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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCING THE NOW GENERATION
Eroding margins. Legislative hurdles. Lagging technological adoption rates. The hotel industry faces a seemingly constant
onslaught of obstacles. Fortunately, the industry also breeds an unyielding pipeline of talent ready to tackle them head on.

Around the globe, this next wave of leaders is doing just that. They’re ascending the ranks, voicing their opinions and
making decisions that will shape not only the companies at which they work but also the broader hotel industry in which
they serve.

They’re not the next generation. They’re the Now Generation. And they’re here to leave their mark.

This Hotel News Now special report, which is sponsored by Access Point Financial, features the collective insight of seven
such leaders. In their day jobs, their titles include president, CFO, principal and VP. They also moonlight on the IHG Owners
Association’s Emerging Leaders Council.

The stories herein reflect some of their most daunting challenges. Bridging the generational divide to enact change is one
of them. Leveraging their millennial roots to serve this game-changing cohort is another. Along the way you’ll also read
four takes on the future of branding as well as thoughts on the industry’s greatest areas of need.

The end result provides a brief glimpse of the future—of what’s in store for the hotel industry and how these leaders plan to
conquer it. The good news? It’s a bright outlook indeed.

Happy reading,
The HNN editorial team

4 IN HOTELS, THE OLD SCHOOL

INFORMS THE NEW

8 YOUR MARK?
HOW WILL YOU LEAVE

10 OF HOTEL BRANDING
4 TAKES ON THE FUTURE

13 WITH MILLENNIALS
ATTRACT MILLENNIALS

ONLINE VIDEO EXCLUSIVES

Visit www.HotelNewsNow.com/EmergingLeaders for additional content:

Watch members of the Emerging Watch the Now Generation

Leaders Council share key share advice for the hotel
takeaways from their panel industry’s leaders of
discussion. tomorrow.

The IHG Owners Association, which represents the interests of thousands of InterContinental Hotels Group owners and operators worldwide,
established the Emerging Leaders Council for young pioneers in 2011. Already the group is being hailed for its influence, perspective and
growing role within the Association and the IHG brand.

The ELC is comprised of members from around the globe and is represented on each of the IHG Owners Association committees. Led by its
own Executive Committee, the ELC focuses on key areas such as leadership development and owner engagement. Here, young owners share
responsibilities and have a voice when decisions are made within the Association.
4

IN HOTELS,
THE OLD SCHOOL
INFORMS THE NEW
BY PATRICK MAYOCK, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

R
avi Patel was always in
the hotel business, living
and working in hotels
owned and operated by
his parents for as long as he could
remember. From the front desk
to maintenance to every position
in between, he learned from his
father the importance of hard
work, integrity and hospitality.
Then he went to college to
study the business of hotels and
returned to teach his father a
thing or two.
“My dad was like, ‘We build
these things to hold them forever.
You’ve got to make sure you build
it so you can keep it for 100 years.’
“And then I got involved
and I said, ‘You know what,
we’re building a lot of these
institutional assets and we
should flip them within three
years,’” he said.
It wasn’t an easy conversation
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 5

From left: Superhost Enterprise’s Samir Lakhany, Hawkeye Hotels’ Ravi Patel, Atlantic Hotel Group Limited’s Arzu P. Molubhoy
and Worth Hotels’ Doug Denman (All Photos: Patrick Mayock)

4
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
to have, said the 29-year-old Patel,
who now serves as president
of his family-owned Hawkeye
Hotels.
“It was me pushing my dad
out of his comfort zone pretty
aggressively. And there would be
lots of very, very vocal and heated
conversations,” he said.
“But now that he has bought
into the philosophy and he knows
it works because we’ve done it
two or three times, he’s all about
it. … And overall, our net proceeds
are a heck of a lot higher than
continuing to retain all these
assets,” Patel said.
THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE
Patel’s experience is familiar
to many second-generation
hoteliers. Led down a trail blazed
by their parents, they’ve faced
some strife and internal conflict
in their attempts to chart a course
with more strategic priorities in
mind.
“Our fathers and mothers
were in the industry and really
the folks (who wanted) to be in
The Now Generation Takes Charge
hotels,” said 30-year-old Samir
Lakhany, VP of Superhost
Enterprise. “We’re a generation
that has really taken it from a
strategic standpoint, and now
we’re looking at it from more of
an institutional level where we’re
having that leadership role not
only of managing one property
but managing a corporation and
an organization.”
“They did the hard work;
they did the grinding. … They
gave us that foundation that we
needed,” said 24-year-old Arzu P.
Molubhoy, CFO of Atlantic Hotels
Group Limited. “Now we’re taking
the technology that we have, the
education we obtained and all
that great stuff and pushing the
box, pushing it to the next level.”
Day-to-day operations still
matter, Patel said. His father
instilled that lesson into his DNA
early on.
“My dad, every time we
underwrite a deal, says, ‘You’re
not even building the damn thing
unless we can underwrite it to
keep it for 100 years,’” he said.
5
But the exit is just as
THE OLD SCHOOL INFORMS THE NEW
important, Patel said.
“I look at every disposal
through an institutional lens.
What’s my cap rate going to be;
how do I maximize my proceeds
out of this?” he said. “We look at it
from both lenses, and I think that
works out really well. Dad’s a little
more old school. We make sure
we can cash flow forever and ever
and ever. And I look at it like, if we
build this property and stabilize
it within three years and get a 7.5
cap rate on it, we can get this kind
of delta and margin on it.”
Old school also can mean
risk-averse, explained 31-year-
old Robert Jensen, principal
of the investment division at
Kensington Investment Group.
“Growth takes risk. And I
think what you’ve all seen with
your folks is as they got older,
it was hard to trade out these
things. There’s risk, there’s capital
gains taxes. And it takes work,” he
said. “And I think when I started
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 6
5
6
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 industry leaders come from that thing versus a boomer as opposed
to become more involved in our first- to second-generation family to family businesses evolving
THE OLD SCHOOL INFORMS THE NEW

company, there was a stagnant
period where they needed new
energy that has the appetite for
risk.”
Education and technology
shaped much of that prodding
and perspective, all the hoteliers
agreed. With better tools comes
more clarity and different ways
of doing things.
NEXT CAN BE FIRST
Herb Glose, age 28, pointed out that
while not all of today’s emerging
business dynamic, they’re still
facing the same issues.
“What’s being discussed has
more to do with family businesses
and first-generation to second-
generation as opposed to our
industry as a whole,” said the
assistant VP, hotel performance
support, B.F. Saul Company.
“For B.F. Saul Company, which
has been in the hotel business
for almost 40 years now, those
analytic processes have been
going on for quite some time. …
I’m not sure that it’s a millennial
and going from first-generation
to second-generation.
“The Saul organization is a
family organization,” he added.
“It’s just they started in the 1890s
as opposed to the ‘50s and ‘60s like
we have for most of this room.”
Doug Denman, the 36-year-old
president of Worth Hotels, shared
a unique perspective as well.
“We’re first-generation hoteliers.
I’m learning here on the fly. I
have had a lot of opportunities
to learn, do the maintenance,
clean the rooms, and I’ve had an
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 7

“They did the hard work; they did the grinding. … They gave
us that foundation that we needed. Now we’re taking the
technology that we have, the education we obtained and all that
great stuff and pushing the box, pushing it to the next level.”vel.”
-Arzu P. Molubhoy, CFO of Atlantic Hotels Group Limited

“We’re a generation that has really taken it from a strategic

standpoint, and now we’re looking at it from more of an
institutional level where we’re having that leadership role not
only of managing one property but managing a corporation and
an organization.”
-Samir Lakhany, VP of Superhost Enterprise

“My dad, every time we underwrite a deal, says, ‘You’re not even
building the damn thing unless we can underwrite it to keep it
for 100 years.’”
-Ravi Patel, president of Hawkeye Hotels

6 Sponsored By Access Point Financial Inc.


CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
opportunity to do that a little later
in life. … Where these guys got to
do that as kids, I’m getting to do
that now,” he said, indicating the
other hoteliers in the room.
ADAPTING TO CHANGE
Regardless of their upbringing,
next-generation hoteliers
agreed that most share a more
analytic approach to running the
business—and that approach can
create tension with more tried-
and-true operating practices.
Jensen’s parents, for instance,
used to rotate capital-expenditure
spending to tackle one key project
each year.
“This year, they do the carpet.
Next year, we’ll do the kitchen.
Next year, we’ll do the light
fixtures. Whatever,” he said. “The
problem is you can’t do that
with the way the models are set
up today because you replace
the carpet and the (property
improvement plan) comes out,
there’s a good chance you might
change the carpet anyway.”
Now those improvements are
viewed within the context of exit
strategies.
“If you look at it from an
investment standpoint, how to
maximize yield, it’s hard to put a
$2-(million) or $3-million capital
injection into the investment
every five to 10 years. The model
kind of forces you to do it and
make the exit and use your
money somewhere else. It’s not
the way my folks did it originally,”
Jensen said.
Exacerbating the issue is the
pace of change itself, participants
agreed.
When Sam Suleman, principal
The Now Generation Takes Charge
and executive VP of Equinox
Hospitality, was a child, hotels
represented the cutting edge.
“When people would go to a
hotel room, specifically a full-
service hotel, they would see
something they’d never see in
their house. They’d see this TV or
some type of channel or design
that would be five, 10, 20 years
ahead of what they had in their
house,” the 37-year-old said.
Now the hotel industry is in
a perpetual state of catch-up.
Innovation, often through brand
mandates, is slow to roll out,
Suleman said.
It’s also costly, Molubhoy
added. She reserves 2% to 3% of
funds to reinvest in technological
upgrades at Atlantic Hotels Group.
Patel prefers to amortize a
piece of debt over a shorter time
frame to fund such expenditures.
However that capital is
allocated, participants said
hoteliers young and old can
agree they’re crucial to continue
to serve the changing needs of
guests.
“(It’s) not only the comfort of
your bed and what makes you
feel like you had a good night’s
rest, but it’s also technology has
become such a large part of how
we live our lives that it needs to
be incorporated,” Lakhany said.
The next generation of leaders
is tasked with making sure
7
they’re focused on incorporating
THE OLD SCHOOL INFORMS THE NEW
those things that have the biggest
impact, Lakhany said.
“It’s very important as leaders
within the industry to focus on
key technology points to help
us move forward. … It’s picking
those key essentials,” he said.
Because at the end of the day,
some old-school lessons still
apply. Whether talking brand
refreshes, CapEx or transactions,
costs are costs, and that’s
something every generation can
appreciate, Jensen said.
“There is a rule we have we
maintain to this day. We always
start looking at a deal with basic
math on the back of a napkin.
And typically, if it doesn’t pencil
on the back of a napkin, there’s
a good chance it won’t pencil,”
he said. “So as much as there is
technology and I can get into pro
formas and get into the analysis
process as much as you want,
at least for us, we can quickly
figure out if it’s going to work or
not. I don’t think that’s going to
change.”
UP NEXT: HOW WILL YOU LEAVE
YOUR MARK?
7
8

HOW
The Now Generation will have plenty of opportunities to leave its mark.
That’s the nature of the ever-changing hotel industry, where new demands
emerge every day and long-standing needs widen. Hotel News Now asked
members of the IHG Owners Association’s Emerging Leaders Council which
of those challenges is most pressing, and how they aim to address them.

SAM SULEMAN
Principal & Executive VP, Equinox Hospitality

“If you’re in a branded environment, soft-branded environment or boutique

environment, provide experiences to your guests. We’re using technology as
much as we can, but the human interactions must be true and genuine and
embody (guests’) lifestyles and their perspectives. That’s more important
than anything.” SAMIR LAKHANY
VP, Superhost Enterprise

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a void; it’s more of an

opportunity to improve. … It’s that experience that you’re
going to be able to create for that guest. A lot of it has to
do with service. Service is still No. 1 in our books. But how
you present that service and how that guest remembers
that service is how you’ll see a change in our industry.”

ARZU P. MOLUBHOY
CFO, Atlantic Hotels Group Limited
“How can we provide that instantaneous gratification to th
these millennials while still providing the service our ho
on? And then keeping up with technology, because every
RAVI PATEL new comes on, something different comes up. By the time
President, Hawkeye Hotels and implement it, it’s old.”
“I think one thing we’ll see in the next three to five years is a brand catered
around more of the hostel concept. When I’m traveling and I’m looking for
a very good experience, especially when I’m abroad, I almost always stay
in hostels. And if we could have a slightly higher-end version of that—I
know of (some) who are actually working on it right now—I think that will
be something you will really see take off.”

8
 9

W WILL YOU LEAVE

YOUR MARK?

DOUG DENMAN
President, Worth Hotels
“Continue to up our game. Elevate our continual training
with our team to be able to adjust to trends and adjust to
changes within the guest expectations that they have. It’s
just a continual, ongoing, never-ending training process to
keep our team where they can deliver the expectation the
guests have.”
HERB GLOSE
Assistant VP, Hotel Performance Support, B.F. Saul Company
“I think there is a void when it comes to technology. There is not a
technology company out there that I have seen that understands the
hotel industry. And on the other side, you have a lot of hoteliers who don’t
understand the technology that’s out there. If someone who really gets it
and gets the needs of the brands, understands the needs and constraints
that owners face, and can put something out that satisfies our guest, they
probably could start printing money.”

hese Gen Zs and ROBERT JENSEN

otels are focused Principal, Investment Division, Kensington Investment Group
year something
“I am in the Bay Area where there is so much of a tech focus, but what’s really
e we understand
interesting is you are seeing non-tech companies opening offices in the Bay
Area because they’re trying to stay ahead of technology. Mercedes Benz is
opening a (research and development) department in San Francisco. They’re
trying to stay in front of this thing. And I think if you don’t, it’s disruptive. How
many industries is tech disrupting right now? It is clearly disrupting the hotel
industry.”

9
 4
TAKE S O N T H E F
OF HO T E L B R A N
ITOR-IN-CHIEF
BY PATRICK MAYOCK, ED

T
he only thing certain about
the future of hotel brands is
the uncertainty surrounding
them.
For every legacy flag, there is
an onslaught of new entrants in the
brand game from home and afar. All
the while, a constant march of new
distribution platforms are clawing
away margins as they wedge
themselves between the hotel owner
and the guest.
Those reasons and more make
predicting the future a daunting
task—but that didn’t stop a group
of up-and-coming owners from
trying to do just that.
Their responses addressed
everything from distribution
support (or the lack thereof) to
loyalty reach (by the millions) to
a bullish take on boutiques (and
the soft flags that frequently
accompany them).

WITH THAT, HERE ARE FOUR TAKES ON THE

FUTURE OF HOTEL BRANDING:

1
WHAT BRANDS LACK IN DISTRIBUTION, THEY MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR WITH
LOYALTY REACH
The future might be uncertain, but this much is clear: Brands need not double as distribution
platforms, said Herb Glose, assistant VP, hotel performance support, B.F. Saul Company. Those
are a dime a dozen.
You don’t need a brand as an assurance of quality either, the 28-year-old said. “Part of the
cookie-cutter nature of our hotels is that consistency is a mark of quality. Everybody is going
on TripAdvisor.”
So why raise a flag on your hotel? In a word: loyalty, Glose said.
“I think the power of the brands now comes from loyalty and specialty loyalty programs,”
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 11

“I think the power of the brands now comes from loyalty and
specialty loyalty programs.”
-Herb Glose, assistant VP, hotel performance support, B.F. Saul Company

10 Sponsored By Access Point Financial Inc.

FUTURE
11

4 TAKES ON THE FUTURE OF HOTEL BRANDING

NDING

Superhost Enterprise’s Samir Lakhany (left) and Equinox Hospitality’s Sam Suleman

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

he said. Those programs keep brands top of mind in the initial booking phase, particularly for
points junkies seeking their next free stay or status level.
“It’s that kind of reach and penetration a brand can bring to owners that really provides
a great deal of value,” Glose said. “Some of the more distribution-based brands are going to
struggle, and we will eventually hit a tipping point when franchise fees and marketing fees
have to be weighed against independent distribution costs and independent marketing costs.”

2
OWNERS WILL CONSTANTLY QUESTION THE VALUE BRANDS BRING
Sam Suleman, principal and executive VP of Equinox Hospitality, thinks the industry is at a
crossroads.
“The next 10 years are going to determine whether brands stay around,” the 37-year-old said.
While he admits brands are important, Suleman said they must continue to prove themselves
by adding value—not only to owners on the bottom line but also to guests.
“The brands and owners have to find a way to provide value and provide products and
services and actual things that matter to the guest financially and authentically,” he said.
“Otherwise the brands won’t be relevant.”

CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 12

The Now Generation Takes Charge 11

12
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

3
4 TAKES ON THE FUTURE OF HOTEL BRANDING

SUCCESS WILL LIE WITH SOFT BRANDS

Legacy brands serve their purpose, but for Ravi Patel the future increasingly lies with soft
brands such as Marriott International’s Autograph Collection and Hilton Worldwide Holdings’
Curio—A Collection by Hilton.
“That has been wildly popular recently,” said the 29-year-old president of Hawkeye Hotels.
Patel is betting on that popularity with Hawkeye’s recently purchased Hotel Fort Des
Moines in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Everybody there knows the Hotel Fort Des Moines; no one wants to lose that name. That
is so important to the community, so how do we get that base of loyalty in there without
ripping that name away?” he asked.
The answer: a soft brand.
“We’re going to end up soft branding that property,” Patel said. “At least half of that property
will be a soft brand. The other half we might do another brand in the same brand family.”

“This industry is becoming so homogenous right now, that

people our age who aren’t in the hotel industry, they don’t
know the difference between Hampton Inn, or Fairfield Inn, or
SpringHill Suites.”
-Robert Jensen, principal, investment division, Kensington Investment Group

4
BYE BYE, BRANDS; HELLO, BOUTIQUE
The popularity of soft brands speaks to a broader trend: the rise of boutiques, said Robert
Jensen, the 31-year-old principal, investment division, Kensington Investment Group.
“This industry is becoming so homogenous right now, that people our age who aren’t in
the hotel industry, they don’t know the difference between Hampton Inn, or Fairfield Inn, or
SpringHill Suites,” he said.
Boutique brands provide a break from that homogeneity, and guests are responding in
droves.
Don’t be surprised to see owners respond in turn with new boutique developments, Jensen
predicted.
“You will see the boutique brands come up where (guests) are looking for the more unique
experiences,” he said.
Some of them certainly will take on a soft brand, he added. To Glose’s original point: “That
is how you keep the loyalty base in there.”

UP NEXT: ATTRACT MILLENNIALS WITH MILLENNIALS

12 Sponsored By Access Point Financial Inc.


ATTRACT MILLENNIALS
WITH MILLENNIALS
F
ront-desk associate or
freestyle rapper? The
two need not be mutually
exclusive—particularly
as operators seek “rock stars” to
provide a more authentic level of
service to guests who increasingly
want that real experience.
Who better to know about
what millennial guests, in
particular, want than hoteliers
“Satisfaction is more than 300 points lower among Gen Y guests who
have a low opinion of staff than among Gen Y guests who have a high
opinion of the hotel staff. Hoteliers have the opportunity to improve both
satisfaction and loyalty rates by simply focusing on improving their staff
interactions with Gen Y guests.”
-Rick Garlick, global travel and hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power
Source: “J.D. Power 2014 North America hotel guest satisfaction index study”
who belong to that generation?
“I always harp on with my
corporate staff, I want people at
the front desk who have a rock-
star personality,” said Ravi Patel,
the 29-year-old president of
Hawkeye Hotels.
He has just that in Del, a
front-desk associate at one of
Hawkeye’s hotels who dabbles
The Now Generation Takes Charge
13
ATTRACT MILLENNIALS WITH MILLENNIALS
BY PATRICK MAYOCK, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
in freestyle rap on his off days.
Working alongside Del is another
double-duty performer who
spends part of his time as a
bartender.
“These guys know exactly
what it is to be really engaged
with your audience,” Patel said.
“So now whenever I see the
surveys come in from that hotel,
it literally names off, ‘Oh yeah,
I talked to Del, and he told me
what he does in Des Moines.’ It’s
really capturing a different kind
of associate as well and getting
them to work for you.”
For Robert Jensen, the 31-year-
old principal of Kensington
Investment Group’s investment
division, he most commonly
seeks to put his rock stars in the
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 14
13
14
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
role of breakfast host.
ATTRACT MILLENNIALS WITH MILLENNIALS
“That’s the most important
position to staff in our hotels
because people don’t want to talk
to you at the front desk,” he said.
“There’s interaction at breakfast.
You’ve got them sitting in one
place for 15 minutes. There’s an
opportunity there.”
He said the key to inspiring
loyalty in guests is finding ways—
even in fleeting moments—to give
them a genuine experience they
will remember.
Being genuine matters, said
Samir Lakhany, the 30-year-old VP
of Superhost Enterprise.
“It’s the keyword,” he said.
“You teach your front desk: Here’s
your script. Here’s what you need
to say. It’s so much harder to get
your staff to understand what
Infographic place holder
BY THE NUMBERS
66% 22%
of millennials
consider travel
an important
part of their
lifestyle
SOURCE: 2014 PHOCUSWRIGHT WEBINAR, “THE U.S. MILLENNIAL TRAVELER: LEADING A TRAVEL REVOLUTION”
14
you need to relay to provide that
guest everything they need,
and provide it in a genuine and
sincere manner.”
That’s increasingly important,
particularly within the context of
the oft-cited millennial cohort,
Patel said.
“In terms of millennials and
their loyalty, a lot of it comes to
service as well,” Patel said. “We
are a lot harsher critics than
other generations are. So that’s
been proven in a lot of different
surveys and reports. The
millennial generation judges a
lot harder than other generations
have. You have to step up your
game on that side of it to be
able to capture loyalty from the
millennial generation.”
Millennials want a different
type of service—namely, service
of 18- to 24-year-olds
belong to a hotel
loyalty program
41%
of 25- to 34-year-olds
belong to a hotel
loyalty program
Sponsored By Access Point Financial Inc.
on their own terms. And hotel
staff needs to be ready, said
Doug Denman, the 36-year-old
president of Worth Hotels.
“When they choose to interact
with the hotel team, it needs to
be a great experience,” he said.
“There needs to be a smile on
their face. There needs to be a
genuine caring attitude back
and forth from the hotel team
member to the guest when
that person chooses to engage
because sometimes they don’t
want to engage.”
Can the hotel industry ever
satisfy the fickle millennial
guest?
“I’ve heard different ideas with
the various brands of how you get
that personal interaction,” Patel
said. “Let’s say we take away the
front desk. You walk into like the
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 15
$3,217
Amount
millennials
spend on
leisure travel
annually
 15
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

ATTRACT MILLENNIALS WITH MILLENNIALS

Apple Store or something like
that, and you get that concierge
service kind of feel. Those are
things we might be able to do if
it works with our labor models
as well.
“We’ll get there, and I think
everyone is pushing really hard
to be there,” he added. “I don’t
see it being too far into the
future.”

PAMPER YOUR ROCK STARS

Finding your next rock-star
associate is one challenge.
Keeping him or her is another,
especially if he or she falls
under the millennial umbrella.
One way to do that is to
appoint your best and brightest
as GMs so their attitudes and
outlooks trickle down to the rest
of the staff, Patel said.
Another way is to entitle
them, said Arzu P. Molubhoy,
the 24-year-old CFO of Atlantic
Hotels Group Limited.
“Make them part of the team.
Make them part of the staff.
Make them feel ownership. Make
them feel as one of the company
and not just another line-level
employee or front-desk agent,”
she said.
Upward mobility is key, too,
Jensen said.
“I see folks around me in
the hotel industry, and they’re
bouncing between jobs. … When
we are bringing on this staff, it’s
important to show them there is
this upward mobility and there is
a reason you should be here for
more than two years,” he said. “I
think that’s important and maybe
this whole jumping around
between jobs is getting a bad rap
about loyalty.”
Worth Hotels’ Doug Denman
And never underestimate the Patel agreed, saying the
value of cold, hard cash, Denman search for a great experience
said. translates into his own traveling
“I pay slightly above market behavior.
wages, and then I do performance- “When I’m traveling I typically
based bonuses,” he said. want an experiential stay. I
want a hotel where I will have a
very good experience. (I want) a
EXPERIENCE MATTERS
property next to some really cool
“Experiential” is another
restaurants, and by the way this
keyword that often pops up
is happening two blocks away,
when discussing the millennial
and if you want to go check it out
traveler. Finding rock stars to
you can do that,” he said.
provide excellent service on
Patel said he doesn’t want to
property is one way to build that.
only see what the experience is
Leveraging the best of the local
like inside the hotel, but also what
community is another.
it’s like outside the hotel.
“When we look at our hotels,
whether we are developing X,
Y or Z brand, I look to develop a
product not just surrounded by
a highway location anymore,”
Denman said.
He wants a location
surrounded by cool restaurants
and unique local offerings.

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