PERSONALITIES
Rendering of the Mulberry St . Tavern at the upcoming Surety in Des Moines , Iowa
WE KNEW [ REINVENTING EVERY PROPERTY ] WAS GOING TO BE INEFFICIENT , BUT WE KNEW THAT IT ENFORCES ORIGINALITY AND COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY .
KEVIN ROBINSON
Their pillars for being the “ translocal ” hospitality player in the market with intuitive service and a collaborative mentality set up Aparium to be the new grand dame of each its markets , Tricoci opines . He calls bigger lifestyle brands “ disingenuous . They are . Put a local beer on tap and then say you ’ re connected to the local community is bullshit ,” he says . “ That ’ s not true .”
Robinson adds that when they started the company they decided to reinvent every property , every single time . “ We knew it was going to be inefficient , but we knew that it enforces originality and collaboration with local community .”
REOPENING PLANS In the meantime , Aparium is working on reopening its portfolio more efficiently . “ We have created a foundation of training and SOPs so we know staff will have the PPE that they need ,” Robinson says . “ They ’ ll have the training to meet the expectations of guests , who will still desire the originality of the lifestyle hotel but might second-guess the execution because they may not be as familiar with the hotels .”
Aparium is connected to anywhere from 30 to 50 local farmers , breweries , coffee roasters , artisans and investors . “ We do Zoom meetings and activate the grassroots nature of what we do ,” Robinson says . “ We get them talking about the unique things about each one of our hotels in those markets .”
Aparium also reactivated its lifestyle director early on in the planning process . “ There ’ s not an ROI on this individual necessarily , but he or she , depending on the hotel , is the connective tissue to the market ,” Robinson adds . “ They have built the relationship with everyone in the community around the hotel and in that city . Local business owners , local influences , social folks , the political connections . They are the personal embodiment of the brand . ”
Aparium also brought in the FBI ( food and beverage innovation ) team . It hired back culinarians to create best practices via tri-weekly , Zoom incubation ideation session . For example , they consider how to manage rooftop bars , what they can create for takeout and what it can do online to connect back to its local followers .
“ The result is going to be leaner , meaner , better , more connected , and everyone benefits ,” Tricoci says . “ They ’ re calling the farmers , the small entrepreneurs that are getting pummeled right now , and they ’ re building them up and saying , ‘ Hey , hang in there . We ’ re going to be buying from you again as soon as we open … What unique thing are you working on ? How can we
bring you into the hotel and support you and bootstrap you ?’”
Tricoci says the hotel benefits from that alignment as it provides community fabric that people crave . “ At this moment , nothing ’ s more important than connecting , being around and looking out for one another — being socially responsible .”
Tricoci also believes the communication with partners turns into a built-in reservation system . “ We already get way more than our fair share ( 130 share index , he says ). So now , trying to get our fair share of 30 % occupancy . That stinks , but we ’ ll do it . But the way to do it doesn ’ t rely on just emails , social media and e-commerce , the traditional levers … The extra step of activating and engaging the community , and showing that we care and that we ’ ve got all these partnerships and that we ’ re going to better together doing this into the future , I think it moves the needle .”
Looking ahead , Tricoci says Aparium wants opportunities to share its “ brand ” portfolio with the consumer while making sure that every hotel is its own a brand . “ That idea is probably on hold for a little bit because it requires pretty significantly investment … It ’ s to really continue to generate interest in Aparium so we get more unique looks and incredible opportunities .”
18 hotelsmag . com September / October 2020