HOTELIER, MADAME LEO

Grace Leo is the award-winning founder of G.L.A Hotels based in Paris. She was the first women to serve on the board of the Leading Hotels of the World since its creation more than 80 years ago. An epitome of style reflects on career, business, and the meaning of boutique and savoir faire.

You’ve accomplished so much. What are you most proud of?

Grace Leo: Professionally, the landmark was when we owned and opened our first hotel in Paris, the Montalembert in 1990. It was the very first hotel where I actually had an ownership stake. More than that, it was the hotel that put me forward as a pioneer. I launched the boutique hotel movement in Europe, but I think that word has been overused. These days people associate anything that’s slightly off the beaten track as boutique, but a boutique is supposed to be a place where you buy things that are part of a limited series, not volume, not mass.

Personally, my masterpiece has to be my daughter Ceres who’s seventeen. I’m hoping that one day she’ll be involved in some way in the business, although I’m not putting on any pressure! Perhaps it will be by osmosis, since she’s been subject to it. She’s very savvy. She’s now in boarding school in Somerset, England, and I miss her terribly.

Tell us about one of your latest projects.

Grace Leo: We’ve signed on a hotel (nb. Vidago Palace Hotel), that’s an hour away from Porto in Portugal. It’s on 100 acres of land with a natural source of mineral water. ‘Vidago’ water dates back to the nineteenth century, and both hotel and water are going through a rejuvenation process. My excitement comes from the challenge of being involved in both the water and the hotel. The project has the potential to be very successful, and the hotel should open in 2010.

We’ve been contracted to handle the pre-opening phase, which includes providing all of the technical assistance and putting in place the management team, and thereafter, we shall operate the hotel.

What are G.L.A’s plans for future growth?

Grace Leo: The company has always grown organically. My strategy going forward is to keep developing the company so we have hotels that we both co-own and manage, instead of just selling our services. We’re looking at acquiring properties in Europe and North America, and would like to bring in equity partners, depending on the opportunity. Our strategy is quite opportunity driven.

As the daughter of hoteliers, you saw from a very early age how a hotel is run. What impressed you so much that you wanted to run your own hotels?

Grace Leo: Because my father co-owned a hotel in Hong Kong, I just developed a feel for it, by immersion. I’d also decided I wanted a career and was told that this would make a good career for a woman. When I was in Cornell, 50% of the student body were women, but interestingly, only 10% stayed in the business. Some got married; some stayed away or went into other sectors.

Why would this be?

Grace Leo: The industry was quite male-orientated when I started. It was hard to rise to higher levels of responsibility. The hours were very demanding. Of course, now people talk about work-life balance.

Do you regret anything about your career?

Grace Leo: No. I would say that even if I’d had to dream or imagine my career, I never would’ve thought it would happen like this. I am blessed. It’s part hard work, part destiny. You have to be able to sacrifice and prioritise.

You’re from Hong Kong, were educated in the States and have enjoyed a transnational professional career. How has all this shaped G.L.A’s approach and ethos?

Grace Leo: There are three components of my personal background that have helped form my personal philosophy and how I do business and restructure companies. I’m the product of a tri-culture – Asia, the United States and Europe.

In Asia, we have more of a service culture. We don’t believe it’s demeaning to give service, it’s a pleasure. In the States, I had an excellent education in Stanford University and Cornell, and the methodical way I was trained at both Inter-Continental and Sheraton have always stayed with me. Europe, where I chose to live my life, is where luxury, style and savoir faire were invented. It’s been so important to be exposed to this history of refinement.

All of this helps me to be more open-minded in business and to adapt to different cultures. That’s part of the key to success, particularly in a very changing environment. You have to learn to adapt and be very reactive. Having a work ethic is also very important, and you have to be able to motivate your staff.

They say that the 21st Century is Asian. Do you agree?

Grace Leo: Yes, it’s probably the case, and having my roots in Asia, I’ve always had a hidden desire to do something there, building up a whole separate division of Asian hotels. I can bring to the table the European savoir faire and style. If I could find an Asian partner, to develop in the upscale, mid-size hotel category, we could offer an alternative to the established big guys. I’d love to develop a new, younger hotel for this young Asian century.

It’s a challenging and uncertain time for everyone, not least the luxury segment. What are your views on this and what are you doing about it?

Grace Leo: The luxury end has been more affected than the mid-range, mid-price end. In fact, I’ve recently completely renovated and opened a four-star hotel in Paris called Jules, located in the up and growing neighbourhood of the 9th district. It was an experiment for G.L.A as we normally do very upscale hotels. The result has been very well received, by both customers and the press. It offers good value for money, which is correct in the times, and it’s allowed us to come up with the third product type we’ve done, which is casual chic. The other two types are true luxury – The Lancaster in Paris and the Royal Riviera in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, for instance – and what I call prêt a porter, such as the Bel-Ami in Paris and the Bairro Alto in Lisbon.

We never repeat what we do, either de

signs or themes. Jules is the type of work we’d like to reproduce in other cities.

What are the qualities of a leader?

Grace Leo: You have to inspire people and be able to motivate them. You should have a clear vision about how things should be in a timely and methodical way.

Are you a role model for women?

Grace Leo: Yes. I think I’m a role model not just for Asian women but women in general, certainly in the arena of the hotel industry. I’m often invited back to Cornell, and been a mentor.

Recently there was a TV documentary here in France on five different professional women, viewed by 7-8 million people. I was one of the five women, and they taped and followed me in several cities as I did my work. My episode had by far the best rating. I had lots of emails from women after that, which was quite touching.

Who inspired you?

Grace Leo: Three high-profile hoteliers. One is Robert Burns who created Regent. The others are Jorge Rafael who created Rafael Hotels, and Adrian Zecha of Aman Resorts. They all chose to create exceptional hotels and came up with unique concepts.

To find out more about G.L.A Hotels, visit their website on www.glahotels.com