CEO of Fairmont & Raffles: Luxury Isn’t What You Think It Is

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On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Throughout his remarkable career, Omer has held leadership roles at Four Seasons, Harrods, The Ritz Paris, and more, while living and working everywhere from Hawaii and California to Egypt, London, Paris, and now New York.

Together, they explore how luxury hospitality has evolved from a focus on opulence and perfection to something far more powerful: emotional connection.

Omer shares why great hotels make people feel seen, valued, and understood, why the best service often reveals itself when things go wrong, and how brands can modernize without losing the heritage that made them iconic in the first place.

They also discuss the future of luxury travel, the continued importance of experiences over possessions, and why technology will never replace genuine human connection.

This episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lodgify and Bilt!⁠⁠⁠⁠

Watch This Episode

Welcome to Suite Success

I am Omer Acar, and you’re listening Suite Success.

You’ve just checked in to Suite Success. Join me, Katie Cline, for exclusive conversations with hotel executives, hospitality leaders, and industry innovators.

Together, we’ll uncover the strategies and techniques these masters of hospitality relentlessly refine. Whether you’re already in the industry or just starting out, tune in every week to unlock the secret to your Suite Success.

0:38

Meet Omer Acar

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Suite Success. I’m your host, Katie Cline, and today I’m thrilled to welcome Omer Acar to the show. Omer is the Chief Executive Officer of Raffles & Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

Throughout his remarkable career, he’s held leadership roles at Four Seasons, Harrods, The Ritz Paris, and more, while living and working everywhere from Hawaii and California to Egypt, London, Paris, and now New York.

With firsthand international experience across some of the world’s most iconic brands, Omer is truly a specialist in global luxury hospitality. Omer, thank you so much for joining us today.

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

1:21

Early Passion for Hotels

So I understand that you are originally from Istanbul, and then you moved to Switzerland to study hotel management before eventually heading to Honolulu to pursue a business degree at Hawaii Pacific University.

What made you know you wanted to pursue hospitality from such a young age?

Growing up in Istanbul, I was always fascinated by the way hospitality could bring people, cultures, and stories together. As you know, Istanbul is where two continents meet, East and West.

And that positioning was always inspiring me when it becomes melting cultures in a city that never sleeps. So from a young age, I always dream of working in the grand hotel of the world.

And even my father, when he used to ask me, I was six years old, you know, what do you want to do when you grow up?

And I used to tell him, he reminded me years after that I wanna have a great hotel, I wanna manage a great hotel, and I wanna welcome you somewhere around the world.

And I started studying first interior design and architecture, and then ultimately moved into hospitality because I knew it was where I would be the happiest, and I believe there is a direct connection between happiness and success.

If you are graded, if you feel good at what you do, and it radiates to others around you.

So I was designing restaurants and bars in summer, and I felt that I was probably, I would have been happier if I was actually being on those environments, instead of designing, helping to design those places, then go to the next project.

Sure.

And I realized early, in the early ages, that great hotels create emotional memories. That doorman when we were very young, or the chef, or the waiter, or the pool attendant. And this is where it was never for me transactional.

It was all about human connection, appealed to me more than any other industry in hospitality. And it felt like a natural blend of business, culture, service, and creativity.

And then later on in my career, when I became a general manager of The Ritz, which was a pivotal career moment for me, and not because it is one of the most iconic hotels in the world, because I was given an opportunity to be involved in every aspect

of the business. And I guess if you want to be in the hospitality industry, that’s the best education you can get.

For sure.

And then, yeah, hospitality is one of those few industries where business and human emotion truly come together.

To know what you wanted to do from such a young age, I think is so impressive.

4:36

Club Med and Choreography

Was there a specific hotel or travel memory that really shaped your opinion of the industry?

Yes, I do. I would, I mean, it is mostly when we went to Club Med. And Club Med, human connection is very important.

And so you really don’t go necessarily only for product at that time, but you just miss those individuals. And I, you know, it wasn’t about the room or the facilities. Even though they were very nice, but it was more about missing the individuals.

And when you see them back, it was family getting together. And then that connection was very, very important. So, and genuinely welcome and care for.

And every year you see the same individuals working on those properties. And it was, I was welcome like a family to them, that I guess. And of course, there is a lot of work goes behind that.

And that’s where that what I call the choreography becomes very important part of that hospitality.

And sometimes it seems very easy and effortless, but there’s a lot of work behind the walls, what goes around, what we prepare for our guests before their even arrival.

So I was noticing a simple gesture and personalized interaction could change somebody’s experience, which has become memorable.

And they feel good when they experience it, and they feel good years after when they share that experience with somebody else.

Yeah.

And that emotional impact also stay with me and ultimately shape how I think about hospitality today.

It’s almost when it is the most effortless that you know, there’s a lot of work that went into it to make it feel that way to the guest, right?

Exactly. But also genuine execution. And you know it when it happens and you know it doesn’t happen.

Absolutely.

6:49

Scaling Culture

And I mean, we go deeper into the subject, but this is where as a CEO, I scale passion and mindset, but not process.

And we don’t hire for background, but we hire for passion and curiosity.

That is something that’s difficult to do, though, to scale passion and mindset. How do you do that?

Well, yes, it’s about, I think, surrounding yourself with colleagues that share the same vision. And you have to leave that vision. And I think brand building today is about creating something people want to belong to, not just to stay in.

And obviously, luxury is no longer about what you see, it’s about what you feel and remember. And when you focus on this, the consistency comes from the shared spirit and culture, not identical execution.

Because you’ve got to give individuals their way of expressing themselves. But within that spirit and culture, that’s a movement in the company.

And I can understand why someone so passionate about hospitality first went to school in Switzerland, of course.

8:16

Hawaii

What then drew you to Hawaii specifically?

So, again, I’m always somehow find myself in destinations that cultures connect. And Hawaii was also between East culture, a lot of Japanese influence, to the West. So I wanted to be experiencing both.

So, and Hawaii represented for me at that time, diversity, optimism, openness. And I was really drawn into its unique blend of cultures. And, but at the same time, very deep hospitality spirit, which we call it aloha.

And it’s the melting pot, again, in the Pacific region, right? In the Pacific Ocean, actually. So going to school in Hawaii, the reason I select that was, you know, why don’t I experience something?

I can see both of the cultures and combining with the business studies with a hands-on operational experience in one of the world’s most service-oriented destinations.

And living there clearly taught me it’s not just a profession, it’s a way of life in Hawaii. Basically, if I look back today, Hawaii taught me that hospitality is not a job, but it’s a way of living and connecting with people.

9:50

Global Career Lessons

I’m going to quickly overview your CV both professionally as well as where you’ve lived because it’s really, really incredible.

Your first role after college was working in a restaurant in Hawaii. Then you worked with Four Seasons in Maui, Beverly Hills, in Egypt, then to London with Harrods, Paris with Ritz.

In 2014, you joined Katara Hospitality as Managing Director for Europe and the Americas, overseeing 18 luxury hotels, including the Plaza in New York, the Peninsula in Paris, Grosvenor House in London.

And then finally, in 2023, you joined Accor as CEO of Raffles and initially Orient Express, adding Fairmont the following year. I mean, incredible brands, incredible destinations. Let’s talk about the locations first.

How do you think those different cities living in those different places, those different continents has really shaped how you think about both hospitality as well as your leadership style?

Well, each destination has an impact of my growth and I’m learning. And that never stops, even in New York today. And that curiosity that I mentioned to you earlier is an important part of that journey.

Always want to learn, always be curious. Hawaii taught me the warm and the authenticity. London taught precision and global sophistication.

Paris reinforced elegance and heritage. And while the Middle East emphasize on generosity at scale. But there is one common factor again.

When it comes to human connection, there is only one language. And hospitality defines that language wherever you’re in the world. So experiencing such diverse cultures also helped me to understand that luxury is emotional and highly contextual.

And also, as a leader, you need to have an obsession in service industry. And that passion, and in my case, maybe it is an obsession, but whilst they ground it with clear values and human connection.

So luxury can have that different sides, that at one point, you’re serving to celebrities or famous individuals on the world, but you always have to remind yourself, you’ve got to stay grounded because today is not defined by opulence, it’s by

authenticity and experience. But you have to feel very comfortable. I’m very proud to serve today to our owners, to our employees, to our hotels. It is we are there to support, to help and our value is when we do that.

So is that staying grounded and continue focusing on human connections is very important. But at the end, each city teaches you a different language of hospitality, adds a different color.

And I imagine a lot of that you saw as a through line between all of the incredible brands that you’ve worked for.

13:21

What Luxury Really Means

When you look back at those, what do you think truly great luxury brands understand about human psychology?

I think great luxury brands that are, people are ultimately searching for meaning, recognition and emotional connection. Luxury is creating a desire.

And it’s not about excess, but it’s about making someone feel seen, valued and understood in a deeply personal way. Best brands create memories and drives emotional loyalty, is not transactional.

But you want guests to remember the way they felt when that interaction happened. So the true luxury is not about what people see, is about how they feel.

What do you think one of the biggest misunderstandings is about luxury or luxury hospitality?

Well, I mentioned earlier, a lot of people assume that luxury is, luxury hospitality is all about opulence and probably material extravagance.

But when in reality it’s about emotional intelligence, attention to detail and is rooted in care and human connection. True luxury today, and you hear it often, it’s often quite intuitive, deeply personalized rather than overly formal or flashy.

And the highest level of service feels effortless, as I mentioned before. Even though it requires extraordinary care and preparation behind the scenes, but it feels effortless.

So the best luxury service feels effortless, even though enormous care and preparation goes into creating it.

And do you think that’s always been true? Because I imagine throughout the course of your career, you’ve seen consumer expectations really shift. You just talked about lack of formality.

I think if we look back, let’s say, 20 years, that white tablecloth and gloves, that was a bit more associated with luxury hospitality, and we have definitely started to shift away from that. So have you seen what consumers want in the space change?

It’s true, but desire of individuals may vary, and you see cycles. I mean, probably 15, 20 years ago, table side service was no longer popular, and it became family-share style dining on the restaurants.

Now the guest wants to be entertained and wants to see how you prepare in front of them. So the art of craftsmanship has become very important again. So how do you make them feel inspired?

And it’s immersive. They are part of that. So I don’t think there is one solution or one trend, is being agile and adopting yourself, and sometime creating experiences that it doesn’t exist, and that becomes a trend itself.

16:44

Modernizing Heritage Brands

And speaking of incredible luxury experiences, both Raffles and Fairmont have incredibly rich histories, they have incredibly rich identities.

How do you think about modernizing heritage brands without losing what it was that made people fall in love with them in the first place?

I think Raffles since 1887 and Fairmont since 1907, this is probably the most often question that I got.

Sure.

I think it starts with understanding what is timeless and emotionally resonant about the brand. And I must, me and my team, we must protect it at all costs. Modernization should enhance the relevance for today’s traveler.

Without erasing the soul, the rituals and the storytelling that made the brand iconic in the first place. The goal is evolution, not reinvention. So the greatest luxury brands don’t chase relevance, but they define it across generations.

Yeah.

And if we think back to what you were saying with cycles, very much I feel like the trend, if you will, is an obsession with heritage of the brands who have these lengthy histories are really resonating with modern consumers now.

Do you think that that is something that, again, was in vogue once, then it was about newness, now it’s coming back again? Or is this really kind of a new quote unquote trend?

Exactly. I agree with you 100 percent. It is, you see cycles and those cycles that at once is old-fashioned become fashionable.

But the key word is, always remain stylish because fashion changes, but style remains.

It goes back to what you were talking about with authenticity earlier. You were talking about it in service, right?

You can feel when a hotel associate is operating by a playbook and just following the steps, or when they’re actually solving your problem and thinking about things in a way that only they could.

It’s kind of similar with what you’re talking about with brands.

19:02

Service Recovery

100%.

I mean, good service fulfills expectations efficiently. Today also, luxury is not all about things going right.

I mean, you’re paying certain level of price tag for a service and you expect that your coffee arrives on time, your luggage derivles on time, your room is clean.

But is luxury today is also defined by when things go wrong, how you react, how you own that problem. And I think that also defines your service culture. So it is expected that you will deliver everything on time and the room is clean.

But when something goes wrong, how do you feel about it? And how do you overcome that difficulty? And how do you make the guests feel that you actually own it and you take care of it?

So the true luxury when it comes to service is all about empathy, anticipation, because you’re dealing with different moods sometimes. Some could be tired, some could be lonely, some could be celebrating. It’s a unity adapt to it.

But what we see increasingly that guests value privacy also at the same time in the luxury world. But I may say guests may forget what was said, but they will always remember how they felt.

And I think service is transactional, but hospitality is emotional.

20:51

Doorman Secrets

With all of the brands that you’ve worked for, all of the places you’ve lived, when you walk into a hotel personally, anywhere in the world, what are the first things you notice?

The doorman, like all of us, how they welcome a guest sets the tone for how you feel entering the hotel.

One thing I know when I’m in Paris, when the doorman sees anybody passing the street, not entering to the hotel, lifts the head and say, bonjour madame, bonjour monsieur, greeting. For me, I love that.

Those rituals really gives a meaning to the day in the hospitality environment to everybody. I started in LinkedIn. You probably saw it.

It’s a doorman series. As they are the doorman, they often for me hold to the key to the city, to the experiences. They are the first person.

They know so much about that city. They hear so many things. Guests are returning from a restaurant or a dining or an exhibition or a fashion show.

They hear all the feedback first on hand. Therefore, often when I go to the hotels, I interview the doormen and I ask them three secrets to that city that nobody knows. We share them in LinkedIn.

I think there’s a lot of charming answers to that question from different doormen all around the world. But I also, when I visit the hotels, I pay close attention to details. And I often watch other tables.

Everybody thinks that I focus on what I receive, but I often focus on what other guests receive.

Yeah.

And what makes me happy is the simple gestures. It tells me a lot about that hotel’s culture. And local gestures also means a lot to me.

So you know you’re in a different city and a different country.

I like what you’re talking about with the doorman too, because we talk so much in hospitality about how crucial the arrival experience is.

And you’re right, this person alone is quite literally welcoming you into the hotel, or even acknowledging you as you pass. And you might think, one day I’d love to stay there. So I think that’s such a good litmus test.

Yes, exactly.

23:29

Luxury Trends

How do you think the luxury segment has evolved over the past 24 months?

I think we see less of beach collaboration with fashion brands.

There was a hype two years ago, and now it’s going away because again, I believe the most guests are looking for experiences, and not a product replacement.

I think our guests are looking more for privacy, and they are also looking for money cannot buy experiences. Again, I think the word experience, it’s really the new definition of hospitality when you crafting or creating those experiences.

So that’s become a real North Star for luxury business in the last 24 months.

For your ownership community, do you feel like luxury is being underwritten differently than it used to be in the past?

I would say yes, because we see very, very high ADRs, as you see in the market. The average room rate has increased tremendously since the COVID.

So, it helps to return increase, but experiences cost more, anticipate that you require more team members on the ground. But obviously, the costing of that experience versus what you pay for is probably changes that underwriting.

What do you predict for the future of the luxury category?

It will become even more experience-driven, wellness-oriented. That’s also very, very important today. And emotionally personalize.

It’s not doing more, it’s recognizing more. So, technology, and especially super intelligence, will continue to remove that friction from the guest journey. But the human element will become even more valuable and differentiating it.

But super intelligence will help us to eliminate some of those tasks that occupy the team members, but there will be more focus to the human connection with the guest.

And again, the brands that succeed will be successful, the ones that combine the timeless emotional connection with the innovation and cultural relevance in each destination.

So, the next era of luxury hospitality will be defined by how deeply brands understand their guests.

We talked so much about personalization and hospitality, but I really like what you just said, emotional personalization, which feels like so much more than initials or monogram on a pillowcase or something, like it started 10, 20 years ago.

26:39

Emotional Personalization

When you think about emotional personalization, what does that mean for Raffles & Fairmont?

Best personalization is often substantial. It’s anticipating preferences, remembering details, creating experiences that feel intuitive rather than scripted. Let’s give you an example.

Two weeks ago, we were in Bermuda for SaleGP, which Fairmont is a sponsor with Acar. We were in a restaurant with the team, and finishing our meal, and another group of guests arrived, and they were going to start their dining experience.

There were about 12 people, beautiful weather, and the electricity in the island went off, so suddenly, of course, kitchens cannot function properly because you don’t have an exhaust system functioning.

The weather outside was beautiful, so there was a little bit of how we’re going to handle this, and with the team, we decided that we’re going to give them a best dining experience they ever felt, because what happens when you see that?

Your expectations suddenly goes down, because you know that there is a limitation of food can be prepared until the power is back.

So what we have done is every candle you could find around creating on a beautiful waterside table, and we told them not to worry, you’re going to have an experience, something that you will have years to remember.

And we bring fresh seafood, everything was on the menu, it was on the table, it was a celebration of Bermuda, it became a purpose for that evening.

And we said that it’s going to be a dining experience, that after three hours, you still don’t want to leave because you have so much. Next day, we received letters from the guests that it was their best dining experience.

It is reacting to the moment, it’s being honest, it’s being sincere, it’s being humble. But at the end, it’s caring. And because they spend their time with us, shortage of power was not an excuse.

It inspired us to be even better. And in my view, it was a memorable experience. I’m sure they will talk about it.

Absolutely.

What a great example that is.

29:35

Growth Plans for Raffles & Fairmont

When you think about what’s to come for Fairmont, for Raffles, what are you most excited about?

Look, it has, I think our growth is very important. You probably heard last week we announced Courchevel for Raffles. Previously, we announced Le Como.

And before that, we announced Cabo. So we are in destinations where our guests are there, wants to be there, but want to experience it with Raffles.

And in the story of Fairmont, also with Fairmont Lenses, we opened last year, Tokyo, beautiful project for Fairmont, Prague, La Siente in Spain, near Marbella, about 35, 40 minutes ride in Gibraltar, right on the water, one of the top 100 golf

courses in the world, 280 on the wall, right on the water. We have opened Prague, just beautiful hotel on the old city, beautiful location.

So these are, we want to continue growing carefully in the right destinations and the right locations on destinations.

As much as we want to make sure that we focus on what we are, we believe we are good at, which is giving those experiences, whether it’s Fairmont or Raffles. In Fairmont, we call it, we make spatial happen. In Raffles, we call it, the butler did it.

So, it’s all about focusing on our guests, but at the same time, focusing on our hearts, our colleagues. Because in the beginning of this conversation, when you and I discuss, how do you scale that?

You share that by sharing that spirit and culture, on living it every day.

Omer, I want to ask you the last three questions that I ask every guest. And the first is, what was the best hospitality experience you’ve ever had? And I’m going to ask if you cannot choose Raffles & Fairmont, if possible.

I’m sure you have many that you could choose from from there.

This is a great question. I have been so much in the side of delivering those experiences. So I’ll share the one that I think I shared a few years back in a skiff conference in New York.

It was about an elderly couple who wanted to visit one of our hotels, but they had a time limit because they get seasick, but they wanted to do fishing, but they wanted to make sure that we caught the fish.

It was a very difficult task because it’s hard to guarantee that in 20 minutes you catch a fish. But we made that happen thanks to our divers team that we’ve put a spot in GPS locations.

So when we get there, they were waiting on the bottom and they were actually ready to hook that fish.

And that experience, when you see the guests feeling that that was their dream and experience and catching a fish, pulling it out of the water, I think it really brings out what we do.

And we are somehow service magicians in hospitality, making impossible possible.

On the flip side of that, what was the worst hospitality experience you’ve ever had?

I probably will say, and I don’t mean hospitality is limited to the hotels, but whole industry. When something goes wrong in an airline, the reaction time and owning that problem is usually the issue. And when I had to fly for…

I was traveling and my third son was due, and when I get to call, I had to make it back. And the good thing I made it. But amount of flight cancellations on that day is born in August, so it was the height of the summer season traveling.

Flights cancel, flights delay. And that day, I remember we should never ever treat our guest that way.

If there is a mean, I rather take that guest and drive myself than leave them at the airport stranded somewhere, missing that important milestone in one’s life. So yeah, there’s always a learning.

You can learn what to do a lot, but you can also learn what not to do.

And I imagine they were really lacking the empathy that you touched on earlier to someone who could say, that must be really stressful for you. I know you want to be there.

Exactly. Exactly.

Final question for you. What does hospitality mean to you? You’ve already given some really great gems on that one.

And is there anyone, a person, a brand that you think has truly mastered it?

As I mentioned, hospitality is about creating an emotional connection with our guests by providing crafting experiences. So it’s not very transactional.

I really, and I must share that with you, running this company, meeting every day hundreds of our employees, listening to stories.

And some of them are so sincere and meaningful, but yet humble and so natural, it brings sometimes tears to my eyes that how genuine they are, how passionate they are.

So I think the real winners on this is not the brands, is the employees who are behind those brands.

What a wonderful answer. Omer, this has been such a delight. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Thank you very much, Katie.

Thank you very much for having me.

All right, everyone, it’s time for today’s Suite Summary, where I break down the key insights and actionable takeaways from today’s conversation.

36:05

Suite Summary

Omer’s entire career and largely his life has been built at the intersection of cultures. He grew up in Istanbul, a city that quite literally bridges Europe and Asia.

Then he moved to Hawaii, a place that blends East Asian, Polynesian, and Western cultures.

He learned early on that hospitality is about bringing people, cultures, and stories together, welcoming travelers from around the world, and creating connections between people who might otherwise never cross paths.

From an early age, he knew he wanted to work in hospitality, not because he wanted to run hotels or lead teams, but because he wanted to welcome people. He intrinsically understood something that many people take years to learn.

It’s the emotional memories of a place that define the experience.

Guests will forget the thread count of the sheets or the square footage of a room, but they will always remember the doorman who greeted them by name, or the chef who prepared something special, or the pool attendant who anticipated a need before

they even had to ask. Omer also spoke about what he calls the choreography of a hotel. Thousands of moving parts all working together behind the scenes.

The irony is that the better a hotel performs, the less guests notice the work it took to make it happen. The most exceptional hospitality often appears effortless.

Many people assume luxury is defined by perfection, but Omer suggested it’s really about what happens when things go wrong. He shared the story of a blackout in Bermuda, a situation that could have easily become a massive guest complaint.

Instead, the team rallied together and transformed an inconvenience into an experience. True luxury isn’t the absence of problems, it’s the ability to respond with care, honesty, humility, and creativity when problems do arise.

And perhaps, that’s why Omer kept coming back to the doorman. The first impression, the first smile, the first welcome, the first opportunity to make someone feel seen, even if they’re not a guest of the property yet.

Because when you strip away the marble lobbies, the ocean views, the Michelin stars, and the penthouse suites, hospitality is purely a human business. Every memorable hotel stay is simply the accumulation of dozens of seemingly small interactions.

A warm hello, a personalized recommendation, a problem solved, a thoughtful gesture. Omer’s remarkable career has taken him around the world and landed him at the helm of two of the most iconic hotel brands in the world.

And yet, his perspective on hospitality hasn’t really changed since he was a little boy growing up in Istanbul. Make people feel welcome. It’s that simple.

And that concludes another episode of Suite Success. If you enjoyed today’s conversation, please subscribe, rate and review the show. We all know how important those five-star reviews are.

I also want to say a massive thank you to each and every one of you for tuning in. It means the absolute world to me. And I’d love to hear from you.

If you have ideas for future guests, new topics to cover, or even just want to say hi, don’t be shy. Message me through our website, suitesuccesspodcast.com, or on social media, at suitesuccesspodcast.com. That’s Suite like Hotels Suite.

Once again, I’m your host, Katie Cline, and I’m super excited to see you all next week.