Ben Trodd last month was named CEO of Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, which with Four Seasons is the joint owner and operator of Four Seasons Yachts. Trodd, a 25-year veteran of Four Seasons, has also served as COO of Aman. Managing editor Rebecca Tobin, who met Trodd at Virtuoso Travel Week, spoke with him about his role and his vision for the brand.
Ben Trodd
Q: Four Seasons Yachts was looking for a CEO for quite some time. What was it looking for in this leadership position; what are you bringing to it?
A: I started working with Four Seasons in 1995 and have a deep-seated love and admiration for the brand and have always believed in the finest sort of luxury hospitality experiences across whatever channel that means, whether that's a beautiful retail experience, a beautiful hotel, a residence, a resort. And now we've seen the segments grow into things like luxury private jets, as well as into the yachting space.
Developing product and things that offer new alternatives for our guests was always my passion. I've opened, I think, 12 different Four Seasons hotels; I've always focused on the most important components for that, which are building fantastic teams of individually passionate individuals who have a level of curiosity and a desire to share that with guests. I think those same principles apply into the yachting space as well.
I was also involved in the yacht business for Four Seasons before I went to Aman and of course spent those two years that I was with Aman also working in the [shipyard]. I think I also bring a very deep-seated commercial approach, as well.
Q: So, quickly, an update on the ship. It's coming out in March. You're in the home stretch now.
A: March 20 is our first voyage, launching from Malaga and ending in Valletta. But yes, very much in the home stretch. We're starting to see some of the restaurant spaces coming to life, exciting things like the pool being created and seeing how spectacular that will look. You know, a 20-meter pool on a yacht of this size is really quite a feature.
Q: What space on the ship are you most excited to check out when it's done?
A: I certainly think the pool will be a real statement piece for us. It's obviously going to be the social hub during the day. But I think the food and beverage outlets will really give those levels of options for our guests, that they can really choose to curate their stay with us. We have 11 different ones ranging from a champagne and caviar bar to a Moroccan-style, late-night bar -- which for me, as you sail away from a destination, see the twinkling lights, be able to be there and have a cocktail, I think will just be a beautiful space. And we have a gorgeous Omakase restaurant.
Wellness is also going to be exciting; our spa is truly state-of-the-art.
Q: Four Seasons Yachts is going to employ an a la carte pricing structure, especially in dining. Do you think that's a gamble?
A: No. The wonderful thing about the world that we live in is we're able to take a lot of insights and analytics to really support decisions that we make. And our guests, certainly in the insights that they've given us, very much support this model. Our guests see true luxury as the ability to choose and the ability to make individual choices, quite often at the last minute, of where they'd like to eat, and what style. And we certainly believe that this, although it's a little bit different from the traditional cruise model, is very much in line with how the luxury consumer behaves in hotel stays, in residential stays, in other decisions that they make around the world.
We'll have the ability to leave certain places much later into the evening than a traditional cruise ship will be able to, and frankly, leave different destinations as well. And because of that, our guests may well decide that, actually, they want to have dinner ashore. And not feel that need to follow a pattern that's been established by anybody else other than them.
Q: Would you say that your guests are Four Seasons or luxury-hospitality, hotel-based guests who are interested in a sea-based vacation? Or are they cruisers who are attracted to the Four Seasons name?
A: It's very much a split. There's certainly, you know, a certain level of guest that have never been on a cruise that are trying this because of the Four Seasons brand. But I think they're also trying it because it's different in terms of the size of the ship, the quality of the food and beverage we're offering and in some cases because the destinations we're looking at are the ones that are almost definitely not the stereotypical cruise ship destination that perhaps might not appeal to the true, ultrahigh-net-worth individual.
Q: In an interview last year, Four Seasons Yachts vice president of business development Nils Lindstad said the group was working on its preferred partnerships. And of course, we've met at Virtuoso Travel Week. Where are you with your relationships with the trade?
A: Deeply, deeply embedded in the trade. I obviously have a very strong history of working to develop things like the Four Seasons Preferred Partner program. I have been, I think, to 26 different Virtuoso Travel Weeks. I believe [in] working together, not just in terms of the commercial side of bringing the business to us. But I also believe that we can create great guest experiences, because quite often our travel industry partners have these deep relationships for many years with the families of their guests and can provide great insight into what works.
Q: Your captain is Kate McCue. Many people watch her on social media with a lot of interest. What does she bring to the Four Seasons brand?
A: Our second captain is Duncan Holroyd, who has come to us from Ritz-Carlton yachts. I think it's safe to say that both Captain Kate and Captain Duncan bring that deep-seated technical expertise in delivering safe experiences in yachting around the world. The second thing that really is so impressive to me is just their deep, deep-seated passion for hospitality. My conversations with Captain Kate and Captain Duncan have all talked about community -- the community of employees, the community of our guests -- and what they can bring to that part of the business.
Q: I've met McCue, and I've sailed with her, and I have never seen anything like the excitement that the guests have on board for the captain. I don't know Captain Duncan, but if she can foster that kind of community on board the ships, it's a good thing.
A: The energy is just wonderful. And I think you'll see that from both of our captains. Captain Kate has a wonderful profile, but that profile is also built on her technical and professional skill, which to us is the most important thing. But it's also important that we build these communities with personality and with presence, and that adds to the excitement. In all our hotels around the world, it's the same with the general managers; our guests want to know the personality behind the person who's delivering these great experiences and motivating the team that they interact with.