HotelsMag May 2019 | Page 14

WHAT ’ S MISSING FROM COLLEGE PROGRAMS
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LITTLE NELL GROWS

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The pool at The Little Nell in Aspen , Colorado
The Little Nell is about to play on a larger stage . Owners of the iconic Aspen , Colorado , hotel are parlaying its reputation , along with that its less famous sibling , Limelight , into a beefier portfolio .
Aspen Skiing Company , owned by Chicago ’ s Crown family , recently formed The Little Nell Hotel Group to seek acquisition and development opportunities for the brands .
It ’ s for two reasons , says Alinio Azevedo , group managing director and chief operating officer : The family views this as an opportune time to use these brands as a springboard for growth , and the company wants to be ready to run when market conditions improve .
“ We understand where we are in the cycle ,” he adds . “ We ’ re not naïve about the costs right now and
where things are trading . But we believe that starting this process now will put us in a very good position to act quickly when the market cycle turns and we start to see more opportunities .” For now , the family will fund expansion and retain ownership and management of the hotels .
The group ’ s portfolio consists of the flagship property , a
92-room luxury hotel ; and Limelight properties from 100 to 150 rooms in Aspen and Snowmass , Colorado , and Sun Valley , Idaho . The company also manages Residences at The Little Nell , a vacation ownership development . Azevedo wants to double the size over the next five years in selective locations – in and out of the U . S . – that attract guests willing
to shell out US $ 1,000 or more a night .
Development of the 4-star Limelight , with rates of about US $ 300 to US $ 400 , will focus on North American “ non-ski ” destinations that attract adventure-loving couples and families . The brand positions itself as a community living room , and properties have larger rooms and storage for sports gear .— Megan Rowe
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WHAT ’ S MISSING FROM COLLEGE PROGRAMS

HOTELS blogger Mark Grenoble , president and CEO of asset manager 360 AMI , hopes to see a new kind of industry trend — for hospitality school programs to hire “ real ” hospitality people . Here ’ s what he says : Recently , several hospitality schools were looking for senior leadership positions , and the top criteria they named for candidates were advanced degrees and academic experience – not relevant current industry experience .
Hospitality programs need to focus on hiring professors currently working in the industry or who recently left a position in the industry . In my experience , most of the professors in hospitality programs have been out of the industry for many years , if not decades , and are totally out of touch with current industry trends and standards . A friend was teaching a yield management class at a hotel program while working in the industry . He was required to use the hotel school ’ s yield management textbook , which he said was so out of date that he spent the first half of class using the book and the second half telling the students how it really worked in today ’ s world .
Students working their way through college in a hotel industry job are more in touch and know more about the industry than their professors . Higher education institutions need to stay relevant and prepare students for today ’ s industry and not worry about research and publishing articles . I tell peers that the only reason to recruit a hotel school graduate over any other college program is that the hotel school graduate entered the program with a passion for the industry that cannot be taught , but that what they learned is not currently relevant .
12 hotelsmag . com May 2019