What do you always carry in your bag?
I always have to be ready to go anywhere in the world, so I always have my passport with me.
Do you have a mantra?
Getting out of my comfort zone all the time. It’s important for me to do things I’ve never done. If life gives me this opportunity, I will jump at it.
Your best investment?
When I bought a plane ticket to go to New York in 1986. At that time, when we were looking for ideas, we went to get inspiration there. There was no internet! I was with my brother and we saw the Morgans Hotel on Madison Avenue, the very first boutique hotel in the world which had opened two years earlier. That’s where it all began.
Your greatest sporting achievement?
When I climbed M’Goun in the central High Atlas in Morocco, more than 10 years ago. It’s not the highest mountain in the world, but the surface is very difficult to walk on and I made the climb by setting up my own tent every evening. I have done other mountains, but the summit of M’Goun was my biggest physical challenge.
How do you unplug?
I take saunas and then go into the frozen lake. It’s incredible ! I can assure you that when you’re in the ice, you don’t think about anything else. Entering the water, experiencing the thermal shock, your brain disconnects. It feels good and it’s good for everyone. Otherwise, walking in the forest helps me unplug. I also try to set an example for my grandchildren and put my cell phone away when I am with them.
The ideal retirement?
I don’t have a very big idea of retirement. Of course, as we get older, we think about slowing down and there are three words that come to mind: health, pleasure and sharing. Sharing knowledge and friendship. Throughout my career, things have happened quickly, my life goes quickly. For years I haven’t had much time to share moments with my friends and I’m reaching a period in my life where I wish I had that time with them. I also support entrepreneurs and I really enjoy it.
Who do you admire in the business world?
Lise Watier. When she came to Quebec, she made an appointment at the same hair salon as me. I saw her and I was very impressed! When you look at what she did and when she did it… Being named “Businessman of the Month” in 1983 for example, you have to do it! I knew her a few years ago and I see her occasionally. She is a remarkable woman, she is always available and gives good advice. He is someone for whom I have enormous admiration.
What do you do when you need to come up with an idea?
I drive. I really like driving. I really like the road. I like being in my car. This is probably the only time I can only do one thing. I’m not someone who is going to stop, who is going to scribble on paper and who is going to say: I have to come up with an idea on this. I put it in my head and let it go. Then when I drive, the ideas come.
What sentence can you no longer stand?
It will not work. You want to do something and the person tells you: it won’t work. This often happens because people are resistant to change. So I tell them instead: let’s try to find a solution to make it work.
A good boss is someone who…
Listen. I’m not sure that I always knew how to listen… When I started, my models were men and we weren’t in the listening mode, but in the “do what I tell you” mode. I have evolved a lot. What did exist, however, and which had been passed on to me by my family, was to be fair and equitable. It is important. Coming back to listening, a boss will know elements in the organization of which the employee is more or less aware, but from the moment you listen and record what people tell you, you can adapt your decision so that employees follow you. A good boss is someone who brings people along to help the company grow and is also someone who creates jobs that will help people grow.
Who is Christiane Germain?
Christiane Germain is co-president with her brother Jean-Yves of the family business Germain Hôtels, which owns 19 hotels in Canada under the Le Germain, Alt and Escad brands.
She is also president of the board of directors of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
She comes from a family of entrepreneurs; his parents Victor and Huguette became owners of a tobacco shop and lunch counter, the Buffet Henri-IV, in 1957.
In the mid-1970s, their father created Casot, a real estate company with more than 1,000 homes (sold in 2003) and 600,000 square feet of commercial buildings while Christiane and Jean-Yves learned their skills in various restaurants, including Fiacre, Saint-Honoré, Cousin and Cousinière.
With her brother, she founded Germain Hôtels in 1988 and opened the first boutique hotel in Canada, the Germain-des-Prés (now the Alt Québec hotel).
The Le Germain Québec hotel (previously Dominion 1912) was opened in 1997, the one in Montreal in 1999 and the first outside the province in 2003 in Toronto.
Alt hotels, eco-responsible and avant-garde, were launched in 2007.