Lou Hammond Associates, one of my all-time favorite hospitality PR firms, happens to represent the 113-year-old Fifth Avenue Association.

The association was the first endeavor of its kind to realize the need to create mutually advantageous ties between and among its members. One does not eat all day, one does not buy jewelry all day, one does not shop all day nor does one get beauty care or spa services all day.

For all I know, one does not either sleep all day, visit art galleries all day, nor visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral or the (infamous) Trump Tower all day. Christmas carols and ice skating at Rockefeller Center are musts. And so is seeing Cartier’s building wrapped up in a giant red bow.

The “anchors” (or as they say in St. Tropez “Les Locomotives”) of the event are Saks Fifth Avenue and The Pierre (congratulations Francois Olivier Luiggi – you never miss a beat).

One more clear demonstration that the industry we deal with is not strictly hospitality. Nor is it fine dining or luxury retail: it is LUXURY, PERIOD. The one thing people need the most (way beyond money) is imagination. To the nice couple from Holland, Michigan, New York City is a big scary place, where only a few blocks are deemed safe.

Those few blocks happen to be on Fifth Avenue, between 61st street (the Pierre) and Rockefeller Center (Saks Fifth Avenue.). Do the thinking for them, have the concierge pick the right restaurant and make them happy.

That, folks, is my gestalt: the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

Benoit Gateau-Cumin - Chief Recruiting Officer. Born and raised in France, Benoit managed to scoop up a French law degree prior to studying Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Upon graduation in 1975, he engaged in an eleven-year hotel management career that took him to Chicago, New York, Washington DC, San Diego, Istanbul, Jamaica and Hawaii. He held positions with Omni, Hyatt, Hilton International, ITT Sheraton and Méridien, as well as Honolulu’s unique Halekulani, consistently rated as one of the world’s best.

Benoit was bit by the “headhunting” bug in 1986, and has not relented yet. He founded The Boutique Search Firm in February 1992. His motto: small is beautiful. Benoit loves to mountain bike, take long walks with his wife Susana and their two dogs, and tinker with his budding collection of classic English sports cars.

benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.com / www.boutiquesearchfirm.com