TRAVEL
Simon Little, area director of sales and marketing, The Asbury Collection
minute walk from each other, the distance between them in terms of market positioning and guest-facing offerings is disparate.
Although both hotels focus on lifestyle-driven experiences, The Asbury, which turns 10 this year, claims fame as the Garden State’ s rock‘ n’ roll hotel, reflected in its back-inthe-day guestroom design and signature The Boss Suite, an homage to music legend Bruce Springsteen, who in the 1970s played nearby at the now-fabled The Stone Pony.
In contrast, Asbury Ocean Club Hotel, which debuted in 2019, features modern décor by Anda Andrei, a gallery, the sophisticated The Drawing Room space and places a focus on wellness in a luxury setting, offering a fitness center, meditation deck, spa and yoga studio.
It also is New Jersey’ s only Forbes-recommended hotel and Michelin Key awarded hotel, said Little, and, because of this distinction, prepping for high season, he added, is a little different due to the strict guidelines and standards required by both organizations.
The Asbury is part of The Asbury Collection, and one of two eclectic properties on the Jersey Shore in Asbury Park, N. J.
The Boss Suite at The Asbury pays homage to the music legend who early in his career played the fabled and nearby The Stone Pony.
“ Forbes has [ its ] own specific training program, which we must adhere to,” he said.
From an overall training standpoint,“ kick off” for the Collection is April 1; however, veteran hoteliers know“ prepping” is a year-round activity to ensure a successful operation.
“ It’ s never too early to start is the key lesson learned,” said Little.“ Also, when you are a‘ seasonal’ hotel, community engagement is key and we spend a lot of time ensuring we keep our local seasonal staff updated on new opening timelines and holding open talent recruitment sessions for new employees.
“ Labor is always the biggest challenge,” Little continued.“ It’ s a never-ending revolving door and we spend an inordinate amount of time
32 hotelsmag. com May / June 2026