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January2026

RetailPractice

HowMandarinOriental’sCEOisscalingboutiqueluxury

Twoyearsintoastrategicreset,CEOLaurentKleitmanoutlineshowthebrandplanstoexpanditsluxuryhotelofferingsbothgeographicallyandconceptually—withoutlosingitsqualityofservice.

Canaluxurybranddoubleitssizewithoutdilutingitsvalue?That’stheaspirationbehind

MandarinOrientalHotelGroup’sstrategicreset,twoyearsinthemakingundertheleadershipofCEOLaurentKleitman.

Inasectordominatedbygiants,MandarinOrientalisstillrelativelysmall—justover40hotels,adozenbrandedresidences,andagrowingcollectionof“exceptionalhomes”indestinations

rangingfromBalitoUmbria.Butinarecenttake-privatedealwithparentcompanyJardine

Matheson,thebrandwasvaluedat$4.2billion,anditsreputationrivalsplayersmanytimesitssize.Kleitman’sgoalistodoubletheportfolioby2033whilemaintainingwhathecallsthe

brand’s“extremeempathy.”

KleitmanrecentlyspokewithMcKinseySeniorPartner

AlexSawaya

attheMandarinOrientalLutetiainParis,discussingthehotelgroup’sglobalexpansion,theroleoftalentinsustainingserviceexcellence,andwhattoday’sluxurytravelersvalue.

Thisinterviewhasbeeneditedforlengthandclarity.

AlexSawaya:WhenyoujoinedMandarinOrientaltwoyearsago,yousetoutanambitiousnewstrategyforthegroup.Howdidyourvisiondifferfromwhatwasalreadyinplaceforthehotels?

LaurentKleitman:WhenIbecameCEO,MandarinOrientalwasalreadyaformidablebrandwithstrongfundamentalsandfinancials.Butwefocusedonreestablishingthestrengthofthe

brand’sdesirability,awareness,andreputation,andeachofthosepointsarecoreelementsofthenewstrategy.Wealsoneededtobetotallyguest-centric,whereallguests’needsare

addressed.Beingbrand-ledandguest-centricisthestartingpointofthestrategy.

Fromthere,wedecidedtodoublethesizeofthecompany—reachingnewdestinationswhilebuildingourexistingportfolioofbrandedresidencesand“exceptionalhomes”.1Together,thiswouldacceleratethephysicalpresenceofthebrandaroundtheworld.

Innovationwasalsoattheheartofthestrategy.Weaskedourselves,“Howcanweensurethat

weaddressthelatesttrendsinfoodandbeverage,wellness,andsoon?”Akeyelementofbeingabletoinnovatecomesfromincreasingouroperationalefficiency.Thatmeantbuildingamore

resilientfoundationtosupportthebrand,onethatgivesusthefreedomtoinvestinpeople,

craft,andlong-termdesirability.Westrengthenedpricinganddemandforecasting,deliveringdouble-digitRevPAR[revenueperavailableroom]growthacrossallregions.Oncosts,we

acceleratedourasset-lightstrategy,whileretaininglong-termmanagementcontracts.This

allowsustoreinvestcapitalinhigh-impactareaslikedigitalcapabilityandportfolio

enhancement.Asaresult,we’vemaintainedstrongEBITDAgrowthandoperationalresilience,eveninavolatileglobalenvironment.

1MandarinOriental’s“exceptionalhomes”areitshomerentalofferings.

HowMandarinOriental’sCEOisscalingboutiqueluxury2

HowMandarinOriental’sCEOisscalingboutiqueluxury3

Scalingthebrandwhileprotectingservice

AlexSawaya:HowdidyouknowthattheMandarinOrientalbrandwasalreadyastrongbrandwhenyoujoinedthecompany?

LaurentKleitman:IknewitlongbeforeIjoinedthecompany,becauseIexperienceditasaguest.About20yearsago,IwashavingdinnerwithmyfamilyatMandarinOriental,Bangkok.

Duringthemeal,myyoungsonstainedhisshirtwithketchupandweplaceditoverthebackofachair.Withoutaword,acolleaguediscreetlyremovedit.Bytheendofdinner,itwasreturnedtous,cleanedandpressed.Thatmomentstayedwithme.Itwaspureattentiveness,deliveredwithhumilityandcare.

WhenIlaterlookedatthebrandmoreformally,thedatasimplyconfirmedwhatthatexperiencehadalreadytoldme.Ourreputationandawarenesswereonparwithbrandsmanytimesour

size.Peoplewereoftensurprisedtolearnhowfocusedourportfoliowas,becausethebrand

alreadycarriedglobalrecognitionandtrust.Ourresponsibilitynowistoleveragethatawarenessandreputationtogrowourfootprint,whilehonoringtheemotionalconnectionthatmakes

MandarinOrientalsospecialinthefirstplace.

AlexSawaya:We’respeakingtodayattheMandarinOrientalLutetiainParis,whichis

celebratingits115thanniversary.HowdoesthispropertyreflectMandarinOriental’svisionforluxuryhospitality?

LaurentKleitman:LutetiaisaniconicpartofthecultureandhistoryofParis.Itwasbuiltto

echo[Frenchdepartmentstore]LeBonMarché,whichisjustinfrontofthehotel.WorldWarIIplaysanimportantroleinthehistoryofthisbuilding,2andinthepostwarera,LutetiabecameaniconoftherenewalofartisticlifeinParis.ItisalsotheonlypalaceontheLeftBankofParis,anditrepresentswhathospitalitylookslikeatMandarinOriental—aplacethatiswellrootedinthe

surroundingcommunityandwhereyoucanexperienceextraordinary,exceptionalservice.

AlexSawaya:Whenyoulookacrosstheluxuryhospitalityspace,everyoneistryingtodeliverhigher-qualityserviceandexperiences.WhatmakesMandarinOriental’svalueproposition

distinctfromotherluxuryhotelgroups?

LaurentKleitman:Our“dualAsian”originmakesusextremelyspecialinthehospitality

landscape.Ononehand,weopenedTheMandarin,ourfirsthotel,inHongKongin1963.Atthetime,itwasthetallestbuildinginHongKong,hadthefastestelevatorsinHongKong,andwasthefirsttohavebathtubsineveryguestroom.Ontheotherhand,wehadTheOrientalin

Bangkok—celebratingits150thanniversarythisyear—whichrootedusauthenticallyinThai

culture,withanemphasisongraceful,empatheticservice.Bothsides—innovationfromHong

KongandgracefromThailand—arewhatdefineus.Ineachofourhotelstoday,westrivetofindthisbalance.

2TheLutetiahotelopenedin1910andbecameagatheringplaceforartistsandpoliticalfiguresthroughthe20thcentury.DuringWorldWarII,thehotelwasusedbyGermanforcesuntilPariswasliberated.Thehotelchangedownershipthroughoutthe2010s,andMandarinOrientalassumedmanagementofthehotelin2024.

HowMandarinOriental’sCEOisscalingboutiqueluxury4

Service,whichtousishuman,emotional,andintuitive,isthelivingcraft.Design,architecture,andartcreatethestageonwhichthatcraftcomestolife.AtourQianmenpropertyinBeijing,wecompletelyrestorednotjustonebuilding,buttheentirehutong3areaofthecity,which

includedabout50buildings,whilestillpreserving90percentoftheoriginalstructures.Youexperiencethecommunitythere:Youopenthedoorofyourhutongandyou’reinthestreetswithyourneighborsnexttoyou.Toblendtheexperienceofaluxuryhotelandthelifeofa

neighborhoodisextremelyrareinluxuryhospitality.

AtoneofournewestprojectsinMexico,whichisexpectedtoopenin2028,theMexican

sculptorBoscoSodiwillbethecuratoroftheproperty.Ratherthanthinkingofhotelartasan

afterthought,wearecreatinganenvironmentwhereartwillbenaturallypresentthroughouttheproperty,whichbringstheluxuryexperiencetolife.Thisisoneofthekeypillarsofthebrand.

AlexSawaya:You’vesetagoalofdoublingyourfootprintto100hotelsworldwide.Howwillyoumaintaintheluxuryexperienceasyouscale?

LaurentKleitman:Ifyouthinkaboutoursize,wearefewerthan10,000keys.4Evenifweweretodoubleoursize,we’dstillremainarelativelysmallplayerintermsofthenumberofkeysandthenumberofdestinationswhereourgueststravel.

Ourexpansionaddressesholeswehadonourglobalmap,whereweweren’tincapitalcities,forexample.Inthenextfewyears,wearegoingtoenterRome.In2025,weopenedinVienna.WearegoingtobecomemorepresentinNorthAmerica.Theseareobviousdestinationsweneedtobein.

Aswegrow,ourstrategyremainsuncompromisinglybrand-ledandguest-centric.Expansionnevercomesattheexpenseofattentiveness.Preservingourlegendaryserviceand

craftsmanshipthatdefineMandarinOrientalisapersonalobsessionforme.Itcanonlybe

sustainedthroughthecaliberofourpeople,andalsobyhowwerecruit,nurture,andinvestinthosewhobringthebrandtolifeeveryday.

Thetalentimperative

AlexSawaya:Talent,asyounoted,iscriticaltosustainingthatlevelofservice.Howareyouattracting,developing,andretainingMandarinOrientalemployees?

LaurentKleitman:OurRisingFanmanagementtrainingprogram,whichisdesignedfor

emergingtalentandearly-careercolleagues,isprobablyoneofthebestinthebusiness.

Frankly,ifIcouldqualifytodoittoday,Iwould.Aspartofthisprogram,youspend18months

workinginalltheprofessionsfoundinahotel,beitinfoodandbeverage,roomservice,thefrontdesk,andsoon.It’sveryhelpfulfortheyounggraduateswhojointheprogramtodiscoverthe

breadthandthecomplexityofhoteloperations,whilealsofamiliarizingthemselveswiththebrandateverysingletouchpoint.

3AhutongreferstonarrowalleywaysandtraditionalcourtyardneighborhoodsfoundinBeijing.

4Keysreferstothenumberofaccommodationunits,whichcouldincludehotelroomsorlargerproperties,suchasvillas.

HowMandarinOriental’sCEOisscalingboutiqueluxury5

Theprogramishighlyselectiveandattractsaremarkablelevelofinterest.Butmoreimportantly,it’sformative.Whilegraduatesdonotbecomehotelmanagersimmediately,theygainthe

essentialgroundingthatallowsthemtostepintoleadershiproleswithcredibilitywhenthetimeisright.

Talentandsecuringthebestcolleagues—whethertheycomefromhospitalityschools,anotherschool,orourRisingFanprogram—isthenumberonepriority,sinceensuringservicesare

deliveredwellisthenumberoneissueweallfaceinthehospitalityprofession.Tobehonest,

hospitalityhasnotbeenveryinnovativeinthewayitattracts,retains,andgrowstalent.Wewanttoaddressflexiblescheduling,mentalhealthissues,andallissuesrelatedtoprofessional

growthandcreatingacareerpath.Thereismoreworktobedonetosecurethebesttalent,whichiswhyit’sthetoppriorityformeasCEO.

Innovationinitiatives

AlexSawaya:Inwhatotherwayscanluxuryhotelsdomoretoinnovate?Doesthehospitalityplaybookneedtobereimagined?

LaurentKleitman:Itlookslikeaplaybookbutisnotaplaybook.Weprideourselvesonourauthentic,humanservicestyle.Itlookseasy,butitisprobablythemostdifficultelementtoreplicatepropertytoproperty.

Becauseofthisdifficulty,thewayweapproachserviceisunique.Weempowerteamstodo

whateverittakestosatisfyguests,andwepromotewhatwecall“unscripted

moments”—gesturesthatcannotbeliftedfromaplaybook.We,ofcourse,havestandardsof

service.Butwhatmattersmostishowthosestandardsaredelivered:withextremeempathyandgenuineattention.Thatbalanceiswhattransformsastayintoanexperienceand,overtime,

turnsguestsintogenuinefansofthebrand.

Thisiswhathappenedtome20yearsago.IwasontheChaoPhrayaRiverinThailandwithmyfamilyataMandarinOrientalforthefirsttime.Iwasn’tevenaguestatthehotel;wewerejusthavingdinnerontheterrace.ButthecarethatmyfamilyandIexperiencedthateveningstayedwithme.Thatwasnotsomethingoutlinedinaguestserviceplaybook,andthisiswhatwe

believeluxuryhospitalityis.Forme,thesearethetouchpointsthatourteamsareaddressingeveryday,andwhatcreatesthestrengthofandattachmenttoabrand.

AlexSawaya:Marqueefood-and-beverageprogramsandcuratedspasareamongthetopofferingsluxuryhoteltravelersseekout.InwhatwaysisMandarinOrientalimprovingits

offeringsintheseareas?

LaurentKleitman:Productdelivery—whetherthat’sinfoodandbeverageorwellness

experiences—isdueforinnovationandinsomecases,disruption.ThinkaboutThePizzaBaron38th,inourTokyohotel.YoumightnotconnectpizzawithTokyo,butourpizzahasbeenvoted

HowMandarinOriental’sCEOisscalingboutiqueluxury6

asthebestpizzainAsiaandthesecond-bestpizzaintheworldforseveralyearsinarownow.

Wetookwhatmakespizzaattractiveandblendeditwithanincredibleomakaseexperience,whichisrootedinJapaneseculture.So,thereisalotofroomforinnovationinfoodand

beverage.

Thesamegoesforwellness.Weinventedthemodernhotelwellnessprogramin1993withthefirst-everhotelspainaluxuryhotelinBangkok.Sincethen,wehavecontinuedinnovatingsothatwellnesscoversmorethanjustthespa,focusingonholisticwell-beingandreachingareaslikelongevity,forexample.Ourapproachtowellnessismadeupofthreecorepillars:physical,spiritual(whichincludesmindfulnessandrestorativeritualstosupportemotionalresilienceandmentalclarity,andmedical-alignedwellness(science-informed,preventative-healthelements.

Butit’salsoaboutbreakingcodes.WepioneeredfinedininginBangkokinthe’50sandthejazzbarconceptinThailandinthe’60s.Thereisalwaysaneed,whenitcomestoluxurytravel,to

pushtheboundariesandtoinnovate.

AlexSawaya:WhatroledoyouseeAIplayinginluxuryhospitality?

LaurentKleitman:IseetechnologyandAIasanopportunity,thoughitisabitparadoxical:Themoretechnologyweuse,themorewecanfreeuptimeforhumaninteraction.ByallowingAIandautomationtoaddresstheroutineelementsoftravel,wefreeourteamstofocusonwhattruly

addsvalue:one-on-onehumaninteraction.There’sfarmoremeaninginaconversationaboutwhattodiscoveraroundtheLutetiathanthereisinconfirmingyour[taxi]pickuptime,for

example.

Thelaunchofourmobileappin2025isanotherwayweareusingtechnologytoimprovethe

guestexperience.Theapp,whichhasbeendownloadedmorethan50,000timessincelaunch,givesallguestsatooltopreplantheirtrip,touseduringtheirtravel,andthentouseagainpost-travel.Forexample,guestscontinueusingtheappbetweenstaystostayconnectedwiththe

brand,especiallyforrestaurants,bars,andspavisits,whichnowcounttowardtheirFansofM.O.recognitionstatus.

AlexSawaya:Manyhospitalitygroupsarebranchingintocruises,jets,orprivateclubs.Dothosetrendsfitintoyourgrowthstrategy?

LaurentKleitman:Wearelookingcarefullyattheseextensions,butourconvictionremainswiththecoreofhospitality.Thereisstillenormouspotentialinhotels,resorts,andbranded

residences,particularlyasmoreguestswanttolivewithin—notjuststayat—aMandarin

Oriental.Ourexceptionalhomesofferingrespondstoanotherpowerfulshift:privacyasaformofluxury.Itallowsustodeliverourserviceculturewithcompletediscretion,inhomesandvillas

aroundtheworld.

AlexSawaya:You’vetouchedonaninterestingpointabouttheevolvingneedsofyourcorecustomers.Howdoyoubalancetheneedsofyourlong-standing,olderguestswiththoseofemergingluxurytravelers,whomayhavenewordifferingexpectations?

7

LaurentKleitman:Today,multigenerationaltravelisincreasinglycommon,withfamiliesoften

spanningthreegenerations,sometimesmore,choosingtotraveltogether.Thisrequiresusto

thinkdifferentlyaboutspaceandexperience.Howdowecreateenoughdiversityofexperiencesandensureserviceexpectationsaremetforbothyoungerandoldergenerations?Howdowe

createtherightentertainmentprograminourresorts?Wedothatbyfocusingoncurating

products.InourEmiratesPalaceresortinAbuDhabiandourCostaNavarinoresortinGreece,forexample,we’veimprovedourkids’clubconceptsforsmallchildrenthroughteenagers.

Equallyimportantishowweconnectfamiliestothedestinationitself,throughculture,food,andexperiencesthatcanbesharedacrossgenerations.

Lessonsfromaluxuryleader

AlexSawaya:BeforeyoujoinedMandarinOriental,youweretheCEOofParfumsChristianDioratLVMH.Givenyouruniquevantagepoint,wheredoyouthinkluxurygoodsandexperiences

areheading?Whatlearningscanluxuryhospitalitydrawfromtheluxurygoodsmarket?

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