Global Hotel Alliance x Regent Seven Seas Cruises - 4
Sunday at the annual CEOs’ meeting of Global Hotel Alliance GHA on Regent Seven Seas’ Splendor started with breakfast as usual, although it was Regent’s Sunday breakfast as usual (well, this company does have a Chief Luxury Officer, Jason Montague, above). For those who wanted it, say Girlahead and UltraTravel boss Nick Perry, black and red caviars, with blinis and all the trimmings, were added to the buffet offerings, along with perfectly chilled Billecart-Salmon, one of France’s very best family-owned Champagne houses.
Thereafter it was hard work day, kicking off at 8.30am. New member brands, including from Morocco, Turkey, Japan and Poland, introduced themselves. There were two speakers, a Columbia Business School prof, Rita Gunther McGrath, on strategy and innovation, and a laid-back Irishman, Trevor McFarlane. There was also one clever game. Six teams were given five minutes (after 45 minutes’ thinking) to propose to the two speakers how they would spend $100million to enhance GHA.
Next tranche of the day was awards, as always with GHA intertwined with sport. Yes, Wimbledon had kept one spouse glued to a television set back home and absolutely essential World Cup matches required several addicts to keep awake until the nightly 2am start, but a live sports celeb was on hand. Nice-based Arthur Guerin-Boeri, looking like a Hollywood basketball player, described some of his numerous extreme swimming worldies, say 105m under ice, no wetsuit… He then handed out numerous awards. Amongst the many accolades, Lanson Place Melbourne was best new hotel, Doyle Collection was most improved brand, Wharf Hotels was best brand. Capella Bangkok was best hotel according to readers of GHA’s symbiosis Ultratravel, and web/app best hotel was Tokyo’s Groove, a Parkroyal Hotel.
Choe Peng Sum, who heads Parkroyal’s parent Pan Pacific Hotels Group, received exceptional CEO Contribution. Finally, to her total amazement GHA handed out its first-ever lifetime achievement award, to Mary Gostelow, for travel journalism.
Finally, to dinner back at Compass Rose, another clever seating plan, choose your food and Burgundy en magnums. Rugby coach and renowned oenologist Jean-Christophe Gallois presented Corton Charlemagne David Moret 2023 and Domaine Faiveley Latricières Chambertin 2022, and postprandially activities included turning the Splendor Lounge into an after-party.
Even after only two nights at sea landlubber hoteliers had quickly adjusted to laws of the sea. Onboard by a stated time or you’re left behind. Tonight, get your bags in your corridor before midnight or you’ll be carrying them off yourself when the ship docks in Monte Carlo tomorrow morning…. And so the dream was coming to an end. What an action-packed worthwhile time it was. Ten out of ten for business and pleasure, and everyone stayed to the bitter end. At sea there’s no escape.
