Leadership series: Marc Hediger

Tell us a little about yourself and your business.

I have had a great career in Hotel operations with HYATT Int'l (most part of my life) in various countries, as well as setting up a hotel company from scratch (HARDROCK Hotels ASPAC) plus switching into the corporate side with Shangri-La to take the group out of China and Asia worldwide as Senior VP of Development and finally landing a job as CEO with Lanson Hospitality which combined both worlds of operation & development. 

During COVID, I had set up my own company called HOTELmarcs  (hotelmarcs.com), which is a hotel, serviced apartments and restaurant and wellness consulting company to assist developers/owners to bring their projects to life.  HOTELmarcs name was born out of  the passion that "all the marks hotels" have left on me and impressed me with througout my career.

HOTELmarcs and my role as owner and MD of this consulting firm is to "help you make your mark with expertise and strategic support in all areas of hospitality" 

HOTELmarcs living & breathing hospitality is your resource to create, innovate and operate successful hospitality ventures“.

This goes for projects, operations, owner/developer referals, my networks as well as  career placements throughout the industry. 

What initially inspired you or sparked your interest to pursue this career?

I was born in Brazil, raised in the US and did my main schooling in Switzerland, where I also absolved the world famous hotel school in Lausanne, Ecole Hôtelière Lausanne, therefore growing up speaking several languages. 

My parents hosting many dinner parties we kids were always earning pocket money serving the invitees which was fun. My dreams to become either a pilot as every young boy has or being an ambassador or hotelier only became stronger wanting to see more of the world, use my languages (8 by now) and dealing with people of all kinds.  

I can therefore say I did become a Hotel Ambassador and I sure did fly around the world a lot, which made me truyly international or a citizen of the world as I call it.

What motivates you in your work and what do you find most fulfilling about being a business leader?

My passion and motivation in this business is one of exuberance always seeing and learning new things, as well as meeting interesting people to deal with and work with.  

Having this invaluable experience across many countries, hotels , projects as well as cultures gives me the knowledge and skills to be a mentor to colleagues and see them succeed, but also to take developers/owners by the hand and realise their dream project from start to operation. 

As I alsways say, no day is the same in hotel business, never a dull moment as so much can happen. 

What do you believe will distinguish the leading service providers over the next decade (e.g. niche market, luxury, sustainability, experience-driven, hybrid models…)?

Everyone wants a niche product , even the large chains are looking to offer a "lifestyle hotel" to differentiate from their normal look and feel that is expected in their main hotels.  

While today's customer is not necessary looking for a 'home away from home', they do want to live an experience that is memorable and that will have them returne because of so many reasons. 

It is not just design and slickness, but common sense that defines a good room, such as a small dining corner, rather than a desk (who has a desk at home in his room) or light switches that switch on/off the light you choose, rather than electronic boards that are confusing and irritating or one needs glasses to decipher.

Keep it simple and use materials that last and that are user friendly. 

Most of all however its the people making the difference in experience and will be the ones in demand and that make a customer want to return to a place, so not the material goods but the ones that really inject the soft touches to a stay. Employees who listen, anticipate and care can make all the difference in unfamiliar or familiar location, city or hotel. 

What skills or mindsets do you think will be most important for the next generation of leaders?

While my generation leaders throughout their careers showed stamina and perseverance, had vision and goals plus took action accordingly, today's generation must be more tolerant and patient in wanting to achieve success and good career goals.  It will be of great importance to be able to listen and be humble to one side and learn, rather than wanting to achieve fame in the fast lane. As I always say.

To learn the hotel trade it is best to have worked one's way up from any position like bell boy or waiter, etc… through the ranks and even understand and train in position one does not necessarily like or understand such as laundry or engineering (in those establishments that still feature these services in house) and same goes for front office, reservations and sales.  Customer knowledge, sales and finance will be always crucial for a GM to run his operation, but he also needs to understand how all disciplines work together as a choir. 

What is or are your biggest career achievement(s)?

My dream was always to run hotels, but also to conceptualise and build/renovate hotels and restaurants from greenfields to its completion. While that was the fun and easy job, to operate and fill the hotels and restaurants is where the most satisfaction comes in and I had many success stories to witness. 

So achieving a CEO role where one deals with all these aspects was most gratifying, although no efforts spared in any other or minor roles I played throughout my career. 

Of course one's biggest or final pitch is always to create something of their own which is why I called HOTELmarcs into life to apply all the DO's and DON'Ts in this fascinating field. I even worked for someone who specifically made us live by a manual which contained DOs and DON'Ts in design directionse, for example.

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?

First one can never learn enough and has never learned all. Second throughout my career working with people, guest  owners, consultants, government bodies, etc… one can always observe and absorb more and beyond one's own capacities. The importance is to put to good use and where applicable what one had in himself and learned from lessons in life, therefore HOTELmarcs for all the marks that hotels left on me/my career and experience.

One must be a good listener, at the same time have empathy and passion with a built in self drive to achieve.

No one is better than the other, with this view everyone has something to bring to the table that can make a difference or contribute to a leader's success, it can be a colleague’s suggestion, a customer's complaint turned into a compliment at the end of the stay. 

I recall having an old Englishman & family stying our resort hotel for 8 weeks with tons of books to read as they always ate in and never left the hotel, who complained about some services which we then addressed and that customer and family followed me over many decades to other hotels, other countries,  simply because of this one time making him a happy guest).

Have you achieved everything you wanted in your career so far?

I can definitely say yes, having my own company by now. 

Would I like to own my own restaurant, bar or hotel, etc… one day, still possibly? 

The passion is always there and am always curious on opportunities that arise, but I think having achieved and contributed to so many other of my colleagues & owners success stories and careers also gives me a certain satisfaction of having played my role right and made a difference in other peoples lives at the same time.

What values or behaviours do you consider essential for leadership teams today?

Never stop learning, you can never know it all. Listen and mentor, there is no bigger satisfaction than lifting people and being able to follow their success as alone you are never good enough. Therefore be humble and show patience with clear goals and vision in mind and of course the way to get there with appropriate action and /or critical path to be followed together and shared amongst the team.  

I do believe that our business does take a certain stamina one must have and is therefore sometimes not for everybody's taste.

What strategies have proven most effective for attracting and growing future talent?

When planning an operation or renovation or project, even in my mind I always know not only what it takes, but WHO it takes, be it the right talent from my network to bring in & hire, the perfect concept to be created from the multiple projects I was involved in,  the best designer or architect to chose that I met throughout my vast career, which all can only contribute to a winning formula, getting the right players on board from the start.

I guess my entire hotel & people experience contributed to that gift as it is the same for me when walking into a hotel or a restaurant, "I know what ticks and what does not".  

“Lessons learnt or HOTELmarcs left on my path“.