All-American strawberry shortcake, Ritz-Carlton is giving our classic desserts a bit of a culinary makeover.Why the change? What was the motivation for reinventing the menu?
This is part of our overall strategic direction of making the Ritz-Carlton a more approachable dining experience – our goal is to have a market driven restaurant in every one of our hotels. “Classic Desserts Redefined ” is another example addressing the needs of our evolving customer. The motivation was that as we navigated our way through the economic downturn in 2009, we saw a clear gravitation from our guests to a popularity of more comfort items on our menus. “Classics”, by definition, are items that have stood the test of time and appeal to guest as much today as they have for generations we challenged our pasty chefs to submit their best “classic” dessert recipes, of which were eventually whittled down to what we have today.

The Ritz-Carlton is known for indulgence and luxury – how do these new creations fit within the theme?
In this instance, luxury and indulgence relate to the quality of the ingredients and the flavor profile of the desserts, they are rich and flavorful which translates into a satisfying experience. I believe that we will see an increase in dessert sales and that our guests indulge themselves in desserts that that they may have passed up on due to the recognition factor, if only from childhood memories.

What is your favorite new ‘classic’ on the dessert list? What is the one item you’ll never remove?
My favorite is Bread and Butter Pudding. it is something I have not seen on a menu for a very long time, it congers up childhood memories of sitting at the dinning room table with all of my brothers and sisters for Sunday dinner, which was the only day we had dessert with dinner. What item will never leave the menu? That is difficult to say only time will tell and our guests will be the judges.

My personal suggestion? Enjoy some quality time with the chocolate fountain, then order up some bread pudding, a hot cup of espresso (or the martini version, if you choose) and enjoy yourself a fine dessert on a Friday night.

Daily Pampering: Luxury Avenue in Cancun changes travel shopping completely

by Tom Johansmeyer on

What do you do when your wallet starts to itch? If you’re sunning yourself in Cancun, Mexico, have a car take you from your resort to the new Luxury Avenue. This new travel retail destination has brought together in one place such stores as Mont Blanc, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo and Zegna — creating a shopping experience reminiscent of South Beach or Cannes. Luxury Avenue is within striking distance of the area’s top hotels, including Gran Caribe Real, Ritz-Carlton and Le Meridien Cancun.

When you need a break from toting your bags around — or if you want to fuel up for a run through Luxury Avenue — stop by the Luxury Bar and Café on the mezzanine level; it’s open from noon to 9 PM. There’s always Veuve Clicquot on ice, but you can sip a great red instead, if that’s how you prefer to unwind. Sit back in a bright pink loveseat — courtesy of Veuve — and chill like the flute in your fingers. If you’re intent on working in the midst of this decadence, at least you’ll be able to hit the free high-speed internet access.

Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Update: Ritz-Carlton will open new luxury resort in Aruba in 2012

by Melanie Nayer on

Earlier this morning we posted an announcement that luxury hotel group Ritz-Carlton is expanding to its line of resorts and opening a 320-room resort on the Caribbean island of Aruba’s famed Palm Beach. Seems the news is a little premature…

We received a note from Ritz-Carlton letting us know that while there have been discussions, there has been no official announcement. As such, we’ve removed the post.

So, take the news with a grain of salt, folks… or a grain of sand, whatever you fancy, and we’ll be back soon with an update on the story.