Providing the Sense of Belonging

Thibaut Drege has been the General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace in Budapest since January this year. He tells Diplomacy&Trade about the importance of creating bonding with the clientele who appreciate the prime location and comfort of the hotel but even more the friendly experience provided by the staff.

“This hotel is a gem in terms of architecture – a gem that I enter every day, looking around, marveling at the many details as I'm someone who loves art very much. I have the feeling to be working in a piece of art,” Thibaut Drege says in amazement. However, it is not only the building he is impressed by but also by Budapest. “This is a beautiful city with amazing history and architecture. I've been extremely surprised, in a good way, in terms of what Budapest has to offer. Actually, my experience has been the same as that of most of our guests telling us how much the city and the hotel have surpassed their expectations. So, I'm personally extremely happy to be here, really proud of working in such a beautiful environment with such an amazing hotel team.”

Not a copy-paste hotel
The Four Seasons Budapest has become one of the best meeting places in Budapest, where politicians, businessmen and celebrities like to sit down for a coffee. The General Manager attributes this to the identity the hotel possesses. “You are not coming to one of these copy-paste hotels that could be anywhere. This is a hotel with a history, with an identity. I believe it is not only the quality of service but also how personalized we are and how detail-oriented we're going to be. This place radiates the feeling of belonging, belonging to people staying in such hotels such as Four Seasons. Both the hotel and the city have great history and we are here to create the history of tomorrow.”

Paris experience implemented
Thibaut Drege arrived from the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, the flagship of the hotel chain. He believes that it is not only one of the best hotels of the company but one of the best hotels in the world. That is due not only to the people there, it's also about the willingness to reach one’s best potential. “This is what I'm bringing here in Budapest to a hotel, which has already been extremely successful and has had great talent as well. The Four Seasons Hotel George V offers an excellent wine selection, for instance. Then, how about the superb wine selection we have here in Budapest? I was extremely surprised to find some of these wines, which even in France are sometimes difficult to obtain.”
He adds that based on his Paris experience, he is to bring the whole team and this whole hotel to further heights “as we really need to ensure that we reach excellence and we stay relevant in a very dynamic market by which I don’t mean Budapest and Hungary only but the luxury market in which we don’t need to follow trends – when we are working in such an environment, we create trends!”

Prime location with identity
The Gresham Palace, housing the Four Seasons Hotel in Budapest, is not just another 5-star establishment. “We are not only a hotel, here you see people stopping by to visit the building. Being right in front of the Chain Bridge, overlooking the Buda Hills – this is the prime location. I love architecture and I can say that this Art Nouveau building is a gem, which has a very strong identity and I think more and more of this is what people are coming to see. Of course, it's easy to build beautiful hotels if you have the money. However, having the chance to operate something, which has a strong identity, a strong personality as this building has, is something completely different. There are small stories here like the one about the architect who was in love with one of the tenants of the building. Just look around, there are hearts everywhere. I think these are small things that make this hotel even more interesting,” the General Manager points out.

Bonding with the clientele
A good hotel does not only provide accommodation but also culinary specialties. KOLLÁZS in the Four Seasons Hotel in Budapest is a vibrant and contemporary European brasserie with a brand-new gastronomic concept. For Thibaut Drege, it is of key importance that they are not operating a restaurant for the hotel guests only but they want it to be enjoyed by the local community as well. “Our guests in the hotel are looking for a genuine and authentic experience within an environment where they are not only surrounded with international travelers. We celebrated the anniversary of KOLLÁZS this June and it was amazing to see it completely packed – none of our regulars would miss such a celebration! Indeed, there is also a clear and strong bonding with our clientele and the restaurant. Food and beverage being extremely important, creating a gastronomic destination, whether it's a restaurant such as KOLLÁZS or a bar such as the Múzsa, is also key to attract travelers.” Going back to identity, he reiterates to have a clear and strong concept that people are going to be interested in. “Most of the time guests don't tell me they love the hotel because of the great view or the amazing location or because beds are so comfortable. Of course, they value that, but what they tell every single day is how the team went beyond expectations to make sure that they provide an exceptional service and an exceptional experience.”

Competition helps
In the near future, the range of 5-star luxury hotels in Budapest will be expanded with the W and then the St. Regis but that competition does not seem to worry Thibaut Drege at all. He feels very much optimistic and safe, saying that this is an opportunity because those brands are also going to bring a lot of their own clients who are going to actually enjoy, discover the city and promote with ‘word of mouth’ what Budapest has to offer. “The presence of luxury hotels within a certain space is not about stealing guests from each other but it's really about working together to promote the actual luxury destination. I think St. Regis, for instance, is actually going to help us to continuously position ourselves into that very luxury segment and also to promote Budapest, which is still not recognized at the level as it should be. If there are more luxury high-end guests coming to the city, most likely there will also be more luxury players, such as retail brands, appearing here, which is going to be very good for the city, and thus, very good for the Four Seasons.”
He stresses once again that the beautiful building of the Four Seasons hotel would not be enough without a highly engaged team aiming for excellence and that he will definitely strive to be the best in the city with the team he has here. “It is them who have built the success of this hotel for 20 years and who are extremely engaged in the future of the success of this establishment, embracing the philosophy of this company. It is the same story in Paris where there is so much competition with amazing hotels opening there. Some of our guests went to try these out but they all came back. The same in Budapest: our guests, when I meet them, they don't talk to me about the comfort of the bed, the view, etc. but rather about team members who remember them and take care of them during breakfast every day, or the room attendants who had some small gesture showing that we care and that we really aim to go beyond the expectations. Our guests come back because of these people.”