INTERVIEW

We have to touch hearts - we are in the people business

 

Dr Iwan R Dietschi the intensely cerebral Senior VP Hospitality at MGM keeps a sharp eye on his two luxe Macau properties. Formerly with The Ritz-Carlton Shenzhen, he shares his thoughts on the pursuit of excellence, the single-minded focus on the guest experience, and what he describes as a "feel good" business.

May 2025 / Dec 2018

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Intense and disarmingly attentive, Dr Iwan R Dietschi believes luxury must 'touch hearts' in what is essentially a 'feel good' business. Employees need to listen, smile and learn about key 'touch points'/ photos: MGM

Watching the tall, immaculately dressed Dr Iwan R Dietschi pace a room is like looking at a stalking panther focused on its prey. Elegant to a fault, with long hair swept back – not a strand out of place – and trimmed just above the high collar, his gaze is intense, the slim navy charcoal pinstriped suit rippling with energy and set off by a slender blue checked tie, a crisp pocket square emblazoned across the coat breast. He is a cerebral hotelier - the 'Dr' says it all - with a deep emotional reservoir. He is watchful and attentive with guests and directs his staff with a gesture or a glance like an intuitive orchestra conductor, always with consideration and humility. An early mentor of his once confided that when he first met Iwan he thought: "This young man is really serious and focused and will go far." Smart Travel Asia Editor Vijay Verghese spoke with him on a bright Macau May afternoon in 2025. We had begun this conversation earlier in December 2018 while he was at The Ritz-Carlton Shenzhen as both General Manager and multi-property VP. Having graduated from the Lausanne Hotel School, Swiss-born Iwan joined Ritz-Carlton in 1995 in Washington DC and worked on 18 hotel openings for the group. Now, fittingly, with his luxurious lion's mane, he is with MGM China Holdings Ltd pursuing excellence at MGM MACAU and MGM COTAI.

MAY 2025, MGM MACAU

Smart Travel Asia: What are the key takeaways from your book ‘Mastering Hospitality’?

IWAN DIETSCHI: Great to have the opportunity to speak with you again, Vijay. I officially launched my book beginning of January 2021 to a global audience through Amazon and various other channels. I was very encouraged to see the incredible feedback from my readers. Unfortunately due to Covid, I couldn’t launch it properly but I shall re-energise promotions to enlarge viewership and not restrict it to hospitality professionals. It is about leadership, about my ‘Eight Principles’. It’s about how to achieve YOUR full potential, as a guide for readers. In any business, at its core, is a company culture that should be based on core principles, on a clear vision, and an idea of how best to bring this to staff to build a sense of dedication and ownership. [Stresses the last two words. Eyebrows furrow as he pauses for a thought] It’s about energising leadership and how to engage your team in an innovative manner. It all starts with you. Who are you? You need to know what you are working for. Always work in an environment where your strengths are appreciated. This builds synergies.

What changed post-Covid in terms of guest needs and demands?

ID: Well now guests want more from the experience. They spend the money and they want the most out of it. We need to inspire, help professionally, and get beyond the stay. We’re in the ‘feel good’ business. It creates opportunities. Need competency in staff as this builds confidence. It is all about the guests. We must remain humble and professional. During pandemic many companies did not prepare well for the post Covid period. They continuously ‘managed down’, then were late ‘leading up’ and lost share. Better prepared companies shot ahead. They serviced what the customer wanted. We [the industry] haven’t yet brought back the extras. Margins have become more important than a clear strategy and focus on developing the business. In crisis we have to compromise. Sure. But in that moment you need to plan for tomorrow.

So this clash with customers over changing demands is a good thing?

ID: Yes, it should be seen that way. How can we serve the guest better? Guests wanted the freedom of travel and wanted more from their holiday spend. The key is to be appreciated, and made to feel special.

How might hotels serve guests better?

ID: I believe that there are four key mindsets for hoteliers. Firstly, we need to be proactive. We cannot wait for tomorrow. We need to see, do, and hear, in a proactive manner. All hotel employees must be trained to think this way. Secondly, hoteliers need to ensure a total focus on the guest. This involves thinking about how to speak to the guest, what approach you use, your posture, and thoughts about how to surprise your guests. We train staff for an ‘elevator pitch’, a quick process to encourage a guest to open up and speak about his or her needs so we can learn to pick up the hints and signals.

Thirdly, our mindset must be on total quality, as teams, as a company. If something is not right, don’t deliver it. Adapt. Change. Mentorship is very important here. Staff need to learn to build relationships. The fourth ingredient is a business entrepreneurial mindset. We’re in the business to make money. But then what? You must care about employees. Not just giving orders and setting rules. We have to generate profit. For this we need discipline. And we cannot take anything for granted.

We’re not selling some generic mobile phone to everyone. Our guests are all different. Their needs are different. We need to take ownership of this process to maximise dollars. The entrepreneurial part is about innovation, not just big stuff, but incremental change daily and improving experiences for every guest. Our job is to create loyalty. We need to spend time to learn from the competition. We need to be curious about the next big thing and be upset — yes, upset [emphasises this spreading open his palms] — when a competitor is doing something better...but then reflect, understand, learn and, as stated earlier, focus on the first mindset. Be proactive.

Is it possible to deliver more with fewer staff at a luxury hotel?

ID: As mentioned, earlier during Covid and then into the post Covid period we saw margin pressures. Eventually there were cuts in costs everywhere. This is understandable during a crisis. So we all had to work at process refinement and improving employees’ competencies. Actually, this is a constant thought. What else can staff do? As we had fewer employees during that period, employees had more exposure to new work areas, to further build their competencies and be cross-exposed. They learned a great deal. A key focus was on covering key touch points throughout the properties. After all our guests should not have to think, or ask. We are there.

Is brand identity a problem for hotels these days?

ID: The bigger the company the less the differentiation between brands. Of course big hotel groups can offer phenomenal opportunities for staff. I am very thankful that I could benefit from that. It is critical to not only offer employees opportunities but to have the right leadership in place to elevate everyone to deliver at the highest level. Some big organisations have become too cookie-cutter in their approach, and if employees stagnate in their development, then they have the option to leave and find the right opportunity/organisation to grow based on their own vision. You can never compromise your own standards [makes a chopping motion in the air with both hands]. Leadership has to deliver to keep the right employees hungry, focused, and curious.

So there may be limits to brand size. Do managers moving up from entry-level properties to luxury hotels muddle the DNA? Like a B737 pilot moving up suddenly to a B747?

ID: Yes, just like that. Pilots need to go through intensive training and have to pass excruciating tests. In some solid hotel companies, industry GMs from smaller brands often move to a luxury brand as a hotel manager — a step down — to first learn about the new brand and standards under a mentor. But oftentimes, due to the growth pattern of hotel companies, there is a lack of qualified leaders and then corporate compromises by promoting them too fast. The consequences of these decisions can be felt everywhere, unfortunately. Bigger corporations, corporate leaders, and more and more hotel owners, try to manage properties from their viewpoint and degrade hoteliers to administrators. Not the ideal development! [sighs inaudibly]

So these general managers are not visible in the lobby?

ID: No. Many GMs have never had the opportunity to really feel hospitality and many are not comfortable on the floor. Many are pulled away too often and the focus on corporate or owner needs become more important than the guests in their own property [shakes his head]. Go where your customers are. If the guest is there at 6.30pm, be there at 6.20pm. There is not enough focus on operational areas. Let’s get back to basics again.

But there will be younger guests in today’s contactless world who really don’t care about meeting the GM.

ID: Well, the GM must be visible and engage at the right time at the right place, with the right intentions. This is the art of our profession! Never be intrusive but please understand the needs and motivations of your guests. Being available creates a culture where the guest comes first, at the highest level of management. Leadership must be visible, not just to guests, but to employees. And the higher you are in the hierarchy, the more humble you need to be in the job, the more you have to teach and inspire.

How do you view the role of technology vs the human touch?

ID: We must use technology wisely. But ultimately only a human can bring sunshine to hearts. The smile has to be sincere.  This simple act goes straight to the heart and the brain. You can immediately feel it. Technology can facilitate many things, like a checkout box for the key drop that automatically registers and notifies housekeeping about empty rooms that need cleaning. But this does not mean that there is no employee on hand to say goodbye – and THANK YOU [emphasises this].

In luxury, at key touch points, personal engagement is critical. Employees need to be trained to sense guests’ needs. I was in Shanghai recently. While waiting for the elevator to go to my room, an electric cart arrived with a delivery for a guest [raises an eyebrow]. As the elevator doors opened I hesitated. Of course the cart was programmed to sense if there are guests and waited for me to enter. So it waited and followed me. I was riding up to my room with a box… and I was annoyed. At least make the tech more friendly in some way.

Looking back again since our last chat in 2018, has hoteliering changed vastly since you first started?

ID: I was lucky enough to learn from the best, which were mostly smaller exclusive hotel properties, some family owned, and still regarded as the top in the industry. I commend these incredible leaders who never wavered to achieve their absolute best . They constantly moved the bar higher. Many of them are the envy of the industry as they achieved incredible success through consistency at the highest level and with incredible employees focused on delivering the ‘impossible’. I will always have that desire and drive to be better today than yesterday, and I believe this is the spirit required for any leader in any industry. We are in the “feel good business’ and your heart needs to jump because of that incredible experience you will never forget.

Is the old Swiss-style hoteliering giving way to Asian management flair? What are the changes?

ID: It’s not really Swiss. It’s my old butcher’s style. A core culture reflected by top management right down to the housekeeper.

Are casino hotel guests unusual or different from regular guests in their demands or unique tastes?

ID: Gambling is taken very seriously [leans forward, locks eyes with me and raises his eyebrows] . These guests may have rituals that they observe and we need to follow their habits and facilitate their ease of stay. We learn how to engage and be sensitive to individual needs. For all of us, it is vital to connect and understand their needs and desires, and to deliver service consistently at the highest possible level. And every day we strive to make more guests loyal to us – to MGM.

How do hotels build relationships with say 2,000 rooms? This must be a tough ask.

ID: In our case we have butlers for our top clients. We have personal hosts for certain customer groups. We benchmark the top service in those areas, which is personal, professional and courteous. We teach that philosophy to everyone in order to have this approach trickle down to all other areas of the properties.

You wanted to be a professional trumpet player once. From that musical perspective is hoteliering like jazz improvisation or a more structured classical piece?

ID: [Leans back, offers a smile, and chuckles; the intensity drains from his chiselled face] Well, it is more difficult than sheet music in an orchestra. When I played in the Swiss National Youth Brass Band we won international awards for our Dvořák performances and we were world champions at one time. Music was my base. I came from a classical background and played in a military band too [grins]. In the US I learned jazz from a blind pianist who simply said, “Stop, and just play like me. Close your eyes. You have technique, now learn to listen, and feel.” While hotel service is based on general customer needs we need to learn to listen and play a tune to match each guest’s mood. So there is constant improvisation on top of the structure [a half smile flits across his face].

What are the biggest challenges ahead for hotels now?

ID: [Hunches forward intently] To stay relevant. To follow customer needs. We need to be proactive and listen, ask questions, remain curious, learn, and execute the unexpected. We need to deliver uncompromising quality with an entrepreneurial mindset. Both hotel schools and higher professional education courses need to become more relevant. They need to utilise and practice key mindsets to properly develop the next generation of leaders. As mentioned, we need to develop true hoteliers again and not administrators [shrugs and smiles]. Our business is about people, people, people!

We need to end our conversation here as Iwan is racing off to his CrossFit training for a competition in July. “It’s where all the crazy people go,” he laughs. “We’re bringing them all to Macau to the MGM, for the third time.” There is an excited gleam in his eyes and a teenage twinkle.

 

DECEMBER 2018, The Ritz-Carlton Shenzhen

Smart Travel Asia: How did your early interest in hotels develop?

IWAN DIETSCHI: I grew up next to a hotel and the children of the owners were my best friends. We all played together and spent a lot of time in and around the hotel. One of my uncles owned a nice hotel in Lugano, Switzerland as well and he introduced me to the life of a hotelier early on. I always remember the first time I saw him in his hotel, wearing a coat with six gold buttons: I thought, I want to be a gentleman like him.

So you started with hotels?

ID: In my earlier years, I thought about becoming a musician as I started to play an instrument at the age of four. Then at seven, I learned how to play the trumpet and became very passionate about music, which I studied in the US when I was 19. My idol was Louis Armstrong. I played all his songs. However, I decided to become a hotelier as I felt it was more suitable for me. I was always passionate about people and making others feel good about themselves, enjoyed the elegance of a hotel, and to be a true host to others.

So your first job…?

ID: It was at the front desk of a small hotel that belonged to a family friend. There were no computers in those days and everything was done manually. It was a proud profession then.

How have things changed since then?

ID: The basics of hotels have never changed. It is a people business. You are a host first and foremost. You start from greeting the guests, making them feel welcome and special…You have to touch hearts [his eyes have a piercing intensity, and the jaw is firmly set]

Have guest expectations changed?

ID: In general, all guests still want to feel “at home”, special, and recognised in their own way. Guest evolution needs to be looked at in a positive way as we all need to learn and evolve around changing customer expectations. Some people may be more private and don’t need too many people around them – but they know we are here to take care of them. Everyone wants the basics done right and they expect proactive service.

How do millennials impact on your operation?

ID: Employees have never been as excited as today to learn. They are like hungry little birds. They have to be “fed” through knowledge and by competent leaders who have only the best in mind for them [pauses for a moment]. They want to know; they want to learn. It is important for a general manager to be a coach, a mentor, and to aspire to become a role model. We have to engage with our employees to inspire them, guide and retain them.

And younger guests?

ID: It is true that some might not wish a lot of attention and seem to be aloof at times, but they need to feel that employees are there to assist at any time. They expect employees to be competent, fast, and always with a smile on their faces. They challenge us to become better professionals. Every guest is unique and that is a challenge but very exciting.

What does luxury mean to you?

ID: To feel good in your heart and mind. It is peace and joy that creates happiness and oftentimes it is the little things that can bring sunshine to my heart. As TRUE hoteliers we are in the ‘feel good’ business. That’s what a HOST [emphasises the point with his hands] does and that is how I try to live every day.

How do you woo and keep luxury travellers?

ID: There have never been more billionaires/millionaires than now. They are challenging us in many positive ways. To provide excellence at a consistent level is crucial in our business, every business! Excellence is created by consistent focus on improvement, service and product delivery. As leaders we need to live by example and mentor our employees to the next level.

How do you reconcile the conflicting pulls of revenue demands from the top and guest needs?

ID: Excellence has to be created and strengthened from within. We need to focus on our foundation first and remind ourselves why we come to work every day. Guests will remember experiences. The best recognition for any business is repeat customers, willing to pay a higher price because employees create unmatched experiences throughout. True loyalty is created through touching hearts, unique experiences, and by personalising stays based on needs and wishes of the guests.

Are their many women in your team?

ID: I am thrilled to work with so many dedicated ladies in our hotel and in our organization. The executive team is well-balanced and it is a joy and privilege to learn and work with our female leaders. It also reflects the changing composition of our guests with particular needs, demands, and expectations.

How do you deal with fake reviews or social media pressure?

ID: First, we can never assume anything is fake. We have to look at every single bit of feedback, take it very seriously, and learn from it. Every single guest is a top priority and it is up to us to engage with everyone. We never lose a guest, and this critical aspect helps us to create memories for everyone.

Are there too many brands today?

ID: The market will make the determination if there are too many brands or not. It is always important to give a customer choice and as long as the brands are focused on their true vision and mission and execute based on their promise to guests and employees, they will have a solid chance to survive in an ever-growing business environment. At the end of the day the customer decides whether a brand succeeds [with a shrug of the shoulders and upturned palms] – or not.

What are your future plans?

ID: I have a balanced life, and I want to make the industry better. I want to inspire employees. That’s my goal. I am doing my best on a daily basis through my job to demonstrate the value and beauty of being an hotelier.

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