In Bangkok 20 years ago, Laurent Kleitman visited the Mandarin Oriental hotel for dinner with his family. As they ate, he did not notice his young son’s ketchup-stained shirt, which was left hanging on a chair, discreetly being removed and laundered. The cleaned, pressed garment was handed back to them at the end of their meal.
After Kleitman took over as chief executive of the hotel chain two years ago, he returned to the terrace restaurant, which was still overseen by the same person. “We hugged, and I said [to him], ‘On that day, you recruited the CEO, because you made me a fan of the brand. You hooked me.’”
The 59-year-old Frenchman, who lives in Hong Kong where Mandarin Oriental is headquartered, often returns to that story as an example of how he thinks about luxury. For him, it is not about the glamour of ornate lobbies and high thread count bed linen, but about the utmost care and attention.