THIBAUT DREGE, GENERAL MANAGER, FOUR SEASONS GEORGE V: “WE WANT TO CONTINUE THE STORY WHILE WRITING A NEW CHAPTER” (France)
Thibaut Drege returns to the Parisian palace after leaving at the end of 2022, this time as General Manager. He talks to Journal de Palaces about his perpetual quest for excellence and his vision of the future of the luxury hotel business. |
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THIBAUT DREGE, GENERAL MANAGER, FOUR SEASONS GEORGE V: “WE WANT TO CONTINUE THE STORY WHILE WRITING A NEW CHAPTER” (France)
Thibaut Drege returns to the Parisian palace after leaving at the end of 2022, this time as General Manager. He talks to Journal de Palaces about his perpetual quest for excellence and his vision of the future of the luxury hotel business. |
Category: Europe - France - Interviews and portraits
- Interviews - Industry leaders
Interview made by Romane Le Royer on 2024-12-09
 Thibaut Drege is the new General Manager of the Four Seasons George V
Photo credit © Ilya Kagan / Four Seasons Hotel George V
But Thibaut Drege had one ambition: to join the Four Seasons group. This dream became a reality when, in 2018, he joined the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris for the first time as hotel manager, overseeing operations under Jean-Claude Wietzel. Regularly renovated, the hotel unveils new prestige suites, a brand-new 720m2 spa and fitness center, and embellishes its reception lounges. He held the position of Hotel Manager for four years, before being offered a position as General Manager in Hungary, at the Gresham Palace Budapest, by Four Seasons. This was his first experience in this position, in “one of the group's most beautiful hotels”.
However, his attachment to the George V brought him back to Paris, where he became General Manager, following in the footsteps of the man who welcomed him in 2018, since Jean-Claude Wietzel is now in charge of all Four Seasons hotels in Europe. Thibaut Drege takes over the reins of a palace he considers to be a veritable showcase of excellence, and aims to embody a refined vision of hospitality, combining tradition, innovation and an undying love of the City of Light. A few weeks after the announcement of his appointment as head of the Parisian palace, the Journal des Palaces met him in the gilded salon de L'Horloge.
Journal des Palaces: How did your passion for the luxury hotel business come about?
Thibaut Drege: I've always wanted to work in the world of luxury hotels. It's a desire I developed very early on, motivated by my passion for gastronomy and catering, and by a desire to work with craftsmen who are always striving for excellence.
For me, this quest for excellence is a real driving force: every day I get up and tell myself how extraordinary what we all do on a daily basis is, but that we can also continue to strive for ever higher standards.
For me, working in a house like the George V is an absolutely incredible opportunity. Above and beyond the aura and reputation of the hotel itself, it's above all the opportunity to work with professionals who each have unrivalled expertise in their own field, and whose know-how enables us to lead this house towards excellence, at every level. It's this constant quest for excellence that drives me.
So, excellence at every level?
Yes, it's not exclusive to the restaurant business. At the George V, you have an absolutely extraordinary decor, which is also the DNA of the house, and which is the work of Jeff Leatham, our world-renowned artistic director.
Of course, there's also the gastronomic aspect, supported here by extraordinary professionals, both in the kitchen and in the dining room. We also have one of the finest wine cellars in Paris, and a formidable team of sommeliers who continue to challenge themselves, entering competitions to become the best sommelier in France, Italy, Europe and perhaps the world one day!
Finally, there's the accommodation aspect, and the excellence of our expertise in welcoming our customers, preparing their rooms, offering services and ensuring the quality of their stay.
At every level, there's the same concern for excellence in the work we do every day.
How has your career been inspired by your positions abroad?
It's always good to be challenged by different international experiences. Whether in China, or more recently in Budapest, these moments in my career have been foundational in the vision I carry today. It's exciting to come face to face with different markets, even though they're located on the same continent! For example, in Budapest, promoting the destination was a major challenge for us hoteliers, in order to attract our customers and encourage them to stay in Hungary. In Paris, on the other hand, we're driven by the destination's dynamism: the approach is very different.
After an initial stint at the George V, you spent a year and a half in Budapest, returning last September. What changed most for you and the hotel?
Personally, I think this experience has changed me a lot. A first experience, especially as general manager, is always extremely intense and extremely positive. I've also developed a very strong emotional bond with the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, which remains engraved in my heart as the very first hotel I've had the honor of managing in my career.
As far as the hotel and Paris are concerned, I don't think they've changed fundamentally in two years, but they have evolved, and are at the dawn of a new chapter, whether for the destination of Paris, after the absolutely extraordinary event of the Olympic Games, or for the George V, which continues its transformation.
We've done some fantastic things over the past decade, which are perfectly in keeping with the legacy left by my predecessor, Jean-Claude Wietzel, but I'm convinced that the hotel still has a lot to write about. And that's what I'm going to be working on with our teams over the coming months and years: continuing this history while writing a new chapter.
To do this, we are extraordinarily fortunate to have the support of owners who are constantly pushing us to reinvent ourselves. Inspiring new things, questioning ourselves, is naturally in the DNA of this company, which is always eager to move forward and propose a new offer, unprecedented on the market, in a permanent quest for excellence. It is in this continuity of questioning and striving for excellence that I am involved.
What's next for the George V?
Our hotel is constantly reinventing itself. In 2018, when I arrived as Hotel Director, we renovated all the reception lounges, reopened the spa and opened new suites. We also very regularly carry out embellishment work on our rooms and suites, to continue to support this quest for excellence for our guests.
We have also stepped up our eco-responsible approach in recent years. A building that dates back to 1928 has to be brought up to environmental standards, which we do every time we embellish our spaces. We are also developing a number of solidarity initiatives, to such an extent that we have obtained double BREEAM certification with an excellent level for both the building and the way we operate the hotel, making us a world leader in 5-star luxury hotels.
How did you achieve this evolution in terms of eco-responsibility?
By motivating our teams at all levels, by asking ourselves how we can have a beneficial impact, in terms of sourcing, for example, which is a key factor. We have an extremely circular economy. Le George restaurant uses a large proportion of the vegetables grown in our kitchen garden in Versailles, which is tended by people on vocational rehabilitation schemes. All our organic waste is also harvested for composting.
We also have a committee called Four Seasons For Good, which brings together one representative per department. The aim is to reflect on the action plan we can put in place to work on both the environmental and social dimensions. Last year, for example, we were able to forge many partnerships thanks to this committee. We work, for example, with an association, Hôtels Solidaires, with whom we distribute uniforms, beds and sheets that we no longer use.
How have these changes been accepted by your teams?
Our teams, and the new generation in particular, are enormously encouraged by these changes. If we structured and framed the general dynamic, motivation and commitment came very easily among our teams, who were - and continue to be - the driving force behind proposals on these subjects. It wasn't long before everyone, in their own area of expertise, began to think about the ecological footprint and responsible approach that we take throughout the hotel. From that moment on, the teams became the driving force behind the proposals, with extremely innovative and creative ideas, and above all, ideas that were fair, concrete because they came from their daily lives, and which they could put into practice.
Today's younger generations are increasingly asking what kind of commitment we are making. This question, too, is fundamental and is at the heart of our motivation and the work we do at every level.
The George V now boasts six stars, spread across all your restaurants. How do you intend to develop and maintain the quality of your restaurant offering?
We want to continue to make this house shine and to continue to be an international gastronomic destination. Today, we're very proud to be able to boast 6 Michelin stars under one roof, and to be able to give our chefs, as well as our front-of-house teams, the resources they need to achieve such a high level of excellence. It's important for us to support and accompany our teams so that they can express all their talents. It's also important to give them positive or negative feedback, because our quest for excellence must also be accompanied by questioning and challenge.
Maintaining the quality of our offering also means giving each of our restaurants a strong identity: an identity that they are free to express through their own know-how and that of the artisans with whom they work, be they producers, ceramists, winemakers or market gardeners.
While the days when palaces were constantly on the lookout for a Michelin star are relatively long gone, at the George V, we continue to be committed to this approach, which is part of our DNA and which, we believe, is also what our customers are looking for when they come to Paris, which is one of the cradles of world gastronomy. We want to be a major player in this respect, by offering varied gastronomic experiences.
Can everything be done to make the George V a destination within the destination that is Paris?
Absolutely! Beyond gastronomy, for which we are known and recognized, there is also an absolutely extraordinary expertise in terms of sommellerie, an approach to the bar, to mixology, which is also something very important. Our aim is to offer our customers new things on an extremely regular basis. This summer, to coincide with the Olympic Games, we installed a basketball court in the heart of the hotel. It's more than just a hotel or a restaurant; we want to offer an experience. I'm a great believer in this idea of experience: whether it's gastronomic, or linked to the destination, we have to give our customers the opportunity to enjoy these unique experiences.
What do you see as the main challenges and opportunities facing the luxury hotel sector?
I remain extremely optimistic about the future of the luxury hotel business. We're experts at delivering and offering our customers something intangible, an experience, a souvenir of their stay in Paris.
This intangibility is something that is increasingly sought-after in the luxury world. Our customers want to build memories, so it's our duty to help them create emotions. It's a logic that I believe drives the luxury hotel industry as a whole, and one that allows us to look to the future with great optimism.
The challenges we face are obviously linked to geopolitical dynamics, which inevitably have an impact on flows, on tourism and on a market's propensity to travel or to want to travel.
Could you cite a few professional encounters that have marked your career?
In a property like the Four Seasons George V, which reopened 25 years ago, the people who inspire me most are all our teams, who are totally committed to the George V. It's immensely inspiring. It's immensely inspiring to see that we have teams who, for many of them, have been here since day one and strive every day to surpass themselves, to go beyond our customers' expectations. The people who inspire me most are the people who make the hotel magical. Whether or not they're in contact with our guests, it's these artisans who keep the hotel running and create the emotion that our visitors crave.
Also, when I joined the Four Seasons Group, I discovered an absolutely unique philosophy driven by a man I was lucky enough to meet, the Group's founder, Isadore Sharp. Even today, at the age of 93, he still carries this idea of innovation, this energy and motivation to reinvent the hotel industry worldwide, as he has done since day one.
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to make a career in the luxury hotel sector?
My advice would be to give yourself no limits and really set yourself goals, whether they be career goals or goals of excellence. I don't think anyone who has reached the top has given themselves any limits, be they geographical, career or ascent. My first general manager started his career as a porter and, in time, became general manager of one of the biggest hotels in China. You have to strive for excellence, whatever the job, whatever the task, whatever the moment in your career, and give your best so that you can learn. It's believing in yourself that's essential.
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