Over Here, Over There

Learn from the Best: The Art of Discretion - How The Savoy Keeps A-List Secrets

• Dan Harris and Claudia Koestler • Season 3 • Episode 16

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What REALLY happens when smartphones meet world-class luxury? Franck Arnold, Managing Director of the legendary Savoy Hotel in London, exposes the techniques that keep The Savoy's legendary reputation intact - and protects the VIPs privacy in the age of smartphones and social media.

From Hollywood stars to royalty, how does The Savoy keep celebrity secrets locked down? In this clip from the series "Learning from the Best" of the podcast "Over Here, Over There", Arnold breaks down the truth about discretion in luxury hospitality!

Get a peek behind the curtains at how luxury hotels shield celebrity secrets, and learn about the evolution of discretion from past to present.

Perfect for:

  • Celebrity watchers
  • Hospitality professionals
  • Privacy enthusiasts
  • Luxury service lovers


#LuxuryHospitality #CelebritySecrets #TheSavoy #VIPPrivacy #FranckArnold #podcast #overhereoverthere

Are you ready to learn from the best? Watch the full-length interview with Franck Arnold on the ‪@OverHereOverThere‬  Podcast here: • Insights from The Savoy London - Inte...  

Dan Harris (00:03)
Can I ask you about discretion? Savoy is like the hallmark, is known for the hallmark of discretion. You have such an international clientele and a lot of famous notable people have come over the centuries here.

Franck Arnold (00:16)
And are currently staying as we speak.

Dan Harris (00:18)
OK, we'll keep our eyes peeled. We can try. And you don't have to tell us anything juicy, but if you want to tell us something juicy, please go ahead. But as far as just how do you manage those challenges of being discreet with such an international clientele?

Franck Arnold (00:35)
I think being discreet in the past was very easy, much easier than nowadays. Now, information travels at the speed of light, literally.

Claudia Koestler (00:43)
And,

Franck Arnold (00:44)
Everyone who sees something will share it with the world. And so we have to be extremely careful because people trust us with this information. You know, we are not a church, a temple, we are not a synagogue, we are not a museum, we are a hotel. People meet in hotels, and people stay in hotels, but what happens in hotels is only, unless it is illegal, then it becomes our problem, our responsibility to do something about it, but for the rest it is a private space and we have to respect that. The difficulty lies with the fact that nowadays, you know, you have a camera with you, you can post it on the internet on any social media channel and the world will know about it. So we have to be very careful with that as to how to curate this. We will at times speak about some people who have stayed with us because they have agreed to it and they are actually welcoming it. Therefore if you look you know online you will find a lot of people who have stayed with us. We had during the coronation we had President Macron and his wife and his small entourage staying with us for the coronation. But that was a public thing, although people knew he was staying because he had gone for a walk outside and therefore people were aware of it and we were... No, that was not for the coronation. That was actually for the funeral of late Queen Elizabeth and...

Franck Arnold (02:28)
And it was public because they had walked around the hotel and because they like they love to walk and they and they took the main entrance. So as soon as you enter he volunteered to take a picture with the staff and therefore you tacitly agree that this will be will be published and communicated. But nowadays, I would say that celebrities prefer to remain incognito at (02:55) because of the fact that it's not like in the, you know, before social media, you know, you still could be seen in public but without the world knowing it the next day. Nowadays it's different and therefore the vast majority prefer to stay now incognito and confidentially.

Franck Arnold (03:16)
And so we have to pay extra attention. We need to train our staff accordingly. And it's sacrosanct. It's something that we need to live by and we need to abide by because that's our reputation. This is a trust that people have, but not only celebrities, everyone stays. It is their absolute right to, you know, once they're behind those doors unless there is a criminal activity happening, which almost never happens. Thank you. (03:47) It is not our business. It is our business to make them feel comfortable, to create experiences and memories, but it's not for us to talk about it.

Dan Harris (03:57)
Exactly. Yeah, understood.