An Interview with Juergen Bartels - By Harvey Chipkin - HSMAI Marketing Review
The closest thing to a one-man brand in the hotel industry, Juergen Bartels has spent 40 dynamic years in the business. Here he talks about his marketing philosophy and how it is being applied to his new international venture, Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts.
Through a succession of high-level hotel jobs he has attained a colorful reputation in an industry run by more subdued personalities. His media lunches are legend for his self-deprecating humor, numerous slides of hotels, and distribution of roses to women in the audience.
He has been an innovator, being among the first in the industry to segment. He has been creative, with several breakthrough ad campaigns. And he has been successful — growing several brands from small companies to large, global players.
Several years ago, Bartels, partly with his own money, joined with Nomura International, a Japanese company, to purchase Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts. The company has over 140 luxury and upscale hotels in 55 countries. In a two-hour interview at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, Bartels was typically animated — repeatedly jumping up from his seat in excitement or to demonstrate a point. After 40 years in the business, he has not lost his enthusiasm.