Ideate

1 min. with a superhero: Peter Fleck

by Fred Roed on 11/06/08 at 11:07 pm
2 comments

This morning we’re going ‘Old School’ and talking to a true legend of the South African business and marketing world: Peter Fleck of The Last Word group of boutique hotels. Part of The Mantis Collection, the hotels have quickly made a name for themselves as true ‘hidden gems’ in South Africa. Ultra-luxury, yet never pretentious, Peter and his team have gone out of their way to boost the level of customer experience in the hotel trade. Peter is the father of Nicky, super-efficient marketing manager of the hotel group, and Robbie Fleck, erstwhile Springbok center from the pre-White era. Peter also happens to be one of my clients at World Wide Creative, so the interview was all very diplomatic! Anyone looking to get into the hospitality trade – this article is compulsory reading…

Peter, give us a snapshot of The Last Word hotels.
The Last Word is a collection of stunning boutique retreats in and around Cape Town. Each has its own soul, different in character, views and things to do yet they’re linked by the same style and superior standards of hospitality. They offer unparalleled African peace, comfort and safety.

The accommodation industry is getting pretty saturated these days. It seems like everyone who owns a second property has tried to open up a guest house in the past 10 years. How does The Last Word stand out from the crowd?
How does anything stand out? You build a brand, no matter how small, which means you invest in creative marketing and in the excellence of a product or service. ‘Mein host’ sounds great but the grass is only greener if you are prepared to work hard, odd hours and have the passion to drive differentiation and distinctiveness.

We have one core value. Charm. From this everything flows. The people who work for The Last Word figured this out themselves. Our aim is to become known for Africa’s most irresistible charm. This way we make guests happy and when they’re happy they make our people happy. It’s self perpetuating energy – and word of mouth is the spin off.

Nice. Spoken like a true marketer! Ideate found out that you used to market alcohol in a previous life. How did you get into the hotel industry?
By default… I had been retrenched out of the corporate drinks industry, our kids left home, downstairs was empty and my wife wanted to take in lodgers. Lodgers right on beautiful Long Beach? So lodgers became five star guests from Europe and one special location led to a further four in different parts of Cape Town, plus of course a super luxury motor yacht Princess Emma moored in the Waterfront.

I wish I had smelt the roses earlier and got into my own business at a much younger age.

Sheesh, sounds like a stress-free life! Is there anything about your job that makes you lie awake at night?
In the day I focus on execution. At night I do the daydreaming. I think about concepts, ideas, innovation and creativity at night. Sometimes I wake up at 02:00 and start scribbling. I think it irritates my wife. The day is for action, the night for thinking and mainly about being different.

It still sounds pretty idyllic. Surely it can’t all be good. Tell us at least one disaster story…
Last week a hot water cylinder blew and flooded out a new suite we had just revamped at a cost of half a million. Charm saved the day because we have the kind of people working with us that fix things quickly and seamlessly.

OK, so it’s not all fun and roses. What kind of customers are you looking for?
The rich. The rich are getting richer and there are more of them. Dollar millionaires have doubled in the last 10 years. Their assets are worth $37 trillion. By 2025 there will be one billion of them. Eighty five percent of the worlds wealth is owned by 10% of the world’s population. It’s this 10% we’re after.

Wealthy Europeans, Americans and those from the East are seeking individual class, style and status. They live well, eat well, play well and want to sleep well. And for each of these millionaires there are 10 more aspirants on the way up who want to show their own progress and style through travel and accommodation. We give them a chance to have the last word.

Sure, but there are lots of other hotels competing for those customers. As we all know, the tourism trade is a truly tough, competitive market. What is The Last Word’s secret to success …?
Charm. It makes people happy. We get to the “new market space�? this way. We are starting to live, eat, sleep it. Its our imperative. An irresistible charm has immense emotional powers. It’s compelling, so we weave it into the fabric of everything we do – from the magnificence of the locations, the luxurious interiors, but most importantly, the special personalized way in which we treat guests.

If we can delight, attract and fascinate, we win. That’s charm.

Ideate readers, are you taking notes? Peter, what is your best marketing tool? (and, please, feel free to say your website…)
Unquestionably it is the website. All our marketing efforts lead to the website. The Last Word site invites visitors to discover our hidden gems, a game that appeals to the emotions and is very informative. It’s the core around which we build our whole invitation to customers. The experience then complements their find.

What was really good about the site was that those who constructed it [that's us, in case any of you were wondering...] understood the ‘hidden gems’ thing and were able to convey the emotional reach. Our hits have doubled on the new site and direct bookings have jumped 50%.

For us the internet is the great equaliser. For the same money we can project an image as good as the big guys. We get to start the race in front. The rest depends how fast we can run.

Thanks for the plug, Peter! Tell us some pitfalls to avoid in your industry.
Avoid convention. Sameness is a graveyard. There are just too many hotel rooms that look and feel the same. Rooms are now up trees, on stilts over the sea, on mountain tops and in ice. The difference is visible and material and it costs money. The emotional costs of being treated like a celebrity however are minimal but very, very noticeable.

Destroy a myth about the hospitality industry.
Most experts, even your bank manager, will tell you the hospitality business sucks; it’s too competitive, too costly and only for big branded groups. Well, we’re coming in under the radar. We’re small but we advertise. Our brochure is class and should have cost a lot of money, but in reality we designed, photographed and wrote every word in it ourselves. It’s an unbelievable statement, so is our website. The quality and creativity is up there with the best.

Only those who fear to tread a new path call the game too difficult. Our strategic intent is to be the ‘mice that roar’.

With the global economy feeling the pinch, how do you think macro-economic factors are going to impact on the local tourism industry?
A contraction in discretionary spend and rising prices will affect tourism anywhere in the world. But if you are in a must-visit destination like Cape Town, things may well be different. And if you show travellers a good time in some new space, especially the wealthy, they’ll come anyway!

However, on a sober note, tourists fly, they eat, they sleep and go out and see things. Iniquitous oil prices are going to pressure prices of hotel rooms, restaurants, airfares and tours, and so we may see a downturn in visitors, but then the Rand may counter this for internationals.

Ideate scoop-time: Tell us something no one knows about you.
I don’t eat beetroot.

Not bad. What is the best business lesson you’ve learnt so far?
The right people will do it for you. Think big, act small and have fun.

What is your BHAG?
You won’t believe it, but it’s to be known for the world’s most irresistible charm.

And finally a word of advice to Ideate readers – is there money to be made in this industry or would you say “run screaming�? to someone wanting to start up a hotel?
If you’re planning to be in the hall of sameness, run. If you want to make a difference, stay the course. There is good money if your excellence is recognised and this supports a good rate. Then if your occupancies get above 60% you will make good money. Good restaurants make good money. So do good hotels. It’s really up to you and not the industry you choose.

Whatever you do, think about branding your dream. If you can make a difference, tell people. If your product or service is excellent, tell people… and when those people tell others you are on the road to building a brand.

Thanks Peter. As someone who has stayed at your hotels, I can only verify the charm thing – it really works (especially the plate of biltong while watching the rugby, mmm…) Readers who wish to contact Peter can email info [at] thelastword.co.za or phone TLW head office at +27 21 7942036.

Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. Fred is the CEO of web marketing company World Wide Creative and the co-founder of online learning portal Heavy Chef. Fred loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. Follow Fred on Twitter here. View more articles by Fred Roed.

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