{"id":2680,"date":"2023-10-02T08:45:12","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T15:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2680"},"modified":"2024-01-22T17:51:29","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T00:51:29","slug":"cancun-confidential-kempinski-hotel-and-secrets-of-a-career-in-hospitality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/2680\/cancun-confidential-kempinski-hotel-and-secrets-of-a-career-in-hospitality","title":{"rendered":"Cancun Confidential: Kempinski Hotel and Secrets of a Career in Hospitality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kempinski<\/a>

Kempinski Hotels executive Xavier Destribats has overseen many international properties. Photo by Peter Franks<\/p><\/div>\n

Cancun, Mexico, easily reachable via three-hour, non-stop flights from Lansing\u2019s Capital Region International Airport, is sometimes perceived as a party destination. Spring breakers are more than welcome to whoop it up, but Xavier Destribats wants you to know you have an option at the cultured, Kempinski Cancun Resort, where vacationers can get sophistication with their sunshine.<\/p>\n

As Kempinski\u2019s president and COO of the Americas, Destribats knows Latin luxury: he also oversees the brand\u2019s three resort and business hotels in Cuba and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cKempinski Hotels, founded in 1897, is the oldest European brand, with 84 privately-owned, unique properties worldwide. We like to open hotels in historic buildings and even palaces,\u201d he explained. \u201cFor our guests, every moment becomes a masterpiece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even for me: on the rooftop pool deck, Destribats gently replaced the cola I was drinking with a glass of sauvignon blanc. \u201cDrink wine. It is healthier for you,\u201d he said in his non-judgmental, humorous tone. Destribats is all sophistication with no snobbery \u2013 as are the Kempinski Hotels.<\/p>\n

Five-star service has reached the beach in Cancun with its powdery white sand along the turquoise-blue Caribbean Sea with Kempinski\u2019s 363 rooms overlooking the oasis. Kempinski Cancun feels blissfully remote but convenient since it is in the vibrant hotel zone 25-minutes from downtown and the airport. Kayanta is the Mayan word for \u201crenewal,\u201d and the name of the hotel\u2019s spa, which uses indigenous ingredients in wellness treatments. Kayanta Spa is described as a \u201cdecadent place of respite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travelers who appreciate a variety and gourmet food and wine fear Cancun\u2019s \u201call inclusive\u201d resort plans which can leave their palates trapped with redundant on-site menus and buffets. Kempinski Cancun eschews the all-inclusive model for a la carte cuisine curated by epicurean chefs using local ingredients and supplemented by sommeliers in its six bars and restaurants. It is the same accommodating European plan used at their historic properties in world cities such as Istanbul, Dubai, Singapore, Cairo and Dresden.<\/p>\n

Destribats, born and raised in France\u2019s famed Bordeau wine region, has managed hotels in Mexico, Israel, Paris, Geneva, Japan, and Cuba. His long professional career began with a posting in Cancun \u2013 and so he has come full circle.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAlthough I have a house in France, home is where I am at any given moment,\u201d he insisted. The hospitality industry has given him a life, and he has advice for students in MSU\u2019s School of Hospitality Management. \u201cYou will always have work in hotels and restaurants. To be sure to always have a job, hospitality is a great industry. You need to have a passion, though, because you will work long hours. These are not eight-hour days. And very often you must be entertaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reward for dedication, according to Destribats, is the ability to travel and see the world and experience its different cultures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always impressed that my father invited people to our home. It was more welcoming than taking them to a restaurant. We were six children sitting at the dinner table with the guests. I had to wear a tie. And then a lady came in with white gloves serving at the table. This is how I started to like hospitality, so I went to hotel school in Switzerland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Destribats\u2019 wife also studied hotel management, as did his son, who is now in Munich. Vacation for the Destribats means visiting their son and their daughter in Innsbruck.\u00a0\u00a0His career, during which Hyatt once named him \u201cGeneral Manager of the Year,\u201d was not always as smooth as the Bordeau he sips.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first hotel in Cancun was destroyed by a hurricane. So, I moved to a job in Jerusalem where I encountered the missiles of the first Gulf War,\u201d he revealed. Destribats was also in Japan during the earthquake and tsunami that resulted in a nuclear power plant disaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends are afraid to travel with me,\u201d he joked. \u201cBut Japan is great for a hotelier because the Japanese insist on top quality: the best food, cutlery, uniforms\u2026 everything. They eat out almost every evening so the restaurants are always full.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0It was in Tokyo, where his hotel was next to a cinema, that Destribats was able to meet Clint Eastwood, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and even Billionaire inventor Bill Gates. \u201cMy conversation with Mr. Gates totaled five words from him: I welcomed him to the hotel and he said, \u2018Thank you.\u2019 In the elevator I asked how his flight was and he answered, \u2018Good.\u2019 When I delivered him to his room, he said, \u2018Thank you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, a diplomat, Destribats has learned to vary his management style. \u201cYou do not manage your team in Cancun the way you manage your team in Japan or Geneva. You adapt to the local culture. That does not mean you have to compromise your standards and morale. You teach about the brand and luxury. And you must not lose your temper anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0<\/em>MShiels@aol.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His radio program may be found\u00a0aMiBigShow.com or weekday mornings\u00a0from 9-noon\u00a0on WJIM\u00a0AM 1240<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cancun, Mexico, easily reachable via three-hour, non-stop flights from Lansing\u2019s Capital Region International Airport, is sometimes perceived as a party… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2023\/10\/Cancun-Confidential-final.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2682,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680\/revisions\/2682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}