Boutique Design - November/December 2011 - 28

C O V E R

S T O R Y

“Chip is one of those ‘lightning rod’ people. They can tell you to go to hell but at the same time wish you a great trip on the way.”
—John Pritzker, Geolo Capital

JdV’s Citizen Hotel in Sacramento, Calif., is housed in a 1926 high-rise that had once fallen on some hard times.

venture. Beyond that, he has plans to build out his growing initiatives as a motivational speaker and author. While most hotel chains have a marketable marriage with a high-pro le, national non-pro t, Conley and his staff keep their good deeds broad-based, low-key and local. Each year, the Joie de Vivre Gives program channels $1 million-plus in cash and in-kind donations to more than 1,000 organizations that are trying to improve the communities in which JdV’s more than

30 hotels operate. Family and community causes, education, health, and arts and culture generally get the biggest share of the cash, while environmental programs and initiatives for the homeless and youthat-risk rank high in terms of volunteer hours. Without the support that comes from the nation’s second-largest boutique hotel company, some of these programs would be permanently off the radar. In line with the chain’s entrepreneurial roots, Conley enlists the help of hotel staff

members to determine which organizations’ names should be on the checks or at top-of-mind for volunteering. Each hotel chooses a philanthropy partner, but that’s just the beginning of the outreach effort. “From a marketing perspective, that’s probably not as effective as saying we, as a company, support charity X or Y,” says Conley. “But I’m not convinced employees get any sense of meaning from that kind of dictate. And, too, by putting money directly into the community, we can help more people. If we donate to the American Heart Association, for example, our contribution would be a drop in the bucket. But if we give to grassroots organizations, we can make a big impact.” Community involvement is integral to every job description. In fact, it’s part of JdV’s job-performance reviews. “Connecting to our community is so important to us that our general managers are evaluated on this donation metric, along with employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and pro tability,” says Conley. At each property, line-level employees work as cultural ambassadors who team with local charitable groups on projects ranging from beach clean-ups to events that help fund college visits for underprivileged high school seniors—some of whom rarely leave their own neighborhoods. One of Conley’s favorites is “A Good Day at a Good Hotel.” Working with A Good Idea, a group that works for social change, JdV hosted 65 homeless San Franciscans for a day lled with music, art,

Boutique Design | November+December 2011

Paul Dyer (Pritzker); Matthew Millman (Citizen Hotel)

Boutique Design - November/December 2011

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