

Four Seasons Spent $18 million on a Website redesign - jandrick
http://thecubiclepunk.com/2012/01/13/fourseasons-blew-18-million-on-this/

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qq66
I've never overpaid for computer parts, because I'm very familiar with their
true price. Conversely, I always feel screwed when I need auto repairs since I
know nothing about cars and am at the total mercy of the mechanic who tells me
I need a new Widget X. It's no surprise that Four Seasons drastically overpays
for web design -- it's not their specialty and the cost of making web design
an organizational priority would be far more than $18 million. They've
correctly chosen to focus simply on running luxury hotels.

Not to mention, a big portion of the cost of this project is hidden from view
-- it's the cost of integrating with legacy systems at each Four Seasons hotel
around the world. There might be a reservation system from 1994 at the front
desk of the Four Seasons Istanbul which needs extremely delicate
internationalization: [http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/03/whats-wrong-
with-tu...](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/03/whats-wrong-with-
turkey.html)

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jandrick
I think you miss the point a bit. It was a redesign. The had internal and
external datasources that were used in the recreation. The thing I can tell
you from being in house at a company whose core competency is not web
development or design that regular over spend occurs less because of the
details and more because of operational ignorance and agency selection. It is
rarely because the site is so complex or special.

I would expect some expense for the legacy integration, but I believe that 18
million is way to much and given the fact that the site launched with so many
issues it seems even if it were a steal it was too much.

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mmx
I like to think that payments like this go to relatives or business partners
at a different company. I only like to think that because the alternative is
actually harder for me to comprehend.

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SlightGenius
I'm sure the front-end took only .5% of the cost, others were
research/discovery phase, pictures/videos/travel costs and as qq66 said
integration with their systems.

Bill Gates owns a percentage of the company, not sure what role he plays but
I'd like to think they would ask him for some advice and recommendations.

If anyone finds out who redesigned it, let us all know!

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jandrick
I am dying to know. I think the poor execution on launch is what shocks me the
most I can think of several scenarios where millions would be spent on a site
redesign and launch one would include a larger marketing budget for ad
placement, etc.

But I think given the old site was already integrated into their booking
systems we are giving them too much benefit of the doubt. This was clearly an
over payment in my opinion.

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sopooneo
If all you do is get the basics completely correct every time, you are already
ahead of 99% of the world.

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jandrick
I actually think you are right on my concern is less that they spent the
money, but how and how well was it executed. I think it was poorly executed
on. I wish I were the agency or development firm because I would have milked
this for all it was worth.

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sopooneo
Oh, I agree with you completely. I think the Four Seasons site described is
very much an example of _not_ getting the basics right.

