Travel Trends with Dan Christian
#1 B2B Travel Podcast. If you are looking to stay ahead in the travel industry, this new podcast hits all the highlights! The Travel Trends Podcast is where industry leaders converge to share & shape the future. Whether you're an emerging entrepreneur, a seasoned industry executive, or a dedicated travel professional, you’ll be able to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Uncover valuable insights, innovative strategies, and meaningful connections that will elevate your travel business or career to new heights.
Travel Trends with Dan Christian
Special Hospitality Series: Pradeep Raman on Redefining Ultra-Luxury at The Surrey - A Corinthia Hotel
In this episode of our Special Hospitality Series with Forbes Travel Guide, we spotlight one of the "Leaders Behind the Stars" — Pradeep Raman, Managing Director of The Surrey – A Corinthia Hotel.
Nestled in New York’s Upper East Side, this newly opened luxury hotel has achieved an incredible 35% repeat guest rate in just months. Pradeep shares the secret behind its success—genuine connections. From doormen who know local pets by name to a guest who moved his entire business to the hotel after witnessing this level of care, Corinthia’s philosophy is clear: You come as a guest, leave as a friend, and return as family.
More than just attaining Five-Star ratings, the brand focuses on curating unforgettable moments that transcend mere service. Join us to hear how The Surrey and Corinthia Hotels are redefining the art of hospitality through authenticity, warmth, and a steadfast dedication to creating true connections that last a lifetime.
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hospitality is ever evolving right. No, two days are alike. We have to stay relevant, no matter what we do. So part of my daily responsibilities and inspiration is to see what the current trends are, and I know in new york and hospitality in general. You know, the private members club is really exploding on the scene. Gone are the days where hotels were. Just where you came and checked into a hotel, there were beds made. You went to the restaurant on your left, but now it's about delivering an overall package.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to episode three of our special hospitality series created in partnership with our friends at Forbes Travel Guide. I hope you've been enjoying the conversations we've had so far with both Malcolm Hendry from the Red Carnation Hotel in London, and then we had Sarah McIntosh last week from the Mayborn in Beverly Hills, and today we're headed to New York City before we move on to Italy next week in this 10 part series and, as you would have heard, all of these conversations have been recorded live. At the summit in Monaco, which is going to return again to Monaco in February 2026 for another remarkable event, we shared a number of highlights from the event itself, and we're sharing clips and highlights from all of these conversations on our social channels, as well as the Forbes travel guide team, so be sure to check both of them out on. Linkedin and Instagram are the two best ways to connect with us at Travel Trends Podcast and at Forbes Travel Guide. Now, most of you are probably already registered on the streaming platform of your choice, but if you're not, make sure that you do so that you're the first to learn when these new episodes go live choice. But if you're not, make sure that you do so that you're the first to learn when these new episodes go live.
Speaker 2:Now, today we have the privilege to speak to Pradeep Raman, who is the managing director of the Corinthia New York. But, as you'll hear from Pradeep, he's a true expert in the art of hospitality and the New York hotel scene, which I was keen to ask a lot of questions about and, as you'll hear, the special connection that you do need to make with locals, especially in a destination like New York, in the Upper East Side and I am a big time dog lover Many people who listen to the show know or follow me on social channels know that I have an adorable golden doodle, and when I heard the story of how he encouraged all of their concierge to carry dog treats to get to know the locals and their dogs and their names, I thought that was particularly special. But as he highlighted to me and you'll hear in this conversation how it led to significant new business by connecting with those executives that live in the neighborhood that are hosting conferences or having guests in town. So it's a remarkable example of just someone leading the way in the art of hospitality. Now, as I prepare to welcome Pradeep, I just want to give a bit of context to his background, which is very impressive.
Speaker 2:He went to the prestigious School of Hospitality at Cornell. He studied at Harvard. He's worked with a number of luxury brands. He actually started with Ritz-Carlton. He's worked at the Wynn, he was at Viceroy. He's actually spent a number of years at the Montage in Beverly Hills before moving to New York, where he's been for the last decade. That has set the stage for the launch of Corinthia New York, which is actually the first outpost for Corinthia in the US. Is that right?
Speaker 1:That's correct, dan? Yes, it's first of many more to follow in the United States.
Speaker 2:Fantastic. Well, it's interesting to have your view and perspective because clearly you have a lot of experience in the hospitality industry and familiar with Forbes and their five-star Forbes Travel Guide's five-star rating system. But you are not yet a five-star, but you will be very shortly, so tell us first, I guess, a bit about Corinthia Hotels and this expansion into New York and the US.
Speaker 1:Thank you, sam, good to be here with you. Carinthia Hotels launched in the late 60s by our chairman, mr Alfred Pisani, in Malta. So we're a multi-space company. Our chairman is 85, but he's still very, very involved and he's really it's a founder-inspired company and he still lives in Malta, so we have a corporate offices between Malta and London. So the company was founded in 60s and our first real international hotel was in London in 2011, which really put the Carinthia on the map and fast forward about 13 years.
Speaker 1:We've launched Carinthia New York. What we're also doing is Carinthia is at a stage where it's massively expanding. To put it in perspective, we opened New York, we opened Brussels a couple of months ago and in three weeks from now we'll be launching our property in Bucharest in Romania, and following that, we'll be launching Rome as well, and then we have other properties coming up as well in different locations, namely in Derry Gates in Saudi Arabia. So we are a company that's on the rise. Two weeks ago, we announced a massive project in Dubai, which is extremely exciting, and the buzzword is on what is Corinthia doing next?
Speaker 2:Clearly Well, you're picking all the massive, major, iconic markets. I was certainly familiar with Corinthia from your launch in London. I was really intrigued to speak to you because New York is such a unique city to be able to launch a hotel in, just given the competition in that market. So having a strong international brand and then opening up in the US I know that is part of your expertise because you're already based in New York. So let's talk a little bit about that, because I'm really intrigued to understand what it's like to open up a new hotel in New York City. So tell everyone, if you wouldn't mind, where you're based in New York City itself, because I'm sure everyone's intrigued or they're checking out your website to learn more details. So where specifically in New York is La Carinthia and what has been your experience so far with bringing this hotel to life in New York City?
Speaker 1:I have to say, as a New Yorker, it's incredible Because, as as exciting as it is, the facts say that New York has not launched a new hotel in quite a while. Right, so we launched we actually the Surrey. So we've relaunched the Surrey, a current hotel. We're located on 76th and Madison. I call it the Golden Triangle because we're surrounded by two other luxury hotels, namely the Carlisle and the Mark, but we are roughly a block away from Central Park on 76th Street. The good thing is you can just walk towards the park. It takes you a couple of seconds to get there. We're surrounded by the best of the best.
Speaker 1:Retail Diptyque recently opened their flagship store. We're right by the Gagosian Gallery, sotheby's, you name it, they're all there. So what it does is for a guest guest. It gives them an amazing experience and sometimes I talk to our guests. I say welcome to retail therapy, one-on-one.
Speaker 1:But coming back to your question, what was it to launch? I think it was incredible because we realized that there was a need for an ultra luxury hotel and to come into that particular market and to be what I like to call positive disruptors. So we were very tactful about our partners. We partnered with Casa Tua, who are our F&B partners out of Miami and Aspen, and it's been nothing but spectacular.
Speaker 1:The locals have really, really warmed up to the hotel. We've had tremendous amount of repeat guests. Just to put it in perspective, in the three and a half months we've been open, dan, we've had over 150 room nights, over $150,000 in revenue, and these are the guests that have come back again and again because they love the experience. And for us as hoteliers, I always tell our staff and our team members we are storytellers, so we have the ability to tell New Yorkers the story of the Corinthia, and what really makes it special is I like to say this to our staff as well is you come as a guest, you leave as a friend and you return as family. So it's been an amazing journey. The locals really wanted to understand what is Carinthia all about.
Speaker 1:So, in my capacity, with my team, we've been very, very passionate about telling the Carinthia story, about the chairman, what inspired him, because he has a very inspiring story the way he launched the brand from being a catering business out of a necessity and then he realized that wait, if the catering business is doing well, let me build a hotel. So he actually hustled through, he made it happen, he opened the Curantia Palace in Malta and for Malta I don't know whether you've been to Malta, but it's a very tiny nation very proud nation, three hours from London, and for that company to expand to where it is today is incredible.
Speaker 2:Well, it's interesting. Obviously, having that background and expertise in catering, which gives you the art of hospitality, then obviously leads itself. I worked with the Red Carnation Hotels for many years Mr and Mrs Tolman, who I dearly regard unfortunately that Mr Tolman has passed away, but he has, I guess, a somewhat similar story and journey from South Africa and building up these hotels and then he was doing the front of house and she was the chef and put these incredible recipes together, and so that combination of their skill sets is what led to, ultimately, their global success and these real fine, high end properties. So it's interesting to hear that parallel with Corinthia and the chairman's background and story and to bring us back, I guess, where.
Speaker 2:Now bringing this brand to New York is one of the things.
Speaker 2:Obviously you've got this great brand heritage that is expanding globally, but when you enter a new market like New York, and obviously they're bringing you on board because you're a New Yorker, you have that experience in that city and I'm keen to know about some of your expansion plans in the US as well, based on how much you can share with us, of course.
Speaker 2:But one of the things you mentioned about the guests that have already started to book at the hotel is how much of that is repeat guests versus new guests.
Speaker 2:So I'm sure there's a bit of a journey to go on at the start, because everyone's going to be a new guest when it's a new property. But some people are going to be familiar with the Carinthia brand, so they're going to have experienced London or Malta and now they want to experience Carinthia New York. You're going to then have people that experience Carinthia New York and they're returning guests and they love it. And every time they come to New York which I understand from the outside, looking in, is a major factor because so many people travel to New York regularly that they get their hotels that they stay at and they're always going back to their same hotel. And again, that's your expertise, not mine. That's just a brief understanding of these returning guests, and then you're still going to have new guests in the mix. So when you're building up your clientele, tell us a little bit about how that works for the Carinthia brand about building up repeat guests, as you were highlighting, and then trying to bring new guests into the consideration set.
Speaker 1:Great question, dan. It's about telling the story of the company and, as you rightly said, currentia, over the years, has managed to have amazing sense of loyalty amongst guests. And again, london is a key market for us, but, not to forget, we have great properties in Lisbon, you know, in St Petersburg and other fantastic locations in Europe as well. What we've managed to do is we've managed to leverage off the popularity of the brand with our new guests that have come in, because our success is that the Surrey is almost 100 years old as a hotel 100 years old as a hotel. So we took over the Surrey with our owners, the Rubin Brothers, because it's never lost that for a good hotel or a good company, both ends need to be speaking the same language, which is good ownership who support you through what you want to do, are respectful to the brand and also the brand that wants to do the right thing for the local market and with the owners. So I'm blessed to actually have the best of both worlds.
Speaker 1:The Rubin Brothers are incredible as owners and they're very respectful and they're very knowledgeable, and so is the Corinthians and we recently, you know our CEO, simon Casson, who spent almost 35 years with Four Seasons, most recently as a president for Europe and Africa and Middle East.
Speaker 1:He brings in an amazing sense of direction, along with the managing director, simon Nowdy, who's been with the company for almost 35 years. So with these gentlemen, they've actually established the core values of who we are. And the reason I say values is, you know, companies open up, but what guests really respond to is the values of the company, and how do we treat you as a customer and how do we make you feel so you can't wait to come back. So, answering your question, since we've opened, our repeat guest ratio has been over 35% For a three and a half month hotel. That's an amazing statistic, for sure, and when I say guest, I want to be specific. We've also curated some amazing pet programs, because we're in the Upper East Side neighborhood and one of our key things was for us not to be a hotel in the neighborhood, for us to be the neighborhood, and we wanted the locals and the community to be invested in our success. So we felt the need to curate some very, very bespoke pet snacks.
Speaker 2:So every single day, we have guests that come with their pets. I love this. I'm a huge dog lover, so I love this Exactly.
Speaker 1:So this is going to resonate with you, but every single day we have guests with their pets who come at a particular time and the pets sit in front of a hotel and start wagging their tail. You know why, dan? Because our amazing doormen go there. They know them by the name and they feed them their pet snacks. So sweet. And two weeks ago, while I was in the lobby with Simon Kasson, our CEO, we had a guest who came with two bouquets of flowers and they handed it over to our doorman and just to tell them thank you so much for being so respectful to my pets. We love you, guys, and this is our hotel of choice.
Speaker 1:And one of those guests happened to be a huge hedge fund owner who said I'm going to bring all my business to you, so the reason I say that is because hospitality is about delivering it with passion and with your heart, and I think the current tier values that we've put in, not just with the staff but also the guests, is that. You know what. Come and stay with us, we don't care, even if you don't stay Once you are in the building. Come and stay with us, we don't care, even if you don't stay. Once you are in the building, you're part of us and we're going to treat you like a family member and you're going to feel the sense of belonging there. There's that emotional attachment where they feel like wait, this is amazing. They treat my pet so well, they treat my kids so well. I can't wait to go back. So it's something we're very proud about and, for New York especially, the scale of hospitality is tilting. Where you know, our goal is to make sure that every guest that is coming is made to feel like they are the most important person in the room. Right, I talk to our travel partners all the time. I've spoken to a few during this trip as well. Their guests are our guests. Once they're in the building, a guest does not care that. Are they going to the restaurant? Are they going to the spa. For them, it's like I'm at the Surrey or Carinthia Hotel. So you know they get in and they expect the best out of us and we expect to be the best representation of ourselves.
Speaker 1:So when we opened this hotel, we went out to the market and our message was very clear. Our message was like we are honest operators. If you come and stay with us, you're going to feel extra special and you know you're going to feel like you can't wait to come back to us. And we've seen that. Our reviews are amazing. Our guests cannot stop talking about us and it's word of mouth, right? It's a new hotel and these things take a while to stabilize and what we've seen is guests that are repeating themselves and guests that are coming are sending their family members over. Or you know the travel agents who are sending their family members over, or you know the travel agents who are sending their family members over.
Speaker 1:A strange thing happened last week and I was telling a travel partner here who's also attending the summit is. I was standing outside the door with the doorman and there was a lady who said you must be Pradeep. I said yes, good evening. Am I that recognizable? She said no, but my friend is a big agent of this company. She sent me a screenshot of a photo and she said I have to meet you. So I think it's incredible and the fact that we opened. In the location we opened, I realized that the entire community is invested in our success. So we're not in a location where it's totally leisure, where guests come and go here. The community wants us to succeed and they are actually clapping for us. So it's an amazing pivot versus other neighborhoods. But it's exceptional, it's very special, it's very organic and it makes you want to do better and better every day.
Speaker 2:That's fascinating. There's so much there and I guess that's where you know when I was asking you about New York. You're clearly an expert in hospitality, but also in the New York market and the fact that you just highlighted there how important it is to connect to the local community and really interesting something you highlighted to me that is, I guess, an important point that those local community members can actually become advocates for people to book your hotel. So it's not actually just that you're trying to, you know, ingratiate yourself to the local community. That's obviously a part of it, but it actually leads to great business opportunities as well. So I love the story about the pets and the dog and that certainly resonates with me.
Speaker 2:The thing I wanted to ask you too, given that we're here at Forbes Travel Guide in Monaco and that you are on your journey, and one of the things that Pradeep said to me just as we were sitting down and I was keen to know their status he's like well, we're not five star yet, but we will be soon, and clearly, from my conversations with many of your colleagues and you know the incredible general managers that are here is that if they really pay attention to great customer service and experience and it's built into their DNA, as it clearly is in the Corinthians from.
Speaker 2:You know, your founder on down is that, if you do those things, that's exactly what getting a Forbes Travel Guide five-star rating is all about, but there's obviously a bit more to it in the sense that there's various things that they're looking for that you need to become aware of. So tell us a little bit about the journey that you're on now to become Forbes Travel Guide five-star rated so that the next time we see each other wherever in the world that is Pradeep, but at the summit, the summit and you are going to be recognized as one of the fastest to get to five star. Tell us some of the things you're going to do over the next several months to make sure that that comes to life.
Speaker 1:Well, I just want to go back to your question where you spoke about the journey. I'm a firm believer in the journey and what I talk to my team members is don't focus on the results initially. Focus on the journey. Trust in the process, focus on the journey and the right result will be delivered. Five stars are very important, but I feel like the things that we do to get there is more important than getting the fives. Fives are important, don't get me wrong, but it needs to be organic and it needs to come from the heart. Service needs to be something you believe in, right.
Speaker 1:So what we're doing is we're investing a lot in our internal training and our internal systems within the hotel, and we are also doing a lot of repetition, and every staff member that comes in undergoes a thorough orientation, or what we've rephrased the word orientation. We call it immersion, cultural immersion. So it's important for them to know the story. So anybody that comes in, we talk about the foundation of Corinthia, who our owners are. We talk to them because it's important for them to know what our basics are. We talk to them because it's important for them to know what our basics are and who are the key members, and then, obviously, we speak about the basics when it comes to the service delivery, execution. But you know, I encourage all the staff to provide service from their heart. So there are standards and the standards can easily be met if you have what I call hospitality. You know there's a service side of the business and there's hospitality. And there's something I talk day in and day out is that if you provide service based on a checklist because you want to get to the result, then you miss the hospitality side. To get to the result, then you miss the hospitality side. But if you have, you understand what the service needs to be, but you have the hospitality side covered, then I think you, you know the world is the oyster after that.
Speaker 1:So I think we are taking these steps and going back to attaining these results.
Speaker 1:It's all about being consistent, it's repetition and you know, every day we invest a lot of our time and efforts with every staff member and the leadership team on the standards, on the basics, and it's not just something we do once every week, we do it every single day. I strongly believe that knowledge is power and you have to learn every single day. None of us are perfect. I need to be reminded of things every day, and you know it's important that you be humble and you're vulnerable. So me, as a leader, I don't expect to be right all the times, so I also tell my staff to hold me accountable if there's something I'm missing, and they're very happy to do that when they can, because to me, that's what good leadership is about is you need to open yourself to your team so they have the ability to speak to you when they want to, and it's a two-way traffic. So we're taking these steps and we're investing in the journey, and I believe that once we perfect the journey, the result will follow by itself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, now, those are so many valuable insights there, and I guess that's one of the benefits of being here together is that someone like yourself connecting with all of your colleagues. There's a lot that not only I can learn from you, our listeners can learn from you, but, as you rightly said, that we can learn from each other, and so, with us being here together on day two of the summit, I'm keen to know what some of the interesting highlights or takeaways have been for you. I've had certainly quite a few valuable insights from the opening sessions, from the discovery sessions, even the wellness studio with a company, mindstream that I found really quite fascinating. So tell us a little bit about your takeaways from this year's the Summit in Monaco.
Speaker 1:Well, first thing is I've gotten to meet a lot of my friends who I don't get to meet too often these days, but the incredible thing is also meeting professionals that I've not met before, where I've managed to learn certain things from them. I just was part of a panel and one of the panelists spoke about sustainability and about doing these organic gardens and through landfills. That, to me, was very, very eye-opening for me to see what we can take back and do in New York, for example. Take back and do in New York, for example, and plus, meeting professionals from the other industries, like this summit brings together individuals not just from the travel, but you have retail right. We have, like, the president of Chanel in Paris, who's here, and we have others.
Speaker 1:And we were just talking before we started talking here was that we were talking about how, no matter what industry you are in, the baseline and the denominators are the same we're all here to take care of our guests, and it's about investing in the experience of the guest, and we all believe that once you invest in that experience, everything else follows by itself. So to me, that has been a great takeaway. The other takeaway also has been the ability to understand different cultures and how people react to certain situations. So to me, the summit provides all the professionals the ability to express themselves and, I think, come together, be in one platform and spend time. You know, have coffee conversations. This morning, jerry Nzerola was there talking about what's happening in Saudi Arabia and knowing about what they're doing to build like a city by itself. So I think that and obviously with all our vendors and partners that are coming in, it's been great to meet all of them and see how can we leverage of each other For sure. Yeah, so it's been incredible.
Speaker 2:No, that's fantastic and I wanted to get a few of your insights around some of the trends you're paying attention to in luxury hospitality, whether it be New York or the Corinthia. Just some of the things that you mentioned about some of the sessions you've attended and all the valuable insights that have come out of being here at the summit. But what are some of the other things that you are already paying attention to or planning to implement that might be insightful for our listeners?
Speaker 1:It's a great question because hospitality is ever evolving, right? No, two days are alike. We have to stay relevant no matter what we do. So part of my daily responsibilities and inspiration is really exploding on the scene. We realized that, you know hotels. Gone are the days where hotels were just where you came and checked into a hotel, there were beds made. You went to the restaurant on your left. But now it's about delivering an overall package. And how does that look? Well, probably having a great residential piece to the hotel, having a, you know, private members. Clubs are a big deal because through them you're actually getting a lot more customers into the building. You're getting to know a lot more people and word of mouth, because once the members come in, their friends come in and then, before you, you know, it's like a residual effect Everybody gets to know who you are. Obviously, the pressure is that you do what you do the right way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, and you do it the best way possible and consistently. But we also realize that the other trend that we're seeing is social media. Gone are the days where you had to rely on somebody. A good example is influencers. I don't really believe in the word influencers anymore. Everybody's an influencer because anybody can come in, they can take pictures, they can snap photos and post it online.
Speaker 1:So for us it's important that every single guest that's walking in and out of the building, no matter what they're coming for, needs to be treated with the same amount of intensity and the same amount of sense of urgency that you would treat a guest that's checking into the hotel. You know we always talk about even if a guest wants to go to the restroom at the hotel. We escort those guests, we thank them for coming to the hotel. You know, right from our dormant they say thank you for coming to the Sarriya Kurunte Hotel. And if the guest says I want to go to the restroom, we escort them on the way out. We say we look forward to seeing you back. And what we're seeing is that guests really like the fact that they're being respected and they like the fact that they're being treated well.
Speaker 1:But coming back to your question with the trend clubs are a big deal. I also feel like privatizing minibars and room service, for example. It's about what I want to use a particular word here called curating perpetual demand, where you are curating demand based on what the customer needs. Know your customer is very important, and you know when the guest goes to a restaurant. For example, if you know you're going to celebrate a birthday party with four or six guests, it's a great idea to call you as a guest three, four days in advance. Get your wine preference. So if it's like a Chateau Latour or if it's a good Bordeaux, we open it up 24 hours, we decant it, it's ready and it's in the best shape and then you can consume it. So it's about knowing your customer.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic. You've got so many valuable insights. Pradeep, you're such a great guest to be on the show. I really appreciate your time. I want to make sure that our listeners can find out more about Corinthia and New York and connect with yourself. So, for those of the listeners that are either travel agents or work in the travel industry, tell us how they can partner with you and especially making bookings for their clients, and then, for those people that are just interested in now traveling to New York and experiencing the hotel, how they can find out more information.
Speaker 1:Well, I would say wwwcurrenthiacom, Nice. Look at New York, yep, and my parting statement to all of you who are listening is you'll come as a guest, you'll leave as a friend and you'll return as a family member.
Speaker 2:I love that. Well, I feel like there's a strong connection. I look forward to seeing you in New York next time.
Speaker 1:Likewise.
Speaker 2:Next year, wherever we're going to be in the world for the next summit.
Speaker 2:But thank you, pradeep, thank you, dan, thanks so much for joining us on episode three of our special 10-part hospitality series in partnership with our friends at Forbes Travel Guide.
Speaker 2:I hope you enjoyed our insightful discussion with Pradeep Raman from Corinthia, new York, which, of course, was recorded live at the summit in Monaco. We're going to be releasing new episodes every Thursday for the next several weeks and in our next episode we're going to journey back to Europe to speak with Roberto Protagioni, who is the general manager of the stunning Castle Falfi Hotel, which is in the heart of Tuscany, and he's one of the newest additions to the Forbes Travel Guide five-star hotel list. So not only are you going to hear his interesting story, but also a lot about this beautiful property as well. So make sure you are subscribed to get alerted when new episodes go live of Travel Trends on your streaming platform of choice, and we also do send out a monthly newsletter so you can register for that at TravelTrendsPodcastcom for updates and exclusive content that we send out. And make sure that you are checking out the social channels for at Forbes travel guide and at travel trends, both on LinkedIn and Instagram for clips and highlights from all these discussions until next week. Safe travels.
