H·SMALLLUXURY
PAUL KERR
Chief Executive Officer
Starting from humble beginnings gives a person a good deal of perspective, drive, and the necessary tools to excel. People the likes of Oprah Winfrey and J.K. Rowling inspire us with their rags to riches stories and show us that anyone can achieve anything. But it also poses an interesting question. Would these people be where they are today if they had an easy life?
Well one thing is for sure, it can help the wanderer on life’s journey to develop a philosophy. And UK born Chief Executive Officer of Small Luxury Hotels Paul Kerr’s life is no exception. Much like a lot of people in their university years, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. For many years, he would constantly find himself looking up from the bottom of a well, dreaming of the day his hard work pays off and is able to climb out. So he did what any good philosopher would do when faced with a question. He began to think. Initially, he had the desire to go into medicine. He mulled it over for some time, but ultimately had to change his mind as he did not have the necessary grades.
But then he a flash of inspiration that would guide him through the rest of his life. He decided to work in the luxury hotel business, and he knew just how he was going to do it. Following in the footsteps of his godfather, he eventually settled on wanting to be an accountant. With a clear path to his goal in mind, Mr. Kerr put himself through school by getting a job flipping burgers on the side. After all, school costs money and he knew it wouldn’t get any cheaper. Mr. Kerr’s perseverance paid off,
and allowed him to work as an accountant. With that, he received his first taste of the luxury hotel business with Cunard Hotels and Resort. Paul was finally able to climb out of the well and bask in the sunlight of achieving his goal. A proud moment for him, indeed, but certainly was not a moment for him to rest on his laurels. He knows that in order to stay within the hotel business, he must keep evolving. And to keep evolving, Paul must always be learning.
The UK, in 1989, was experiencing a property crash. Mr. Kerr was, at the time, working for the Ritz Hotel chain, among others. The hotels were not in the best of shape because of the “property