BERNARD NAEGELLEN can't help himself. He walks into the lobby of a swank five-star hotel and his eyes scan the carpet for dust, examine the windows for the slightest blemish and note with approval when a smiling staff member approaches offering help.
The debonair Frenchman is no normal guest. The former hotelier is director of Guide Michelin, the most influential travel and culinary publications in Europe and the most famous guidebooks in the world.
Last year, 550,000 copies of the French-language edition were sold, 425,000 in France. This year, because of centenary packaging, he expects sales to top 800,000. There are also guides to nine other European countries, all in the language of the land. The idea is that easily understood symbols explained in many languages in the foreword make it simple for users to understand what a hotel or restaurant has to offer.
A star in a Michelin Red Guide can send connoisseurs halfway across Europe seeking a good meal. Naegellen's power is extraordinary, which is why he is careful to use it in a responsible manner.
Although there is no Guide Michelin in Asia and his publications do not cover Hong Kong, Naegellen automatically inspects every hotel he walks past, stops and peers in restaurant windows. He's been a Michelin inspector much of his life, and the habits of his vocation never die.
'When an inspector goes into a hotel or restaurant, we have the customer in mind,' he explains. 'An establishment does not have to be elite. It can be a simple family place. But it must have value for money. The more a place charges, the more it must give. The standards must rise with the price.' Then there is the 'promise'. Does a restaurant live up to its name? Does it deliver what it offers? The faceless inspectors never announce a visit.
'We're not trying to catch out hotels and restaurants, but we must see a place as any customer sees it. If you walk into a lobby at 11 am and it's a disaster and nobody has cleaned it, well, that's what the customer would see, too.' Because the guide has no advertising and makes money only from sales, it boasts complete independence. Just like any customer, an inspector reaches into his wallet and pays the full bill. 'That goes along with strict ethics and total honesty,' says Naegellen. 'We go to enormous pains to ensure accuracy.' It's the reputation for reliability and impartiality that make Guide Michelin listings so esteemed. The award of a star (maximum of three) to a restaurant is a matter of jubilation. 'In lodging and restaurants, we look for the obvious virtues: cleanliness, friendly and efficient service, maintenance and value for money,' he says. 'In restaurants, it is the quality of food, above all, that decides. Is it well cooked? Is it tasty? In an expensive restaurant, is it prepared with originality and flair?' In Hong Kong as part of an Asian visit to mark the centenary of the guide's publication, Naegellen blended easily into the background of international businessmen in local lobbies. That's one of the secrets of the corps of Michelin inspectors who make unannounced and anonymous visits to tens of thousands of hotels and restaurants every year. They are faceless men and women, trained experts all, who are indistinguishable from other hotel guests and diners.