EDITOR ’ S DIARY
PASSION FOR HOSPITALITY
HOTELIERS THROUGHandTHROUGH
What defines a great hotelier ? As the hospitality industry continually evolves , answers to this question must change just as quickly — or do they really , as many of the qualities of great leaders seem to remain constant ? I find this the case as I reflect on the winners of HOTELS 2019 Hotelier of the World awards ( p24 ), which recognize innovation , operational excellence and creativity in management , as well as service to the industry and the communities in which recipients work .
Validation of this theory comes from reviewing the stories of
Editor In Chief
Corporate Hotelier of the World Nakul Anand of India ’ s ITC Ltd . and Independent Hotelier of the World Ed Staros of The Ritz- Carlton in Naples , Florida , who show so many striking similarities in style and approach to leadership . They both earnestly believe that adding value , creating metrics and passing their knowledge forward are of the utmost importance . Call them old-school values , but they stand up today and have proven to be successful quotients for Anand and Staros to deliver on all of our award criteria and the bottom lines for their organizations .
Anand started believing in the value-add proposition when as a night manager he decided to act like the general manager and looked for every efficiency he could to affect the bottom line . As he advanced , he took that perspective with him . His contemporaries call him a statesman because he builds the next generation of people to lead , not just manage . Not surprisingly , Anand loves calling himself a hotelier , and given the chance he would choose the same profession again . Generating efficiencies today , especially considering escalating operating costs , can easily be considered the most important skill set any leader possesses , and it ’ s amazing how that mindset matters as much today as it did 30-plus years ago .
Staros came to hospitality naturally through his family business and was intense in his conviction from the outset to succeed by adding value as a go-to manager who found no assignment too big or small . As he grew at Hyatt and Ritz-Carlton , he also learned many lessons about the value of taking measurements , which eventually led to winning an unmatched two Malcolm S . Baldrige awards for quality . What he truly loves , though , is roaming the hotel to help grow his team and watching them ascend the ranks . When I talk to hospitality students today , they crave the same attention and validation . It can matter as much as a pay raise and tends to breed loyalty in an era when job-hopping is the norm .
No , neither one of these gentlemen is flashy or trendy , but the bottom line is that they live and breathe hospitality and back up their talk with hard work and deliverables . Anand and Staros gladly admit to being hoteliers to the core , and that will never go out of style or fail to breed success .
EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein , Editor In Chief 1.312.274.2226 E-mail : jweinstein @ hotelsmag . com Barbara Bohn , Managing Editor 1.312.274.2209 E-mail : bbohn @ hotelsmag . com Bert Ganzon , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2227 E-mail : bganzon @ mtgmediagroup . com Steve Vanden Heuvel , Vice President / Creative Director 1.312.274.2218 E-mail : svandenheuvel @ mtgmediagroup . com Brittney Hackbart , Associate Art Director 1.312.274.2216 E-mail : bhackbart @ mtgmediagroup . com Carolina Martinez , Freelance Design E-mail : cmartinez @ mtgmediagroup . com Bill McDowell , Vice President , Editorial Director 1.312.274.2201 bmcdowell @ mtgmediagroup . com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Judith Crown , Megan Rowe , Juliana Shallcross , Erin Sund
PUBLISHING David Wood , Publisher 1.312.274.2225 dwood @ hotelsmag . com Bill Kinross , Vice President , Group Publisher 312 / 274-2214 bkinross @ meatingplace . com
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India Stephen Bartolin President , Broadmoor Sea Island Co ., Colorado Springs , Colorado Alex Kyriakidis President and Managing Director , Middle East and Africa , Marriott International , Dubai Christopher Nassetta President and CEO , Hilton Worldwide , McLean , Virginia Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta Paul Sistare President and CEO , Atlantica Hotels International , São Paulo Susan Terry Vice president of culinary and food and beverage operations , Marcus Hotels & Resorts , Milwaukee , Wisconsin
EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION OFFICES , HOTELS Marketing and Technology Group 1415 N . Dayton Street Chicago , Illinois 60642 USA 1.312.274.2200 ; edit @ hotelsmag . com
Subscriptions / Change Of Address For address changes or subscription questions , please contact : Customer Service , HOTELS , 1209 Dundee Ave . # 8 , Elgin , Illinois 60120 USA . E-mail : PrintCirc @ hotelsmag . com or call : 800.697.2111
6 hotelsmag . com November / December 2019