Spring 2019

57 Jan19182 World’s Finest: Seamless Luxury in the Swiss Alps The InterContinental brand has long been synonymous with luxury. The InterContinental Davos, even among this elite standard, manages to mark itself as a different beast entirely: a statement of avant-garde architecture combined with seamless elegance. In January, LUXlife named InterContinental Davos the ‘Most Outstanding Swiss Mountain Retreat of 2019’ in our annual and ongoing Global Luxury Hotel and Spa Awards programme. We spoke to InterContinental’s Chris Graf to find out more. Whilst it is true that luxury can be found in the simplest of things, it can also be found in the most extravagant. Indeed, InterContinental Davos impresses through its dedication to going above and beyond, exceeding already sky-high expectations through flawless customer service and exquisite surroundings. Of course, the stunning backdrop of the Swiss Alps certainly helps in creating a stunning first impression, even before the unique golden-domed roof of the hotel comes into view. But then, exceeding expectations has always been integral to the InterContinental brand, as Chris explains: “the InterContinental Davos provides excellent hotel services at all levels. Our guests are well travelled, experienced customers with high expectations for their business or vacation stay. As such, we employ excellent staff from diverse backgrounds in all areas of the hotel to ensure that every guest has his or her needs taken care of. “There is extensive training for all new employees as well as continuous training for long-time staff. We train everyone in the IHG standards of excellence as well as different cultures in order to accommodate every guest from around the world. Ultimately, we pride ourselves in the service we provide around the clock on a daily basis.” This concept is utterly integral to InterContinental, fuelling their remarkable reputation in the challenging and demanding luxury hospitality industry. It is also an industry which is constantly in flux – after all, like consumer behaviour on the greater business landscape, guest expectations change all of the time. Chris takes a moment to talk specifically on the challenges and trends of the luxury industry. “The tourism industry is an incredibly dynamic field with constant changes, both affecting the guest segment and the needs of said guests. As an IHG hotel, we are well adapted through the aforementioned training of our staff as well as marketing campaigns that target developing and thriving markets.” One of the most established changes in the tourism industry is the idea of globalism – tourism is, by all regards, a global industry, and its only becoming more so with each passing year. People are finding the time and the resources to travel more frequently, to places that are much further afield, as Chris discusses in more detail. “At the moment we are looking at a global market rather than a more geographically local market within our own country and neighbouring countries. However, as you would expect from an InterContinental Hotel, we do follow our own path as we are one of the most internationally oriented hotels in Switzerland and ahead of most other properties concerning the diversity of our guests.” The topic of conversation soon turns to the future, and to how InterContinental Davos is planning to compete with an ever-competitive luxury market. “With the increased number of tourists traveling, the competition increases as well. Firstly, it was common that a guest would return to the same hotel for many years, whereas these days the average client prefers staying in various hotels. Secondly, as a mountain resort we are not only competing against other resorts in the Alps, we are actively competing against beach resorts in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, as flight connection are more frequently available from most airports. In his closing comments, Chris returns to emphasise InterContinental’s key advantage over the competition – its renowned service. “There’s little a single hotel can do to fight these tendencies; however, we can maintain our service to an exceptionally high standard, which will, in turn, maintain InterContinental Davos’ reputation as a must-visit property.” Company: InterContinental Davos Contact: Chris Graf Address: Baslerstrasse 9, Davos Dorf, 7260, Switzerland Website: https://davos.intercontinental.com/en/ Telephone: +41814140400