Insider
Four Seasons’ CEO on the secret team designing your stay
Alejandro Reynal reveals why concierges, chefs and housekeepers are quietly anticipating your every need and how they are actively shaping the next era of the brand
When Alejandro Reynal became CEO of Four Seasons three years ago, he didn’t arrive with sweeping declarations or grand restructures. He arrived curious.
"When you come into a new place, it's so important to learn about the company, the history, the heritage," he said during a recent interview ahead of the World's 50 Best Hotels announcement, which this year includes three Four Seasons properties: Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River (2nd), Four Seasons Hotel Firenze (9th) and Four Seasons Astir Palace (17th).
"Four Seasons has a very strong heritage with 65 years of history. So, for me, before taking any decisions, it was so important to talk to the teams to learn about what the company is all about and then focus on how I could bring value."
That instinct - to listen first - has become the quiet engine behind Four Seasons’ evolution. While some CEOs chase scale, Reynal wants to understand. He has visited almost 90 of the brand’s 133 properties, not to check boxes but to meet the people who bring its reputation to life.
"Our business is about human connection, it's about the people, it's about servicing others. Going to the properties and spending time with my teams gives me that true north and sense of direction," he said.
It’s a striking sentiment in a world where luxury brands often measure success by the number of openings or private-label products. For Reynal, the future of luxury is about connection rather than consumption.
That belief came into focus on his second day in the job when he was asked to present service awards at the company’s Toronto headquarters. “It was very special presenting these awards to people who have been with the company for 30, 40, 45 years."
With short attention spans and rapid churn the norm in the modern world, celebrating 45 years of loyalty sounds almost unbelievable. But for Reynal, that is the soul of Four Seasons: a culture where human connection is the most valuable currency.
That same philosophy is shaping how he’s steering the brand’s future. "One of the very first decisions that I took and aligned with our board of directors was that we're going to stay as a single brand,” he explained. “We have a lot of brand equity built around Four Seasons and we're not going to venture into other brands.”
Instead of multiplying names, Four Seasons is increasing its experiences. “We like to use the concept that our guests stay with us, but they also live with us through the residences. The next extension of that is travel, so the journey. Our guests can stay, live and also travel with us on the jet and the yacht.
"It's through a guest-centric mindset that we're creating this luxury ecosystem because we have the brand loyalty.”
That phrase - stay, live, travel - is proof that Four Seasons is building a lifestyle. The brand venturing into private jets and its upcoming yacht are an extension of its hospitality. "It's for people that know the brand and have experienced Four Seasons first through a hotel,” he said. “That experience makes them buy a home, makes them travel with us."
This definition of luxury feels more intimate and less performative. Collecting stamps in a passport or possessions in a wardrobe is no longer what luxury is about. It's about belonging to a world where every detail feels designed for you.
Still, Reynal insists that innovation is essential, even in a brand built on timelessness: "There are things that we know that we need to continue to evolve... How do we innovate on the room experience? How do we innovate the concierge experience? How do we innovate the breakfast experience? The front desk experience?"
But innovation, he adds, isn’t just driven by corporate strategy. “There are tonnes of ideas that come from the bottom up. It's very important for us to maintain the authenticity and individuality of our properties. They are constantly innovated based on what the guests need."
In other words, the secret to staying ahead is letting the people closest to the guest - concierges, chefs, housekeepers - lead the evolution. As the world obsesses with algorithms and data, Four Seasons is betting on empathy as its most valuable metric.
As the company celebrates its 65th anniversary and the launch of the Four Seasons Yacht, setting sail in May 2026, Reynal reiterates their philosophy: "Our business is about human connection. It's about the people."
And perhaps that’s the kind of luxury the world needs most right now.