Interview with Kostas Christopoulos, Marketing director of  Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver

When Kostas Christopoulos came onboard as director of marketing at Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver in 2006, the luxury hotel and resort brand had only one property in Greater China, located in Hong Kong.

In China, as economy grows, demands on luxury market has expanded quickly. Four Seasons took the opportunity to expand in China. Nine years later, the Four Seasons has made its presence known along China’s flourishing East Coast, with hotels in Beijing, Guangzhou, Macau, two in Shanghai, Shenzhen and West Lake.

As China’s travellers come to Canada in droves, the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver is greeting them with the comforts of home. The Four Seasons is the only hotel in Vancouver with a separate Chinese kitchen that caters corporate events and weddings. Guests can indulge in braised bird’s nest with fresh crabmeat in broth, deep fried crab claw with prawn paste, shredded dried scallop and egg white fried rice, and stuffed ling cod in bamboo piths.

In May 2015, making a room reservation will be a snap, as the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver will launch their website in simplified Chinese. During their stay, tourists can explore Vancouver’s natural beauty by day, and relax and dine at YEW seafood + bar at night – the restaurant that put the city on the global culinary map.

Once affluent travellers from China get a taste of the Four Seasons experience in Vancouver, they may opt to take a round-the-world journey on the Four Seasons private jet, customized to their taste and travel desires. Tickets for a round-trip ticket start at nearly CAD $145,000 per person.

《Caifu Magazine》: Tell us about the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver. What makes this particular property unique?

Kostas Christopoulos, Director of Marketing at Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver: This property is in its 38th year, so we are very proud of that. This hotel is one of only two five-star properties in Vancouver, and one of only four in Canada. We have achieved the Forbes Five Star rating two years in a row.

The people [who work here] make the Four Seasons. Employees here have over 5,000 collective years of service to this hotel. When you think about the employees who started working at this hotel nearly 30-plus years ago, the Four Seasons has the most service years out of any hotel in the world.

Kate Colley, Public Relations Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver: One of the Four Seasons’ biggest strengths is our people, our service and our history. The ability [of our staff] to remember people, and to remember clients’ services goes a long way.

Kostas Christopoulos: We are always looking how we can be innovative. Throughout the year, we conduct lobby animation, such as bringing in local artists to display their artwork. We have collaborated with various local artists like the Blue Horse Gallery from Salt Spring Island.

Kate Colley: On the first floor Zen lobby, we display different art installations. Our current exhibit symbolizes the sustainable use of our ecosystem. The Four Seasons has found a group of artists who are in line with our views. The art downstairs is a series of sculptures that depict ravens and their role as scavengers in the waterways with salmon, which goes all the way out to the Rocky Mountains. The art ties to the history of Vancouver, and British Columbia.

《Caifu Magazine》: We are sitting here in YEW seafood & bar – an innovative restaurant with a unique twist on Pacific Northwest cuisine. Tell us more about the history of YEW. How are high-end restaurants in hotels changing the hospitality business?

Kostas Christopoulos: This hotel is also unique because of YEW, our fantastic restaurant – it is the heartbeat of the operation. When we did a renovation of the restaurant in 2008, it repositioned the Four Seasons as a contemporary product in the city. It is very vibrant. It not only helped us in the culinary industry, but also in the room side of our hospitality business. … I did not realize the restaurant would have such an impact on our overall business.

We rebranded our restaurant as a seafood restaurant – YEW keeps the property alive and vibrant. When you look at the interior of the restaurant, YEW is indigenous to the region. The wood interior is wood from B.C. We wanted to create an experience that while you are dining here at YEW, you are in the heart of B.C. The large glass wall behind the bar is also from B.C. – all the details are so important.

YEW is one of the top-producing restaurants and bars in terms of total sales and volume. It has created a lot of energy. When clients meet here, they see the energy here in this restaurant; they feel the buzz as they walk into the lobby … they want to be part of that. The impact has gone far beyond the restaurant in terms of the guest room side. From a culinary standpoint, it allows us to be fresh.

Kate Colley: For such a competitive food city, you have to be exceptional – more than just your food, but what you offer in terms of the experience, the vibe, the cocktails – everything. Since shifting to the seafood concept, there is a real appetite for that in the city. Our chef walks the walk, talks the talk – he is an ambassador for the sustainability movement. If you want the environment to continue, you have to be aware. You come to a restaurant, eat amazing food, and experience a great vibe while contributing to the sustainability movement. The chef has great energy, so that feeds off our on clientele.

《Caifu Magazine》: China is Vancouver’s fastest growing tourist market. How is the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver luring Chinese tourists – most particularly, the affluent traveler?

Kostas Christopoulos: The timing of this is perfect, as the Four Seasons website in Vancouver will go live in May 2015 to translate content into simplified Chinese to target Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong customers. As a brand, we are working globally to strengthen our presence in China. We are still relatively small in China, but we are growing aggressively. China is one of our biggest opportunities for growth, and we hope to increase our presence there in the next 10-15 years.

As China grows with hotels, that will benefit us here in Vancouver. We are the gateway to China. Our executive chef Ned Bell recently returned from a trip to China in March 2015, where Bell partnered with Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong on a culinary tour. This brought awareness to our hotel and our market.

Kate Colley: The culinary trip raised awareness for British Columbia and Vancouver, and proved what the city can offer in terms of trade, tourism and opportunity. While that Four Seasons connection is strong, we are trying to do even more. We are trying to establish Vancouver is a place to visit, as a place to do trade, and a place to consider when it comes to food, wine and hospitality.

Kostas Christopoulos: We have been seeing in the last year that a lot more Mainland Chinese affluent travelers are coming to stay at the Four Seasons. This is encouraging. At first, we did not see a big bump when the Canadian government gave preferred status to Chinese visitors coming to Canada. The Chinese website, along with our digital marketing and social media presence, will entice affluent Chinese travellers to stay at the Four Seasons.

The Four Seasons is the only luxury hotel in the city that has authentic Chinese catering products. The hotel hosts around 15 Chinese weddings a year. The hotel launched this service, complete with authentic Chinese cuisine and a banquet service in 2011.

Kate Colley: The Four Seasons has a customized Chinese kitchen with five high-turbo woks and steamers to produce authentic Chinese food with flavour and heat. It bridges what the Chinese market wants – the young want Four Seasons luxury, while the parents require food quality. We are the only hotel downtown who does this.

Kostas Christopoulos: Over 20 percent of our staff speaks either Cantonese or Mandarin. We are fortunate to have staff who speaks both languages.

We have a video of a Chinese wedding on our website to highlight our establishment as the perfect place to host a wedding.  This is our competitive advantage.

Kate Colley: In 2012, we started the Four Seasons Private Jet experience – it is an around the world trip. A traveler visits nine destinations with a concierge team, including Beverly Hills, California; London, England; Paris, France; Mumbai, India; and Sydney, Australia within 26 days. The tour is a blend between resorts and cities. People who have gone on these trips are very wealthy. These travellers can afford a private jet, but they want the Four Seasons travel experience.

《Caifu Magazine》: Four Seasons is one of the largest international hotels, resorts and chains in the world. How is the Four Seasons brand expanding internationally?

Kostas Christopoulos: The Four Seasons has 93 properties around the world. In 10 years from now, we hope to be double in size, including new builds and reflagging hotels. Some of our key markets are China and Latin America. In the Americas, we plan to open new properties in New York’s Financial District. We plan to have multiple hotels in the same city. In Florida, for example, we have several properties in Miami’s South Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. We will have four hotels in Florida within a two and a half hour driving range.

We grow in markets where we feel there is demand from the luxury traveller. In China, the Four Seasons has properties in Beijing, two in Shanghai, West Lake, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau, and Hong Kong. China has a billion people – we can have about 100 hotels in China to meet demand. When I joined the company in 2006, the Four Seasons only had one property there, but that was in Hong Kong.

Kate Colley: You can see the trend in China – the affluent Chinese community is the main driver for the development of the service industry in China. China boasts the tallest buildings with the best views. China is very competitive luxury market for us.

《Caifu Magazine》: The Four Seasons has become one of the strongest luxury brands in the lodging industry.  How would you define luxury?

Kate Colley: Four Seasons is a great brand that stands for luxury; stands for service. But there’s also that unstuffy, friendly aspect that allows people to work here to show their personalities; they are allowed to be empowered. It is the perfect blend of service that people really enjoy – whether that is in YEW or at the front desk.

《Caifu Magazine》: What is the Four Seasons’ vision for the future? How will the Four Seasons look by 2020?

Kostas Christopoulos: Our focus right now is to be the best luxury brand in the world. Our ability to grow and develop is a priority, as well as to maintain our quality of service and continue to innovate as a brand. Our priority as a brand is also to develop people internally. We will not compromise our service.

Think about what we have accomplished as a whole, offering amenities like bathrobes, slippers, remote controls for the television, shampoo bottles – these are all Four Seasons firsts. We have always prided ourselves as an innovative brand. We set the trend. Like Apple, we need to stay in front of the competition. In order to do that, we always need to be thinking and pushing ourselves ahead.