What Happened When This Independent Hotel Joined Marriott?

Glenn: [00:00:00] Hey, everybody. It’s your hospitality friend Glenn here at the lodging conference. And it wouldn’t be a conference without my friends here over at uniform because Unifocus, Workforce Management redefined. Please check them out at Unifocus.com. But more importantly, Kirk Pederson, COO and Paul Sacco, Chief Growth & Development Officer from PM Hotel Group. Hey, guys. How are you? Hey, Glenn. Doing well. Glenn. So see you. It seems to me like you guys have been a pretty busy, like putting together a big, powerful team over there ready to kick some management butt out there.

Paul: [00:00:27] We have we’re we’re actually on our second anniversary now of merging with Kirk and the sightline team at PM hotel Group. And it has been absolutely amazing. And we’ve really partnered up together to, you know, kind of take this thing to the next level.

Glenn: [00:00:43] Yeah. And Kirk, you know, like, I got to know you when you had your own company and stuff like that. And it must have been a tough decision to make that transition. What has been in it for you guys? How has that kind of changed the way you see your, your job?

Kirk: [00:00:56] Well, it’s always tough to make that decision, right? You give up your baby and you, you know, merge it with somebody else. Some mergers work and some don’t, write. This merger really works. Congrats. And I have to tell you, Glenn, it always it just goes back to the fundamentals. It’s the people, man. You got a good group of people all doing the same, you know, have the same common goal. Right? That’s what this group is. And it’s been really great.

Glenn: [00:01:16] That’s great. So Paul, back to back to you. Sure. We’re here at the lodging conference. You’ve been talking. You’ve been talking to a lot of people. What are you kind of thinking about and how does that play into your business strategy?

Paul: [00:01:27] Absolutely. I mean, I think what we’re seeing here is that if you’re looking in the transaction world for clarity, you’re probably going to be waiting a long time. So that’s one thing I would say is, is sort of glaring at us right now for sure.

Glenn: [00:01:42] I just said, I just said earlier, if you wait until you think you’re ready, it’s already too late.

Paul: [00:01:47] Yeah, but we’re an industry that tends to act right and tends to move forward as well. So what we’re seeing is that the kind of deal type that we’re really focused on is what a lot of people are talking about here. So we’ve lined ourselves up really well with a collection of wellness and outdoors, as well as luxury and lifestyle and then core branded. And we’re having conversations at this conference about all of it with different brands and independents. And it’s really resonating. And we’re seeing activity, which is good. A mix of new build and trend and transition.

Glenn: [00:02:19] Which is really cool. I love the outdoor trends. And, you know, I’ve been preaching that it’s the next big thing since about five, six years ago. You’re activating a property. You said you got one in Joshua Tree.

Kirk: [00:02:30] Yeah. It’s actually called reset. Yeah. But then it was the first outdoor collection with Marriott.

Glenn: [00:02:35] Oh, that’s pretty awesome.

Kirk: [00:02:36] Which in Marriott has stepped up into that space and we’ve loved the partnership with them. They’re producing like.

Glenn: [00:02:42] How.

Kirk: [00:02:42] Are.

Glenn: [00:02:43] Customers reacting to that type of product? And then how does you getting them in that type of product fold into your ability to get them into maybe the luxury lifestyle division and other types of stuff that you have?

Kirk: [00:02:53] I think the consumer wants to like that product. The challenge, I think as an independent in that space is getting enough demand to your specific asset, right? And so I will tell you, when we brought Marriott in there. It was like flipping on a light switch. The consumer demand for that product is significant, especially within the branded space.

Glenn: [00:03:15] Right. Marriott, make your check out to Kirk Henderson.

Paul: [00:03:19] He splits everything.

Glenn: [00:03:20] Evenly. But that’s, that’s really great news to, to, to hear. Yeah. Because, you know, one of the things we, we talk about, I was just on as recording this, I just got off the, the main stage talking to a number of the CEOs and stuff. One of the issues that comes up is the relationship between the brand and you folks on like the management company level. How are you working to make sure that everything is going as streamlined as possible? So it’s a win for you. It’s a win for them and it’s a win for your, your owners as well.

Paul: [00:03:47] No, that’s a great question. I think it’s all about open communication. Yeah. And I think that is something that the industry has really advanced among all the parties, owners, operators, brands because brands today and we work with IHG and Hyatt and Marriott and Hilton and Choice and others, and they really do today have a much better understanding of what pains and owner may be going through, especially since 2020. So there’s a lot of open discussion about solutions. And I think if you’re solution oriented and all the discussions, there’s a way for everyone to win.

Kirk: [00:04:20] You know, it’s great. That’s coming from a guy who was a brand guy. Yeah. Yeah. So now now he’s on the other side of the fence.

Paul: [00:04:26] Well, I started that whole understanding thing.

Kirk: [00:04:28] Yeah. Yeah. So it. Listen, it’s a partnership. If you think you’re just gonna, you know, affiliate with a brand and that’s it, you’re wrong. Right. Right. We spend significant time with every one of these brands working with their brand management teams. And it’s a full time job just working with the brands.

Glenn: [00:04:47] Yeah. It sure must be. So before we wrap up, where do you think your biggest opportunity is in the next year?

Paul: [00:04:54] Yeah. I think one of the things that Kirk can speak to this a little bit is he’s heading up our AI committee internally. Right. But I had the opportunity to speak at the conference last week, and a lot of what we talked about was advancements in technology, AI, etc..

Glenn: [00:05:10] And let me just tell them How much is the Hospitality Asset Management Association? So they’re very focused on the overall value of the building and how to make it more successful. Please continue.

Paul: [00:05:21] People. Yeah. And clearly you know, discovery is changing dramatically. Everything is switching from SEO to GEO on on search. And we have to resonate there. We have to matter there and make sure that we’re found and perceived as the right option when people are looking for places to stay. So we’re really on top of that. And Kurt can speak a little bit more to that effort as well.

Glenn: [00:05:45] And let me just explain, instead of just going on and typing, typing, now what you’re doing is you’re talking to ChatGPT or Claude or something like that and saying, hey, I really want a great outdoor place somewhere in the Joshua Tree area, that sort of thing. And it’ll come up with their property, for example.

Kirk: [00:06:00] Well, it’ll come up with a recommendation of three properties or what have you, and it won’t give you a list of 25, right. It’ll just give you the three.

Glenn: [00:06:07] It doesn’t. And if you think about how Google works now, no one’s looking beyond those first three anyway, right?

Kirk: [00:06:11] Yeah. Or at least the first page you used to pay for that to be on that first page. Now you got guest reviews, right? You’ve got your photography, you’ve got your video, right? All your content is really driving that and the reviews of your property, right. But I tell you what, I, every owner wants to know how is AI going to impact the operation of my hotel? And how are you going to save me money through the use of AI? I will tell you, we’re not seeing as much of the saving of the money yet. Yep. It’s coming. We are seeing tools that are being implemented that are making our people much more efficient. And that’s fun to see, right? When you get a sales manager or a director of sales that calls me and says, hey, this is really working well at my hotel. We need to use that in all of our hotels. That’s what we love to hear, right? And I’ll tell you, our owners are getting much smarter, Glenn. They know and there’s an expectation there right now. They’re going into court, they’re going into chat, they’re figuring it out, coding themselves and telling us what their expectations are of a management.

Paul: [00:07:15] And they’re doing that before, like we even have a deal signed. It’s like in the pitch phase, right? It’s insane. Oh, goodness. But I mean, and those, those that are have the question of what’s AI going to do to the workforce and those sorts of things. Yeah. Hospitality is and always will be personal, right? That’s been the most important ingredient. Hospitality. And I think that you can automate the transactional and that can, as Kirk was talking about, help a salesperson, for example. But the human touch is what will always make it personal. And I think that’s how things will advance going forward.

Kirk: [00:07:47] People first. Yep. People first.

Glenn: [00:07:50] I agree, and that’s what it is in the hospitality business. People serving people and keeping things together. Well, it was really great talking to you guys today.

Kirk: [00:07:58] Nice to see you.

Glenn: [00:07:58] I appreciate it. I want to thank my friends over at Uni Focus. So for Kirk, Paul, myself, Glenn, thanks for watching. Please like, share, subscribe and all that kind of good stuff. See you right back here. Next time on No Vacancy. Bye, everybody. Thanks. I don’t know what’s going on with this thing is working weird now it’s not turning off again. No, it’s still there, but it’s just frozen.