Inside the Embassy Suites Reinventing the Brand

Glenn: [00:00:00] Hey, everybody. It’s your hospitality friend, Glen. I’m with Bonnie Campagnolo. She’s the global head of Embassy Suites. We’re in Asheville, North Carolina. I just happen to bump into her at this beautiful seventh floor restaurant and lounge. But it’s so great to see you.

Bonnie: [00:00:15] Great to see you.

Glenn: [00:00:16] I’m so happy that we’re finally having a chance to sit down.

Bonnie: [00:00:18] Yes. And what a great place on a beautiful day.

Glenn: [00:00:21] Yeah, it really is. And, you know, I know you guys are really interested in the weather. The humidity is not too bad just yet. I’m thinking it’s in mid mid 80s, so I’m feeling pretty good about the temperature. And I think that’s going to spread over into the quality of this interview. I certainly at least I’m hoping I’ve been panicking. I won’t be able to ask you any good questions. So I’ve been really thinking about this now for the last half second or so. Okay, so I think the best place to start is what was it like when you first came on as the, the global brand head?

Bonnie: [00:00:50] So when I first came on the global brand head, I grew up knowing Embassy Suites because one of the first ones was in my hometown in Orlando. And so always have had great memories of the brand. And then to see, yeah.

Glenn: [00:01:05] You grew up then with those properties because they were massive and they had those gigantic atriums. And if you’re anything like me, you walked into those buildings. You didn’t even know you wanted to be in the hotel business. And you’d just be like, whoa. Right, right.

Bonnie: [00:01:19] Yes. It’s amazing. And like, nothing that was around at the time. And then fast forward to today where our, you know, obviously that is amazing architecture, but it doesn’t make sense to build them that way now 40 years later.

Glenn: [00:01:36] No, it doesn’t. As a matter of fact, I’m I’m so old in this industry. I distinctly remember when that change was made. Jim Holshouser at the time was in charge of the brand. Really great Hilton professional. He’s now retired and it was a big, big shift for the brand. And it made a lot of sense. And it’s really, I think, connected you more closely to the developer community.

Bonnie: [00:01:59] Absolutely. And so we have been able to have a prototype kit of parts so that developers can do what they need to do for the market they’re in and preserve those things that make embassy suites great and why customers keep coming back, why they choose us, where they’re willing to pay a little bit more from breakfast to evening reception and our amazing two room suites. And here in Asheville, some of them face this way and see this amazing skyline. And we have this rooftop bar again so that the developer could take advantage of the, of the space and the market and what travelers to Asheville would be looking for.

Glenn: [00:02:45] And that’s one of the biggest changes that I’ve seen is that so many brands that you wouldn’t expect to have great food and beverage on the rooftop are doing that. It adds an integral component, I think, to every single development that goes ahead and does that. So what does the development community thinking out there right now? How are you connecting with them, and why are they choosing Embassy Suites over the myriad of products in your brand, family and others?

Bonnie: [00:03:09] So Embassy Suites is a, a full service option in our all Suites category and has the opportunity for a developer to add meeting space. And we have hotels that have 7500 zero square feet and more.

Glenn: [00:03:25] And this one has a nice meeting.

Bonnie: [00:03:26] Space, and this one has some great meeting space so it can flex with the need of the market. It really rounds out a portfolio. And is it approachable? First step into first into full service for some of our owners into food and beverage, etc.. And you know, we’re sitting in a Michelin recommended restaurant on the top of an embassy suites and there’s no limit to what, It. What can happen if the market can support it? And this market has been really supportive of this restaurant. It’s busy seven nights.

Glenn: [00:04:02] Which is which is pretty incredible. As we’re recording this, we’re going to be eating here tonight, which I’m looking forward to, particularly since I found out that it was Michelin recommended, which is huge because so few restaurants in the United States actually get that recommendation. And to have it at the rooftop of a hotel, let alone an Embassy Suites, which hasn’t traditionally been food and beverage forward, is a pretty great accomplishment and really shows what you could do with the, the different parts of your your kiddo parts here for this brand.

Bonnie: [00:04:30] Yeah, we’re really proud of this hotel and the, the team, the ownership team here are great partners of ours. But it’s not a one off. So we’ve got amazing hotels that have opened or renovated and leaning in again, leaning into F and B where it makes sense for the market and really working that F and B for meetings and events, especially because that really helps with the profitability.

Glenn: [00:04:58] Right? Well, I would say it’s a cornerstone of profitability these days for full service hotels, you know. You know, it it’s getting harder to to continue to push those rates out there. And you need to find ways to get customers to want to spend money willingly. And having something like a Michelin recommended restaurant is going to immediately draw those crowds. And when you have that representation up here on the roof, it signals to people that the the catering downstairs is going to be of a higher quality, too, which I think is really important. On bringing all the elements together to create a successful product. How is this property, which opened in late December 2023, reflective of where the brand is today and where you’d like to see it going to under your stewardship?

Bonnie: [00:05:41] So it’s, it’s reflective because it does show a very market specific execution of the brand while staying true to those core elements, what we call our magic formula. And then when we look at where we’re going, we want to do more of that at about 150 keys is when the math starts to work for big breakfast area, evening reception, etc. but because we are flexible, we’ve got hotels at 500 keys in Nashville and we’ve got smaller hotels. Yeah, here in other places in the country and we work at the beach. We’ve got some great resort properties and we work in downtown. I came from Madison, Wisconsin last night to come here.

Glenn: [00:06:32] Oh, that’s pretty cool. So this is a, what I always liked about this brand is it’s very forward thinking brand. This was a suites hotel, but before anybody really understood what suites hotels were, the the omelet at breakfast has really become a signature representing to me the higher quality breakfast than you get at certain other brands not to disparage besmirch anybody, just that’s your focus there. And that evening, manager’s reception, I think for a lot of customers, probably takes off and takes it over the top for that decision to stay with you folks.

Bonnie: [00:07:01] Yes. And we see whether you’re a sports parent. Yeah. Yes. On the weekend or just.

Glenn: [00:07:07] Thinking about feeding all those hungry teens.

Bonnie: [00:07:10] Yes. Yeah. And, you know, keeping mom sane after spending all, all day listening to the whistle at the volleyball tournament. That was me for a while. Yeah. It gives you the space and time to kind of relax before you start your evening. Whether that evening is with us or somewhere in town.

Glenn: [00:07:28] Yeah, I’m very, very lucky. My kids have my athletic prowess. So we did not join any teams whatsoever whatsoever. So there’s that. So what’s the pipeline looking like today? And you know, how is it coming along?

Bonnie: [00:07:41] So pipeline it’s expensive to build right now. So we’re very grateful for our owners who are Continuing that path. We’ve got some great ones coming. We’ve got ones going to open in Africa. Yeah. Which country in GA.

Glenn: [00:08:02] I forget that’s all right. So just start. Just start with the Africa line. Okay. Hold on one second. All right. Go.

Bonnie: [00:08:11] Okay, so we’ve got one. We’re adding one in Africa that’s going to join Doha and Dubai, which is great. Yeah. We’ve got one under construction in Las Vegas Phoenix. We’ve got a handful underway and a few that I can’t really talk about.

Glenn: [00:08:30] Well well, you just tell me nobody’s paying attention. Yeah, I.

Bonnie: [00:08:34] Heard.

Glenn: [00:08:34] That before. The one in Las Vegas. I assume it’s outside where some of the major developments are taking place in in the area. Yep. Yeah, that makes sense. Putting these properties where new centers of commerce are opening up is is a really smart move over there. What as as the global brand head, what are you most excited about in this brand and what do you what’s your big passion here?

Bonnie: [00:08:59] Honestly, it’s our team members. Our buildings are fantastic, but our team members really are the ones who make the magic and they are passionate about this brand. They’re passionate about their hotels. They’re passionate about the cities that they represent. They take it seriously, and they really make a difference in the lives of our guests. And it is it is just great to see. So again, I love a good hotel, but the team really, really makes a difference.

Glenn: [00:09:28] What do you love most about being in this business? Bonnie.

Bonnie: [00:09:31] The people. Yeah. You know, I, I love to travel. I love to have to come here. Yeah. Right. But I really love the people that I get to meet. Generally, hospitality people are nice and Forgiving who are happy to go try a try a different place to eat. Have a beverage, but and chat about their travels and their lives. And so I, I love my job.

Glenn: [00:09:57] Yeah. I mean, you’ve got, you’ve got a great gig over here. So did you ever dream when you were growing up in Orlando, that you would actually be running a hotel brand that’s a household name?

Bonnie: [00:10:10] Absolutely not. And my dad was an engineer and he traveled and this was his brand of choice if he could, if there was an Embassy Suites in the market, he was taking his team there. So in his eyes, I might as well be pitching for the Red Sox. So that’s like when it comes to he doesn’t exactly know what I do, but yeah, that’s, that’s kind of cool to see it come full circle.

Glenn: [00:10:35] Oh it’s fair. My family still has no idea what I do, even though there’s video evidence of it out there. Bonnie, I am also a Red Sox fan because I’m a Mets fan. And anyone that beats the Yankees makes me very, very happy.

Bonnie: [00:10:48] Yeah, so we have that account.

Glenn: [00:10:49] So one, one last thing that I want to ask you about is a lot of folks don’t even realize that the hospitality industry is a great career path for them. And they tend to think that general manager in the hotel is like, as far as you can get in the hospitality industry. When did you have that awakening that there was so much more beyond the property? And how did that affect your decision to move forward in this career? And then how did you go about working up that that corporate ladder to get to where you are?

Bonnie: [00:11:18] Yeah, I did not think I was qualified to do this job. Certainly, I grew up in marketing and thinking about brands, but in a very different way. And that’s how I got to Hilton was resorts marketing and to be able to be here in this role and get to play with product, place, price and promotion in a way that you can’t when you’re when you’re doing marketing solely is just amazing. And so while in your point of view might be there’s people above the general managers, from my point of view, the world stops and ends with or starts and ends with our general managers. They make things happen. And my job doesn’t exist without the amazing gems that we have at our properties.

Glenn: [00:12:10] How do you how do you get comfortable being uncomfortable?

Bonnie: [00:12:15] I know that I’m not the smartest person in the room, and I know who is about that topic. So if someone asked me something, if if I don’t know the background on it, I know who does. And I have amazing coworkers who have decades of experience different than mine. And I think that partnership and collaboration that is kind of core to who we are at Hilton is why we have the brands that we do.

Glenn: [00:12:42] Beautiful, I love it. Anything else that we need to to know?

Bonnie: [00:12:45] I think that Embassy Suites is a great spot. If you are road tripping this summer, if you want to roll across I-10 and hit beaches across Texas into El Paso, then Phoenix, then California, you’ve got a great option. If you’re rolling from here to Chattanooga, you can check out our new Chattanooga downtown. Maybe you catch the Spanish national soccer team while you’re there, or you roll to Knoxville Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg. It’s really a great option. You know, however your your summer travels are going to take you.

Glenn: [00:13:20] All right. So next time, let’s let’s stay in Pigeon Forge and go hit Dollywood together. What do you think?

Bonnie: [00:13:25] Fantastic. All right.

Glenn: [00:13:26] I love it. All right, so coming up next Bonnie and I riding roller coasters at Dollywood. But until then, thank you so much for watching, like, share, subscribe and all that kind of good stuff. Bonnie. You’re awesome. Thanks so much.

Bonnie: [00:13:35] Thank you so much.

Glenn: [00:13:36] So glad we finally got to chat. And thank you for making it all the way to the end of this video, and we’ll see you later. Bye bye.