Luxury Hotelier - November 2007 - (Page 20)

20| Personalities Updating the brand He didn’t know during his college summers working at a West Hampton, New York, beach resort that his career would lead him to become an oft-cited expert on the ways of the luxury lodging world. Those summers were the Fawlty Towers days, he recalls with a smile. “I was a bellhop by day and I parked cars at night,” he says. Following sales and marketing positions with Regent International Hotels, Rock Resorts and Princess Hotels International, Mr. McManus led a company called Reservation Systems as president and managing partner. When he joined Leading in 1992 as vice president of marketing, the organization was essentially a 64-year-old reservations company, he says. Now, as Leading approaches its landmark 80th anniversary year, the company represents more than 430 hotels comprising nearly 80,000 guestroom in 80 countries. With 24 offices worldwide providing local support and a host of affiliate organizations, the Leading family first and foremost offers sales and marketing services to luxury-rated properties of all sizes that apply for inclusion. Its affiliates conduct assessments and provide financial services and networking memberships for luxury hotels, spas, cruise lines, residences and design companies, to name a few. In the seven years since Mr. McManus assumed his current role, the organization has been on a fast track of growth and change. But, as he points out, the best growth—whether it’s at the hotels constituting Leading’s membership or at the organization he steers—is accomplished when foundation standards stay strong. “Luxury is in the mind of the beholder,” he says. “That concept of our founding fathers was unique and it’s never gone out of style. The company has grown with that philosophy in mind.” Mr. McManus’ goal from the start was to help Leading retain its roots while growing alongside a dynamic industry. “When I joined, it was on a mandate to build this company and develop multiple products,” he says. “That was the basis of our business plan seven years ago. We were absent of access to capital. The goal was to develop projects to add value and give depth to the organization.” Project development was a priority. One of the executive team’s first orders of business was to create the program now known as Leading Quality Assurance. The London-based standards body assesses the facilities and services at prospective and member hotels. This process is the test that determines whether a property can hang the plaque bearing Leading’s logo and receive membership benefits. This project would prove to be one of the lasting imprints he would make on the Leading organization, and it wasn’t an easy road. “When I came, the inspections were performed by well-intentioned, retired iconic hoteliers,” he says. “They were less connected, and the integrity of the inspections was starting to be questioned by younger members.” He put himself in the customers’ shoes and developed a plan that would standardize the assessment process from top to bottom. Inspections would become consumer-focused, they would be anonymous and unannounced, and the pool of inspectors would widen to reflect diversity beyond the old guard. “These were big changes, and change was threatening to this conservative brand,” he says. “I was very concerned with how this would go in front of the board of directors, when I got a magazine in the mail from China. On the cover was one of our inspectors, holding roses on a red carpet in front of a hotel. “I asked, ‘What is wrong with this picture?’” In the end, Mr. McManus’ plan to You see people as they are in this industry. They’re at their most natural. It’s very revealing. —Paul McManus Luxury Hotelier | November 2007 | www.LuxuryHotelier.com http://www.LuxuryHotelier.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Hotelier - November 2007

Luxury Hotelier - November 2007 Contents Editor's Letter Publisher's Letter Inform: News and Notes Network: People Personalities: Traditional Innovator Insight: Smith Travel Research / The Bench Insight: Ypartnership Properties: A Front-Row Seat to Moscow Properties: Northern Star Inspire: Outdoor Showers Deliver: Wellness and Fitness Protocols: The Real Deal Insight: Cornell University Innovate: In-Room Technology Development: Global Project Pipeline Indulge: Coffee and Tea Insight: Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne Connect: Regional Marketing Update: IH/M&RS Luxury Product Collection Dossier: Davide Bertilaccio of The Rocco Forte Collection’s Le Richemond

Luxury Hotelier - November 2007

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