Global Traveler: Share with us your professional background.
William Fatt: From 1990 to 1998, I was chief financial officer of Canadian Pacific Limited (CPL), Fairmont’s predecessor company. In 1998, I joined Fairmont as chief executive officer, and in 2001, Fairmont became a publicly traded company. Since that time, we have been working to grow the brand throughout North America and abroad and build on our loyal customer base.

GT: Earlier this year, Fairmont began offering complimentary high-speed Internet access throughout its portfolio. What prompted this move?
WF: Fairmont has always prided itself on being a technological leader in the hospitality marketplace, and the brand continually strives to improve the guest experience by offering the finest technology products and services available.

Our decision to offer high-speed Internet access free of charge was primarily driven by members of our guest loyalty program, Fairmont President’s Club. They provide valuable feedback to us on a number of fronts and they were telling us that this service was no longer considered a luxury, that it had become a necessity during their travels. Moreover, the majority of business travelers view having quality high-speed Internet access as being on the same level as having a telephone in the guestroom.

In light of this and the fact that the Internet is so firmly ingrained in today’s society, making it complimentary is a natural step to rewarding our frequent guests and ensuring they are enjoying a productive stay at our hotels.

GT: Tell us about the Fairmont Gold product and how it’s been received to date.
WF: Fairmont Gold is a “hotel within a hotel” concept that’s designed for travelers seeking an enhanced level of service and a greater degree of personalization. For many of our clientele, it is a home away from home, providing them with an exquisite place to live, work and relax while simultaneously being pampered and attended to. It’s ideal for travelers who want to be pampered or who are looking for an added degree of individual attention, whether it’s making use of the floor’s dedicated concierge for last-minute arrangements or enjoying a great breakfast before heading off to their appointments.

The product has been a staple at many of our city center hotels for quite some time now. We have recently introduced Fairmont Gold floors at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, the Fairmont Orchid Hawaii and the Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston.

GT: Tell us about Service Plus and how it works, and cite a few examples of initiatives that have been a direct result of employee opinion and guest surveys.
WF: Our goal with any stay is to turn moments into memories for all of our guests. Service Plus is a fully integrated human-resource strategy that not only educates our colleagues about meeting and exceeding guest expectations, but also provides a framework for them to become actively involved in delivering upon the brand promise. From recognizing and rewarding outstanding colleague contributions to developing engaging orientation programs, Service Plus is about empowering our colleagues and unlocking the passion within them. We believe if we care for and nurture our employees, they will in turn nurture and care for our guests.

GT: Fairmont’s property portfolio includes some of the world’s most beautiful heritage hotels. The company seems to take pride in the renovations and improvements that allow these “grand dames” to maintain their period elegance while updating them to today’s high-tech standards. Tell us about that.
WF: The Fairmont collection is quite unique in the sense that many of the hotels are timeless classics. Hotels like London’s Savoy, the Fairmont Banff Springs and Québec City’s Fairmont Le Château Frontenac are all icons and possess a great deal of historical relevance, so it is vital to keep these properties modern while retaining their elegance, character and grand stature. Over the past five years, we have invested over $450 million in our collection.

To achieve a balance between the traditional and modern, we factor into each and every renovation project the brand’s pillars of warm and engaging service, authentically local product and unrivaled presence. Furthermore, archivists and historians are consulted to ensure we aren’t compromising the true nature of the property.