Hotel & Motel Management - March 17, 2008 - (Page 38) 38 Special Report H&MM March 17, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Management role Continued from page 37 Desires,’” Leal said. “A guest can call up and say, ‘I want Grey Goose vodka in my minibar,’ and they’ll get it.” and an independent at the operations level with a metaphor: “The branded g.m. walks in in the morning and makes sure the Muzak is playing throughout the day,” he said. “The g.m. of a boutique walks in and makes sure he choreographs the playlist.” Owners and managers at an Operations differ Leal summed up the differences between managing a brand flag independent property, he said, are more in tune with entertainment and lifestyle trends. Tecton is successful, he said, because it takes an independent property and helps create its own brand. “We take them from A to Z,” he said, “by creating the brand image, creating the marketing and ultimately operating the hotel.” Marshall said in the end, for both independent and branded properties, it all comes down to service. “At the end of the day, a hotel is a home away from home,” he said. “Depending on your market, that’s how you cater to your guest.” And there is a lot independent property owners and operators can learn from the brands, Leal said. Having structure, for example, is very important for operations to run smoothly, he said. “In the end, it’s about reaching out to your consumers and knowing who is in your back yard,” he said. jfreed@questex.com Fast Lane Continued from page 36 “There is a demand for meeting space in that market that’s not in a casino,” DeForrest said. “We think this is going to be a big success story for the area.” The hotel has been able to reconnect with 70 of the 74 employees it had before Katrina hit. The company kept the employees on the payroll during the downtime. Lane also has worked with IHG to develop a new Crowne Plaza prototype and will open a 198-room Crowne Plaza in Wauwatosa. It is scheduled to open on March 31, and it will feature two executive floors for women travelers and corporate executives. The company is going independent in Lake Placid, where it is converting a Hilton property to the High Peaks Resort, a 133room boutique property. “It’s been a very successful property, but that site has turned over every 25 years or so,” DeForrest said. “The two best hotels in the market are independent. This is our first independent project like this. “Brands have been very good to us, and Hilton has done a great job in developing all of the processes to deliver their culture. In some markets, we think a brand is not relevant in the success of an asset. This is one of those cases.” hmm@questex.com CIRCLE NO. 115 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition
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