Four Seasons founder Isadore Sharp reflects on 65 years of luxury hospitality

TORONTO · Isadore Sharp is celebrating 65 years since he founded the Four Seasons hotel brand, which now operates 140 hotels in 47 countries. The 95-year-old chairman emeritus said the company is poised for its greatest era under current leadership. He reflected on the brand's legacy, its culture of service and the unexpected business boost from a popular television series. Sharp said he remains content with his life's work and confident in the company's future. "We're on the threshold of what will be Four Seasons' greatest era," he said of current CEO Alejandro Reynal. Sharp retains an advisory role with the company's controlling shareholders, noting, "I know they want my opinion and abide by it."

The founder is working on a personal history of the company for his family. "Recently I started working on a very thin booklet recording the history through my eyes," Sharp said. "I'm doing that for my future generations, my great-great-grandkids. I decided I would record my involvement and how Four Seasons became what it is." He plans to share it with senior company officials and leave its distribution to his sons.

Sharp identified the Inn on the Park in London, now the Four Seasons London at Park Lane, as the brand's most important property. "That hotel changed my career," he said. "That was the third hotel and it became the prototype for all future hotels. What we accomplished in that hotel gave me a clear insight into how I thought we could compete." The hotel opened in 1970.

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The founder discussed the impact of the HBO series "The White Lotus," which filmed at several Four Seasons locations. "The popularity of the hotels where the TV show filmed soared," Sharp acknowledged. He noted, however, that such boosts are temporary. "Well, it does [improve business] in the short term [but] it's not something you can rely upon. It's what happens day in, day out, building a reputation, that is sustainable."

Sharp said he was not a fan of the show's final season. "The last part of it was just terrible. I said, you know, No, that's it," he remarked. "The beginning was lighthearted and sort of a spoof of things. And even when they got into a spoof on sex, it was funny and that was no big deal. But then it took a turn."

He reiterated that the company's competitive advantage has always been its service culture, based on the golden rule. "We got to a point in time when I said that service is going to be our competitive advantage," Sharp said. "Architecture and decor are not what luxury will be all about, it will be the quality of our service and we should be able to distinguish ourselves." He said this philosophy applies to every employee.

"All the employees, not just the general manager, must abide by it. Everybody," Sharp said. "The person working in the steward department, washing dishes, the waiter, the doorman. Every individual must agree it's their responsibility to do what they can to make the guest experience memorable. Culture based upon the golden rule gives everybody a clear message."

Sharp believes hospitality remains a growth industry, even with advances in technology. "Yes, it's a growth industry. And I think we'll always be a growth industry," he said. "Because as good as technology can be, I'm not sure AI is going to change much more in travel. Hospitality is a huge industry, which I think won't be outdated or become obsolete even with AI."

When asked for his favourite Four Seasons location, Sharp gave his standard reply. "To this day, it's the same answer: The hotel I'm in is the favourite of the day," he said. "Remember, I've been responsible for creating every hotel. I know it from the beginning. When I'm in that hotel, it truly is the favourite because it brings back all the memories."

Sharp and his wife Rosalie have three surviving children, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, none of whom work for the company. "All the kids found what they feel they are best suited for," he said. "Working in the company has no meaning to me or Rosalie. It's better they find what they can do. So that's why I say, we are both content."

With files from The Globe and Mail