PROFILE
PHILIP WOOD
song .” With The Jefferson as his last permanent stop , Wood is focused on imparting his lessons on staff who are coming up .
FURTHER , FASTER Early in his career while managing a multi-cultural and -lingual staff at Café Royal in London , he discovered he could get further faster with managing by example as opposed to translating ideas to each language . “ People can sense when you are being positive and when you are being encouraging , as well as challenging ,” he asserts .
Another valuable lesson learned was time management . Wood realized he had to help his employees take on more of their own responsibilities . “ Each of my roles has sort of honed my skills in giving other people the tools to do the job ,” he says . “ And it ’ s more than physical tools . It ’ s giving them the mental stability , too .”
When it comes to guest relations , maintaining a personal connection remains of utmost importance to Wood , even as technology automates many hotel operations . In fact , that human touch may just separate one hotel from the rest .
“ In the larger hotels , technology is the tail that has started to wag the dog ,” he observes . “ But at the end of the day , the more technology there is in a hotel , the more people will be receptive to that person-to-person contact .”
This is especially important in an age when angry guests will often go to social media first without giving the hotel a chance to address the issue .
“ When we used to do training of line employees , we ’ d talk about when people have a compliment about the hotel , they will tell three people ,” Wood says . “ When they have a complaint , they will tell 12 . Now it ’ s 1,200 .” The bright side to this , he adds , is that front line staff are very aware of what they do . “ I don ’ t care how good a hotel is , it ’ s going to make mistakes . Once in a while , it ’ s going to happen ,” Wood says . “ How we look at it is , ‘ OK , if we find out about it , we ’ ll help fix it .’”
To that end , Wood advises managers to get out from behind their desks and get involved . “ To be a
Monti , the hotel ' s resident beagle , helps spread pixie dust at The Jefferson Hotel .
THE HOTEL WORLD ACCORDING TO PHILIP WOOD
“ When we used to do training of line employees , we ’ d talk about when people have a compliment about the hotel , they tell three people . When they have a complaint , they will tell 12 . Now it ’ s 1,200 .”
“ Like Disneyland ’ s pixie dust , we need to spread emotional dust or personality dust . Because that really makes a difference between a beautiful building and a beautiful experience .”
success in the luxury industry today , it needs to be MBW — management by walking . You ’ ve got to get out there and make sure you know what ’ s happening throughout your operation . Get involved .”
And do it with personality . “ Like Disneyland ’ s pixie dust , we need to spread emotional dust or personality dust ,” he says , likening the hotel industry to the entertainment industry . “ Because that really makes a difference between a beautiful building and a beautiful experience .”
Aside from the out-of-the-box presidential campaign for Monti , his advice on financial matters and sales and marketing initiatives are more practical than experimental , focusing on both short- and long-term goals and stressing personal relationships . “ Be less worried about making the hard sell and more into building relationships ,” he says .
Oft considered the “ dean of D . C .,” Wood has earned much respect from his contemporaries , including Hans Bruland , the vice president of the Hay-Adams Hotel across from the White House . “ He is the ultimate professional and gatekeeper who will aim for the remarkable . Phil sets the right expectations , and defines the right outcomes ,” Bruland says .
While Wood is in the process of handing over some of the daily management to his second in command , he plans on being involved with The Jefferson Hotel for a lot longer , while possibly taking on other projects for the hotel ’ s owners , Ogden CAP Properties . “ I just love this little hotel ,” he says .
44 hotelsmag . com April 2017