Hotel & Motel Management - July 21, 2008 - (Page 40)

40 News H&MM July 21, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Larkspur Hotels Continued from page 4 the company in 1996. The transition was sparked by the sale of 11 Larkspur Landings to Starwood Capital Group in 2007, Hoagland said. Starwood Capital Group retained the Larkspur ﬂag and management. “We weren’t sure that was how that transaction was going to play out. The best buyer did want to keep [the Larkspur ﬂag]. That makes the Larkspur Landings more of a relevant brand,” he said, citing the involvement of Barry Sternlicht, chairman and c.e.o. of Starwood Capital Group. Some recent acquisitions also were a catalyst for the company to focus more on branding and management. In late 2006, the company acquired The Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and the Cartwright Hotel and the Monticello Inn, both in San Francisco. It then bought a Holiday Inn Express and a Best Western that Hoagland said were in great locations in California. “All these transactions came together and facilitated us looking at a new brand strategy,” he said. The creation of Larkspur Hotels will allow the company to grow in the three-star segment, Hoagland said. “We had some hotels that were not of a four-star quality and couldn’t get to that level because of room size or bath size, and so we needed a three-star segment,” he said. The Cartwright Inn reopened in June as the Larkspur Hotel Union Square. Hoagland anticipates good growth for the Larkspur Hotel brand. “There are a lot of two-and-ahalf-star hotels that could be repositioned in the three-star segment,” he said. Larkspur is entering a signiﬁcant growth phase, which will be beneﬁted by the broader brand umbrella, Hoagland said. The company could double its 23-hotel portfolio, comprising 2,794 guestrooms, in three to ﬁve years. “After we get up to 50 hotels or so, I could see us going to the East Coast,” he said. “We would look for a downturn in those markets before looking there.” The current portfolio is conﬁned to California, Oregon and Washington. There still is big potential for growth on the West Coast, Hoagland said. The company is looking to acquire independent hotels that may not have had a lot of investment or ones that have been undermanaged. The 127-room Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach, Calif., is part of the Larkspur Collection, a division of Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants that includes four-star independent hotels. Finding opportunities has been a challenge with the downturn and the credit crunch, Hoagland said. “It’s having a depressing effect on the transactions because buyers don’t want to pay as much,” he said. “At the same time, operating results are still good, so there’s not a mandate for people to sell.” Hoagland said Larkspur has succeeded because customers value an experience. “The overall brand is warm and genuine service—personalized service,” he said. “The culture here really reﬂects that. Every hotel company in America says that, but we’ve been saying that a long time and doing it.” Amenities at the hotels include the FeatherBorne bed and Your Home Ofﬁce @ Larkspur, which includes free business center services and free high-speed Internet access in guestrooms. Larkspur policy requires general managers to respond to every guest survey comment. “When you don’t have a big brand and a frequent-stay program, you need to focus on the guest more closely to be able to compete,” Hoagland said. Larkspur often is compared to Kimpton Hotels and Joie de Vivre Hospitality. “They are great at what they do,” Hoagland said. “Together, the three of us are putting more emphasis on independent brands, and we’re doing well against the major brands. The fact that we’re all on the West Coast, it’s a fertile ground for new ideas. By operating unafﬁliated hotels, we are all able to get our fair share without the loyalty programs.” Going forward, all the company’s acquisitions will have a Larkspur brand afﬁliation. “It’s a bigger umbrella to acquire and grow,” Hoagland said. hgunter@questex.com Starwood c.e.o. Continued from page 4 the name of the strategic direction for the company. Part of the difference from the company’s past direction is more emphasis on working as a team. Starwood also will continue to pursue its asset-right structure, which will mean selling more owned hotels. “If we can develop our pipeline more quickly by bringing our balance sheet to bear, we will selectively look at opportunities, but it’s more a means to an end,” he said. Van Paasschen anticipates growth globally from 900 properties to 1,500 worldwide. About 50 percent of the company’s pipeline is outside the U.S. While a lot of upscale and luxury brands do not seek widespread distribution, for Starwood’s brands, the more global they become, the stronger they are, he said. “Having a network, a series of access points to our brands around the world, is an extraordinary opportunity,” he said. There currently are more economic challenges in the U.S. than internationally, but some sectors are doing incredibly well, van Paasschen said, citing about 75 percent of reservations coming from the business segment. He added that the leisure sector will struggle CIRCLE NO. 115 this summer but that it’s a short-term challenge. In the future, Element and aloft are brands that will be mainstream, van Paasschen said, adding they have the advantage of not yet existing (At press time, two aloft properties were open). “What we have the opportunity to do today is invent those brands with a clear idea of what we see the traveler will be like in 2020,” he said. Van Paasschen mentioned the current effort to revitalize the Sheraton brand and cited Four Points by Sheraton as a success story of bringing back a brand. In the past ﬁve years, Four Points has almost doubled revenue per available room. He also addressed buzz over the departure of Ross Klein, president of the luxury brands group and a leader in the creation of aloft, and senior v.p. Amar Lalvani to Hilton Hotels Corp. in the roles of global head of luxury and lifestyle brands and global head of luxury and lifestyle brand development, respectively. “I was disappointed,” he said. “Both of those executives were very talented. I had a personal rapport with both. When you have a strong team, you don’t miss a step when someone leaves.” After nine months on the job, van Paasschen doesn’t see himself as a hotelier yet, but rather he views himself as a global branded business leader. hgunter@questex.com LARKSPUR HOTELS http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://sterifab.com http://sterifab.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - July 21, 2008

Contents Larkspur Hotels Branch Out with New Brand Starwood’s C.E.O. Maps Out Journey New Brand Leaders Share Hits, Misses Perspective Letters to the Editor Legal FAQ Training Trends Sales Clinic HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Special Report: 2008 Construction Companies Survey Guest Column Events Technology: Telephones Hotel Operations: Building Exterior Design: Televisions Transactions Awards Hot Products: Mattresses Supplier News Ad/Edit Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out Hotel & Motel Management - July 21, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - July 21, 2008

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