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Langham’s Leser plays up the pink: ‘Know who you are’

GOSTELOW REPORT—”There must be a twinkle, a playfulness, to make consumers remember you, and to motivate the team,” says Stefan Leser, CEO of Hong Kong-based Langham Hospitality Group, whose two brands, Langham (baby pink) and Cordis (orange) are easily identified by their distinctive hues.

Every niche group that is not part of a global behemoth, or even such a consortium as the Global Hotel Alliance, needs a distinguishing characteristic, but is color enough? The Peninsula has its easily recognizable dark green, but is baby pink a solid statement, especially when the company is led by a highly serious German who is known to be somewhat shy?

Langham Hospitality Group CEO Stefan Leser in professional mode
Langham Hospitality Group CEO Stefan Leser in professional mode

“We do not take ourselves too seriously,” he replied.

Langham Hospitality’s portfolio currently consists of 16 Langham Hotels & Resorts (which includes four labeled Langham Places) and five Cordis Hotels & Resorts – there are two other owned properties, kept independent but benefiting from the company’s distribution and operations. Of the entire portfolio, 11 are totally owned, one is a joint venture and 10 are managed. Typically, Langham division hotels see an average daily rate 30% above a Cordis property. The pipeline is 20 signed contracts, of which 17 are not owned.

“I have what many luxury brands do not, namely properties in such key cities as Boston, Chicago, New York, plus London and Hong Kong, that we own. Because we are owners we understand how to deliver returns, which encourages others to ask us to manage their properties. This is especially relevant in China, where many investors have a hankering for anything that is connected to London and England,” he stated.

Langham, the group, is quoted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange but 51% of shares are held by the Lo family’s Great Eagle Holdings. Great Eagle Chairman Lo Ka Shui, a U.S.-trained nuclear cardiologist, is, like many of his compatriots, an anglophile, and the hotel company is named for The Langham Hotel, London, itself called after an 18th-century baronet, Sir James Langham.

“I think associations and partnerships are good for everyone, but you must know who you are and who you are not. We are proud of our English roots and it therefore made sense to partner with the best-known brand of ‘Wellington’ boots, Hunter – even though the company, which took inspiration from the boots worn by the Duke of Wellington, was founded in 1856 by an American, Henry Lee Norris, in Edinburgh, Scotland,” explained Leser. The footwear company produced the color exclusively for sale by The Langham Hotels & Resorts, and hotels in Australia and Hong Kong sold out very quickly. There are only a few pairs left in London and at the U.S. hotels.

“In some destinations, where it is allowed by local regulations, our hotels have house cars that are seemingly genuine ‘London taxis,’ in pale pink, of course. Hotel guests and local passers-by really make use of the Instagrammable moments with our house-car taxis in Boston, Chicago, Melbourne, Sydney and, in China, in Haikou, Hefei, Shanghai and Shenzhen.”

Another surprise is that Leser is a decathlete, with skills ranging from discus, his nadir, to high jump, his top discipline. At work, he transfers this multi-skilling to managing many silos simultaneously.

On the universal talent crunch, he is not worried: Langham is not cookie-cutter; hotels’ MDs enjoy high levels of autonomy and inspiration. Everywhere, they motivate staff, totaling over 8,000 in number, who are attracted by authenticity and the opportunity to shine in the Langham family – “this is a company that stresses the human side and anyone in the company is a telephone call away from me,” said Leser.

He knows he has loyal hotel customers who do not come to Langham to show off: They like the fact that the brand seems like a family (first-timers are attracted not by consortia but by advertising, social media and the company’s own site). On the future, he is even more ecstatic. “In five years’ time we will be opening our San Francisco hotel, which is designed by Renzo Piano. Yes, this Hong Kong-based company, run by a German, will add Englishness to an Italian-designed hotel in San Francisco,” said Leser, quietly.

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