The Embassy Suites by Hilton Nashville Downtown , managed by Davidson Hospitality , is across the street from Bridgestone Arena and in the heart of the city ’ s entertainment district .
COVER STORY
AT THE BEAT OF
Its Own Drum
DAVIDSON HOSPITALITY EMBRACES THIRD- PARTY MANAGEMENT ITS WAY .
By DAVID EISEN
I
t ’ s a blustery March day in Atlanta . “ Hotlanta ” is anything but . With an aeolian shove , I arrive at Ravinia Drive , which , among the tempestuous gusts , is a zen-like escape : a campus of tall office buildings hidden behind lush greenery with a pond at its center . One can imagine workers enjoying its serenity , but not on this day amid its rippled murk .
Perched above the water is One Ravinia Drive , home to Davidson Hospitality Group , a multi-vertical hotel management company that is now in its 50th year of operation , and if you visit the office , beyond its hotel-like decor and trappings , there is an authenticity of the people who work there : they really enjoy each other ’ s company . A WFH impulse there is not .
It starts at the top . Thom Geshay is CEO and president of Davidson and has been with the company since 1988 , back when it was developing and managing its own hotels , not just running them . A lot has changed in the interim since , but , then again , some things stay the same .
Geshay occupies a corner office looking outward on the Perimeter . It takes some time to get there , stopping along the way to exchange pleasantries with colleagues . In his office , an envelope sits atop his keyboard . He opens it and movingly explains that it was a thank-you note from an employee , who was having a stressful day . Geshay noticed it and offered her a comforting word . It didn ’ t go unnoticed .
The exchange is an instruction . The epitome of what a management company should strive to be : care for guests , service owners . It ’ s a microcosm of why Davidson
56 hotelsmag . com May / June 2024