Massimiliano Musto – known as Max – General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai and Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle has all the reasons to be elated about his new role in Thailand, leading the teams of two of the most awarded and widely recognised Resorts of the Four Seasons brand. "Thailand is where my Four Seasons journey began, nearly two decades ago – it is a sort of 'homecoming'!" he smiles. To be among a team that understands the Four Seasons style of customer service and at a Resort that introduced Northern Thailand to the luxury traveller over 20 years ago, is truly satisfying. He says, with notable confidence, “When I go to a restaurant or a supermarket, I’m going to get a smile because I’m going to smile. We’re going to lead by example and show that personalized service with a smile is the only thing we’ll accept.”
Of course, Four Seasons style service is only one aspect that Musto wants to make integral to the appeal. He clicks off the global attractiveness of the brand as well as the property’s history and setting – one cradled in lush paddy fields and overlooking the mountains of Chiang Mai, the other amid magical bamboo forests of Golden Triangle. "I want both the Resorts to be the best in Thailand. I guarantee, everyone will hear about it.”
Musto brings a lot of experience to his dual role and as the General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai and Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle. He has travelled widely with assignments on four continents from Four Seasons and previous employers. As Resort Manager at Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita, for instance, he worked 16-hour days preparing for the opening, right down hanging a chandelier in the Spa with hours to spare. As GM at Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria at San Stefano, he was touched by the dedication he saw from team members amid political turbulence across Egypt. “I would ask waiters to paint walls after their shifts and they would say, ‘Yes, boss,” because they so loved the Hotel,” he recalls. “I’ve lived through a revolution and it was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. I’m a better person for having seen the scope of Egyptian passion and emotion.” In his most recent role as the opening General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Moscow, a capital city he calls “the most exciting place I can be,” he spared no effort to "make the property great again".
Musto traces his personal passion for excellence to his upbringing. His father, who died when Musto was 10, impressed the importance of giving everything your best shot. “He’d tell me, ‘it doesn’t matter if you are picking up discarded cigarette packs in the street – be the best at it’.”
Fortunately, Musto dreamed bigger and was inspired to experience the world by travel TV. Though he couldn’t speak a word of English at the time, he left his native Naples, Italy, bound for hotel school in London and, eventually, his first assignment in Glasgow. He told his mother not to worry, that he’d be back in a year. “She recently asked me, ‘Well, what year was that?'” With her son now ensconced in the cultural capital of Siam, there has truly been no looking back.
