SPECIAL REPORT
I ’ VE WORKED HARD TO FIND PEOPLE THAT ARE LIKE-MINDED . WE ’ RE FRIENDS . WE MIX IT UP . WE DON ’ T WORRY ABOUT ARGUING TOGETHER . IT ’ S THAT SPIRIT THAT DRIVES US FORWARD IN A POSITIVE WAY . IT ’ S IGNITING .
MARK LAPORT everything to me . Having come from entertainment ( Disney ), that ’ s the whole goal — that emotional connection . That ’ s the base of what we do , and that definitely fires me up …
When we talk about inspiration , a physical place is this for me … I ’ ve always loved California , particularly Southern California , because it is founded on hope and optimism . A lot of people kept going west until they hit water , looked for sun , and came here to follow their dreams . Sometimes that ’ s misplaced hope , but it ’ s there . You find a lot of seekers , and to me that ’ s very inspiring . People who are asking questions all the time . Going to a place can re-energize and get us out of the context we ’ re normally in .
Cohlan : The beauty of what I ’ ve been lucky enough to get to do crosses all kinds of socio-economic barriers … What you end up having is an incredible social experiment . You look at these people when you ’ re sitting in that lobby and they are of very different backgrounds . But they all know that the other people who are there share something .
Boyd : I don ’ t know if most people notice , but we spend less than 7 % of our time outside … In my family , we ’ re committed to being inspired and connect outside in nature . We have a camper and we park it in Pennsylvania . We go there on the weekends . There are no remote controls for video games . My kids are biking , fishing and hiking , and my husband and I are connecting over a campfire .
Silcock : If you ’ ve had a tough day doing the things that drain your energy , then for me the gym is such an important thing — not for the health benefits , but for the mental benefits of doing something purely for yourself and challenging yourself in a way that is physical , not just mental . If I do that every day , it just makes a huge difference in how effective I can be .
Mark Laport : When I do break away , I love global travel . It ’ s really cool to go to hotels that don ’ t have brands . All our hotels have brands and I ’ m a brand believer . But to go to Paris or Italy or China and see how other people do it in an unbranded context is really fun . I come back with learnings and refreshed .
H : Mark , where do you find inspiration to drive Concord Hospitality ?
Laport : This is going to sound too simple , but the answer is simple . I ’ ve worked hard to find people that are like-minded . We ’ re friends . We mix it up . We don ’ t worry about arguing together . It ’ s that spirit that drives us forward in a
positive way . It ’ s igniting . The enthusiasm , the passion — it ’ s all really cool and very powerful stuff .
H : What non-hotel industry company , business or leader have you found compelling ?
Voris : I spent 13 years at Disney , and there are a lot of parallels . In hospitality we are so focused on creating that great emotional engagement with our guests . Disney is fantastic at that .
It also gets to the previous question because my identical twin brother is the chief technology officer of The ( Disney ) Studio . We spend a lot of time talking about how our worlds collide and how they influence each other .
Tierney : Two that stick out to me are Nordstrom and Whole Foods — from a customer experience . If you look at their mission statements and the core values , it ’ s really about caring for their employees and guests . They look after the communities in which they operate , keeping their connections , and all the stuff that we talk about today .
Silcock : I have been amazed at what I am learning from watching my son . My son is now 17 . He is into the gaming community , the technology they use , the way they engage with each other …
34 hotelsmag . com September / October 2020