Following a year of highly successful openings including new builds, the rebirth of two historic landmarks and the conversion of one of the world’s finest resorts, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world’s leading luxury hospitality company, enters 2018 with a remarkable list of openings planned, including the company’s first standalone residential project.
“Our singular focus is on luxury lifestyle, encompassing Four Seasons hotels and resorts, and increasingly, Four Seasons Private Residences,” says J. Allen Smith, President and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “For decades, Four Seasons has been synonymous with the highest standards of quality and service for luxury travellers, many of whom have now chosen to ultimately live at Four Seasons. We are now committing even greater resources to this priority.”
Strategic Priority: Four Seasons Residential
To support the company’s growing residential business, Paul White has been appointed to President, Residential at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Reporting to the President of Portfolio Management and Owner Relations, Michael A. Crawford, this newly created global role is focused exclusively on the company’s existing residential properties and the more than 30 projects currently in advanced stages of development, including working with owner partners to develop, design and market residential projects.
“Paul and his team oversee what we project will be USD 10 billion in Four Seasons residential sales over the next five years,” says Crawford. “Four Seasons is distinct in the market as we also manage our residential properties, thus ensuring world-class service for our homeowners. We are also the only brand with a dedicated residential team, a team that under Paul’s leadership will continue to evolve our offerings and provide owners with a luxury lifestyle experience that can only be found through Four Seasons.”
Since entering the luxury real estate business in 1985, the company’s portfolio of Four Seasons Private Residences, as well as its villa and residence rentals program, has grown to include 38 properties in 17 countries, and is set to double in the next five years. Twenty Grosvenor Square, a Four Seasons Residence in London, opening this year, will be the first standalone Four Seasons residential property, while approximately 80 percent of current hotel and resort development projects include a residential component.
Building on Success: 2017 Growth Highlights
Four Seasons opened seven hotels and resorts last year, including a second location in London at Ten Trinity Square, which realised the meticulous restoration of a historic landmark. Additional expansion took place in China, where the company opened its ninth location in this key market, this time in the port city of Tianjin.
In Surfside, Florida, architect Richard Meier’s and designer Joseph Dirand’s vision for reviving the historic Surf Club came to life as a Four Seasons hotel and residences, while the company’s first hotel in Kuwait is a modern marvel of architecture, art and design. The first Four Seasons in Tunisia also opened on a prime beachfront location just minutes from both urban attractions and major archaeological sites.
Late in the year, just one month after announcing plans to convert, Paradise Island’s legendary Ocean Club in the Bahamas debuted as a Four Seasons experience. In another Four Seasons first, the company expanded its mountain portfolio to Europe in collaboration with the Rothschild family with an all-new hotel in Megève.
