An interview with François Delahaye, General Manager of the Plaza Athénée in Paris and COO of the Dorchester Collection

By Katia Kulawick-Assante

-What are the challenges facing a luxury hotel like the Plaza Athénée in Paris today?

The ever-increasing number of hotels in the luxury segment! Everyone’s getting into the hotel business these days… Anyone who makes a fortune – whether in retail, IT, fashion or manufacturing – invests in the hotel industry once they’ve sold their company, for tax reasons. So there’s a lot of competition, the biggest of which is undoubtedly Airbnb, which has made it possible for the most incredible flats in Paris to be rented out, managed by concierge services, complete with private services and chefs. It’s important to realise that these competitors aren’t subject to the same social, hygiene or safety regulations as the hotel industry. We are taxed and penalised at every level, and I feel that the competition created by policymakers is somewhat skewed. Some cities, such as New York and Barcelona, are beginning to ban this type of rental, having realised the harmful effects they have on the hotel industry. European laws and regulations are also causing us a great deal of harm. We are constrained in every way – sometimes French laws even go further than European ones – because politicians want to be more royalist than the king! Then there are all the digital online booking systems, the OTAs (Online Travel Agencies): we’re up against a growing Google, and platforms like Hotel.com and Booking.com, which manage to attract customers by displaying prices lower than standard hotel rates. It’s mind-boggling. We were the first to get involved, even though we shouldn’t really be letting them operate, but as it brings in revenue, everyone in the hotel industry uses them. They have so much money that their reach is global. Thanks to them, I’ve had guests from countries I didn’t even know existed! That said, every challenge gives rise to new opportunities…

Do you mean that, these days, guests book the Plaza Athénée via Booking.com?

Absolutely, just like the other platforms. There’s been a total liberalisation of the booking networks: 40 years ago, people travelled to the same places their parents used to go, from father to son, staying at the same hotel. These channels have been on the market for 30 years now. I’ll give you a concrete example of how this puts us at a disadvantage: wherever you stay in a hotel around the world, you have to hand over your passport and your credit card, whereas on Amazon, you register your credit card, click, buy and that’s it – you can do it over and over again. But how is this possible for Amazon and not for a hotel – given that we’re not allowed to store personal data, credit card details, and so on? Especially as these platforms are based in the United States or Ireland and don’t pay tax in France. What’s happening isn’t right, but obviously, politicians aren’t going to get involved in this. The Plaza Athénée has 600 staff, Le Meurice has 400. We try to do our job well and be at the forefront of social responsibility because we genuinely believe that retaining a member of staff for 20 or 30 years is a real benefit for the hotel and its guests. We really look after our teams. During the Covid pandemic, both Dorchester Collection hotels in Paris retained their entire workforce: this cost us a great deal, but as soon as the revenge travel boom hit in 2022–23, we were ready, and business went very well.

One could draw a parallel with fine dining: the higher the standard of quality, the more, paradoxically, profitability is fragile. That, in fact, is the whole paradox of fine-dining restaurants…

The problem is that we are victims of our own professionalism; in other words, all chefs are paying ever greater attention to detail on the plate, but ultimately the customer simply wants to have a good time and enjoy impeccable service. Only 10 per cent of customers pay particular attention to the level of sophistication and refinement of the dishes. What they want above all is to go to a nice place and say, ‘I’ve been there’. To be able to answer when asked, ‘Have you been to such-and-such a restaurant?’. People with a bit of money feel they simply must have been to the latest trendy restaurant in Paris. It’s no longer about loyalty to a particular place; we just hop from one trendy spot to the next… Just like on our phones, we’re constantly switching channels! Modern life doesn’t encourage loyalty.

-What commitments do luxury hotels have today?

My children and grandchildren are urging me to save the planet: we have no choice! Young staff joining the hotel ask us what we’re doing for the planet. We’ve introduced numerous everyday measures: we offer guests the option of having their sheets changed only every other day, whereas previously that would have been unthinkable in a luxury hotel. All food waste from the kitchen is turned into compost. Recyclable soaps and toiletries are sent to a support centre for women in difficulty. In the luxury sector today, everyone must take the bull by the horns; we can no longer wait to take action.

-What trends are you observing in the expectations of international travellers?

They come in search of their own idea of France: Versailles, Louis XV furniture, Regency-style chests of drawers… A very modern hotel isn’t what they expect from Paris, and the answer in luxury hotels is, of course, the service, but also the décor: the curtains, the trimmings, the mouldings… you’re already in Paris the moment you open your eyes in the morning. Then there’s the uniform. Recently, at a meeting of hotel managers, I was the only one wearing a tie. Half of them were wearing suits with trainers. I think guests who come to this sort of establishment expect a certain level of class, even though, of course, things are changing: in the past, you wouldn’t have been allowed into a fine-dining restaurant without a jacket and a tie – and certainly not in trainers. Until the day we realised we were has-beens… People would say, ‘I’m not coming’ because they found it a bother to get changed. And who are we to tell people how to dress? These days, you still need a jacket for a gourmet dining experience. We try to maintain a certain standard. To do this, we’ve introduced a hostess in the evenings, wearing a long dress, to send a message: this is the Plaza; you don’t turn up in trainers, even though, of course, we can’t put ‘smart dress required’ at the entrance…

-What has been, for you, the finest compliment you’ve received at the hotel from a guest?

It came from Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent’s partner: When I first arrived at the Plaza Athénée, neither of them ever made a booking. They’d turn up at the Relais Plaza or the Galerie and their table would be ready. Then one day, Mr Bergé said to me: ‘Mr Delahaye, in the three years you’ve been here, I haven’t had my table anymore – there are too many guests!’ I replied: ‘Thank you, that’s the greatest compliment I’ve ever received!’

-There are many records for long service at the Plaza Athénée. Do you think this is a trend that will continue?

Our longest-serving employee, Jean-Pierre Kempf, celebrated 48 years with the hotel last year. A lifetime! I myself have been working at the Plaza Athénée for 26 years. Laurence Bloch, the General Manager, has been here for 25 years. It’s true that we have a fairly long average ‘tenure’ at the Plaza Athénée. Nowadays, we’re dealing with a new generation that’s more transient, although we can’t generalise. There are some passionate people. There are others who haven’t improved simply because they’ve been here a long time. In the past, you’d join a company and build a career there, but those days are gone. The new generations we recruit are only looking ahead one or two years, no more. What’s more, they’re very concerned about their wellbeing and their working hours: they ask us whether they have to work on Sundays or Christmas Day, and they question their work-life balance, whereas previous generations – and I include myself in that – didn’t ask questions: we just did what we were told to do. Our children have become more demanding. This is partly the result of our efforts – as parents – to have spoilt them so much. But when it comes to retaining staff, there’s no secret to it: first of all, you have to pay employees well – we’ve put systems in place to pay them above the market average; otherwise we wouldn’t be able to keep them, as finding somewhere to live in Paris has become impossible. Secondly, you must respect them, treat them well and provide them with training to help them develop.

On the dining front, the hotel has recently introduced a host of new features…

Quite so. Jocelyn Herland is the executive chef, which means he oversees all dining operations at the Plaza Athénée. He had earned three Michelin stars at the Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester restaurant in London before taking charge of the kitchens at Le Meurice, which holds two Michelin stars. He is joined at the fine-dining restaurant by Anthony di Prospero (formerly of L’Orangerie and Le V at the George V, and L’Espadon at the Ritz). Finally, this spring we had the pleasure of welcoming chef Victoria Boller (formerly of Les Lyonnais and Le Grand Véfour) to the Relais Plaza – the first woman to head up the brasserie – to revitalise the menu at this restaurant so beloved by Parisians!

-Can you share an anecdote or a memorable experience you’ve had at the hotel?

There are so many… We organised an evening for Vogue magazine and I had to ask Dolce & Gabbana to kindly leave the premises as their outfits weren’t in keeping with the elegance and discretion of the occasion. One day, I learnt from a guest that HBO was looking for a location in Paris to film the final two episodes of a series called ‘Sex and the City’. I had a small linen cushion made, presented in a pretty box, with the hotel’s logo embroidered on one side and, on the other, the phrase in red: ‘Do you want to sleep with me tonight?’ – just like the Lady Marmalade song – and sent it to the production team. We secured the shoot, which took place in 2003. For the first time, the hotel lobby had been taken over, and we asked our guests, as a one-off, to leave via La Galerie. One of our guests, Princess Lalla Meryem, sister of the King of Morocco, was outraged by this, and I replied, ‘I’m sorry, we’re filming for an American TV series – I don’t think you’re familiar with it, but it’s called Sex and the City.’ ’ She replied, ‘Is Carrie Bradshaw here? Can I meet her?’ That day, Darren Star, the producer, who was also present, decided to shoot part of the film – planned for after the series – in Morocco. The princess was over the moon. I’ve got other anecdotes that are far less funny: one night, slightly tipsy, Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito asked the concierge for a pen, went up to the 8^th floor, went round all the floors and added a prune juice to every breakfast order hanging on the bedroom doors. The next morning, we ran out of prune juice – panic in the kitchen! But in a hotel, every day we experience absurd, amusing or challenging situations; it’s life in a small… chic town. But what happens in Paris stays in Paris!

-How did you discover the world of hospitality?

I was very bad at school. Between the ages of 0 and 15, all I ever heard was ‘you’re rubbish’, ‘you’re not focused’, ‘you don’t understand a thing’, ‘you’re not trying hard enough’, and so on. So I was convinced I was no good and was ready to accept my life as a failure, if everyone agreed – my teachers as well as my parents. I lost my father when I was 13, and my mum sent me to work in the kitchen of a restaurant over the summer. I was peeling carrots, and one day someone said to me, ‘Hey, that egg and mayo dish of yours – the customer said it was really very good.’ I gained some self-confidence, and it’s true that those first words really encouraged me. I realised I have a bit of a quirk: I love helping people. And when I’m recruiting, I like to ask: ‘What do you do when you have guests at home? The day before: do you go to the market, do the shopping, set the table?’ That way, I can see whether people enjoy making others happy or not. It’s important in our line of work. The world has become a bit self-centred, and people aren’t necessarily keen to make an effort for others. If you don’t give, you don’t get anything in return.