Michelin Keys Awarded to US Hotels

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This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio. You might remember our recent weekend show and podcasts. We talked about some big news in the member. But I loved it. I'm not talking to you, okay. Michelin is capitalizing on its renowned as an arbiter of fine dining through its annual Star awards for restaurants. Remember those max out at three stars. What they're doing is

Makes sense.

And now these keys are coming to the US.

We've got a great guest with us. Grendel Paulinek is the CEO of the Michelin Guide. He joins us here in our Bloomberg Interactive Broker studio. First of all, is it Michelin or Michelin? How are you supposed to say it?

In France we say Michelan.

Michel Okay sold it's just so funny, like when you talk about the new Yroom. First of all, welcome, so nice to have you here with us. You know, it's interesting to see how you guys have done. Is that a pivot because you're still doing restaurants, but talk to us about what you're thinking was of expanding into the hospitality further into the hospitality industry.

Member for sure, and what people know of obviously of the famous Michion stars highlighting the best restaurants in the world, as well as famously unanimous inspectors. But what people don't know is that Mission has been rating restaurants for the beginning of the last century, because first it was both an hotel and restaurant guide and we are really back in this industry with recommend selection and recommendation of the

So we talked about for our weekend broadcast. Yeah, as courtesy of our Pursuits team who covered it. It was great.

Yeah, and yesterday, because the US is the main tourism market as a destination, but also because American people are traveling the world, we decided to disclose the first keys for the US. So one hundred and twenty four properties I've been awarded with one, two or three keys, and eleven with at a three key level.

Okay, take a step back and just you know, the history of the Michelin Guide has been one of there's this like lore when you talk about the history of it and the idea that the whole motivation for creating this guide was to get people to travel to restaurants more so they could sell Michelin could sell more.

Tires and absolutely and today the mission God is still part of the Cork Michelin and the original idea was just to lead people to travel more to help the motor is fine that way, and to find the best places to stay and to eat.

Is that philosophy still say?

I think the philosophy is still the same, and also the value because what it's called for the Mission Guard is independence. We have a team of professional inspectors so working full time for Micheland it's great and selecting restaurants and hotel paying their bill in full to make sure that we share the most trustworthy reliable and up to date information to the footage and travelers.

So you can get a job. Just go into restaurants and hotels, sign me yeah to report on this.

Yeah, we have actually some new Desert Kid creator. It goes to restaurants. Having said that, do you feel like we've got about thirty forty seconds and then we've got to do some news and we'll come back and talk more. But do you feel like it's almost a sweet spot in terms of what's going on in hospitality because it does feel like what people might cut back. It just feels like everybody is out there traveling, and especially Americans, but in general, yes.

And definitely we feel that there is a need because there is basically too much information today in the travel industry, so people need an advice to make up that choice. And michelin is is really a selection so to ease your life and also to be a n antidote to boring travel, because we are recommending places that have truly that are truly authentic, you know, that have a superanre done so that have something as specific to offer to ensure a memorable experience.

Well, that's what we want to get into when we come back on the other side, like what is it that gives someone you know, three keys, two keys, one key, same things with the starts, like how you how you recreate it, and how you decide where you're going to go. Because there's so much out there. We're going to come back with Grendel Paul Neck. He is of course the international director of Michelin the Guide, joining us. Actually he is the CEO forgive me of the Michelin Guide and

Well, let's say last year I received more than eight thousand applications to be an inspectors. People say, don't realize that it's a full time job, so that we only recruit people that have a formal training in the industry hospitality or resurance back off house, front of house. Then there have been working in a resturance or in a hotel and then we have a training process about two

Me.

I know, look at it sounds great, but it's a lot. It's a lot of.

Food, and you're not around in the evenings.

Yeah, it's a lot, of course, But what is important is they have to remain anonymous also just to ensure they have a regular customer experience, because we work for the customers, so they pay the bill in full as well.

Eight thousand applications for how many spots?

So today we rec men worldwide sixteen thousand raturans, six thousand hotels. But there are also a lot of rations and hotels to visit without retaining them as part of all selections. So there is plenty of raturans and hotels to visit. But I won't share the number of inspectors working for me.

Okay, well how many they are called inspectors.

I want to get an idea undercover of the rate of acceptance. So if you have eight thousand applicants, like, are they only.

Like getting it hard?

Only very few?

And are we talking like a dozen. I'm not.

What I can tell you because today we are covering the world and we have Russian selection in more than fifty different countries, that we have the more than twenty

You definitely obviously have standards. I get it, and you're being very you know, you're very secretive because you want to make sure that what is reported is just very true and accurate. And I'm curious. Then, as a result, is there a cap on the number of guides of places you would put out because you are expanding a lot, so do you to make sure that you are getting it right? Is there a cap?

No, we are very consistent with the approach as well as the value, so we have a no quota approach, so we recognize the quality where it is and whatever the style of the cooking, whatever the style of the place. So it's really the depending on what the destination has to offer and what can be sayd is you know the Qulian every scene of the world as well as the hospitality offer is really booming in terms of quality and diversity.

Is there any chance that expanding can dilute the brand? Are you concerned about that?

I would on the contrary, because one of the strengths of the Mission Guide is first that it is the reference for the local people and got Japanese people will consider the Mission Guide as the ultimate reference for Japanese food, the French as the ultimate resturance for French food, whether

Like I think people would be surprised that you guys are in Colorado? Right? You launched is it last year?

Will launch it the last year?

Last year?

Okay? So today, yes, we are covering I would say only seven men destinations in the US with all Russian selection, but definitely the plan is to cover the US as a whole, and to be able beyond the US to recognize all the culinary culture and the hospitality culture of the world.

So even if it's a place like Colorado where there's only maybe a handful of places that actually got to start from you guys, that's that's okay, that's that's valuable to you.

Yeah, But the point is, you know, more than ever there are great places to recognize everywhere.

Yeah.

So because we don't come provide on the value of the ratings and we need the resources to make it, we are expanding gradually, fast, but gradually. And the plan remains the same. It's in the years to come to be able to cover the US as a whole, to make sure that we left no stone on turn.

So on that how do you choose the cities that you're expanding to and when do you expand to them? And talk about detailed deals that you guys have with local tourism agencies now.

But first of all, it's always the missing decision first based on the culinary potential, Okay, so we will in all priority. Of course, we take into account also whether it's a tourism hotspots as well, and what's the value of the Mission Guide, because I think your question is related to the to the business model is let's say,

But you're not going to do it if you don't like the place.

Obviously, you know, we have a lot of demand to expand today. We have to manage expectations because inspectors are scarce resources. We need to hire them, we need to train them, so we expand only when there is a very mature culinary potential.

Is the micheline guy profitable on its own?

On its own, it's really sustainable. But I won't be able to share the detail of the results because it's Michelin as a group, don't share the details of the different business lines results.

I want to know what an inspector makes.

It doesn't an inspector. You know, what an inspector doesn't mean doesn't food for themselves as an inspectors eating every meal.

But is that a good point? You know, today sometimes it's quite a challenge to get access to some of the retaurants that are almosto A good so there are nobody and they have to to blend in the crowd. So we do not have VIP treatments, so we have to queue.

We have to make sure that we.

Are pushing the doors. But we also have to change the fond numbers and the credit cut numbers to make sure that we remain unanimous.

How many times does an inspector have to eat at a restaurant to make a determination?

So one of the rules is that the same inspectors, it's never going back twice to the same reference and stayed another inspector or several inspectors. We come again and again, but then it's up to them to decide how many times they have to come back. You know, it's depending on the instancy of the food offer. And it's the same for the hotel. You know, we come as often as necessary, but it's truly a human approach. It's not an algorithm. It's about leaving the experience yourself.

How many stars do you think he's going to give us after this?

I'm a little afraid, but I know of you give us. How many stories would.

You give us?

Or at least three? For the smile, This has been.

So cool and so interesting. Promise you'll come back as you guys continue to expand the brand.

And yeah, next time in disguise though mercytus lovely.

Thank you so much. Grendel. Paulinaki is the CEO at the Michelin Guid joining us here in our studio. I want to go travel makes.

Me want to go on vacation. Make someone to neet some good food and restaurants.

I'm hungry. We're always hungry, all right. This is Bloomberg Radio.