Dear Associates:
Thank you again all for your hard work and dedication in
2017. Your commitment and efforts ensure that we deliver on our promise to every
guest that they will Experience
Exceptional Service is what distinguishes each Greystone Hotel from its
competitors and is the reason guests provide such positive feedback on
TripAdvisor and other travel blogs. Your dedication to sharpening your skills
through quarterly Signature trainings and ongoing coaching calls has enabled us
to achieve exceptional results, both in Signature scores and on TripAdvisor. The teams at the Empress Hotel, Elan
Hotel and Bristol Hotel led the company with the top three year-end Signature
scores of 94.2%, 93.8% and 81.4% respectively. On TripAdvisor, Hotel Los Gatos
finished the year ranked #2 against all hotels in Los Gatos, the Empress
finished at #3 against all hotels in La Jolla, the Inn at Union Square and Creekside
Inn each finished the year at #5 in their respective markets in San Francisco
and Palo Alto and the Elan at #6 against all hotels in Los Angeles. Similarly, our
Review Ratings measured across all on-line hotel review sites for 2017 for most
of our hotels exceeded 4.0 on a scale of 1-5. In some cases, our hotels scored
4.5 or better which is considered Excellent. Notably the Empress scored 4.7,
Inn at Union Square scored 4.6 and Elan, Hotel Los Gatos and TownePlace all
scored 4.5. The Fairfield Inn & Suites was not far behind with a score of
4.4. Congratulations to the Associates at
each of these Hotels for your exceptional results this past year.
We were very busy with renovations in 2017, evidencing the
commitment of Greystone and our ownership to reinvesting in our hotels to meet
or exceed the competition. We also expect to be busy with additional renovation
projects in 2018. Our renovation activity in 2017 and planned activity for 2018
includes the following projects:
- the Inn at Union Square completed its major renovation program in
early 2017. The design was based on
the famous, traditional mansions of San Francisco. One of the city’s great
patrons of the arts, Alma Spreckels provided the inspiration for the
design, and in honor of Alma, the penthouse suite has been named the Alma
Spreckels Suite. The renovated Inn at Union Square has been very well
received, particularly by many of our loyal repeat guests who have
commented on how much they like the new look and feel of the Inn;
- 2017 witnesses significant
progress on the multi-year major renovation program at the Bristol Hotel in San Diego. The
design theme for the Bristol renovation is modeled on the fabulous 1960s,
emphasizing San Diego’s beach and music culture. The 9th floor
was converted from a ballroom to 12 rooms and suites and a fitness center.
We created three suites, the 1961 Suite that celebrates the 1961
inauguration of JFK, the 1965 Suite which celebrates the Beatles 1965
concert at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, and the 1969 Suite which
celebrates the moon landing by Apollo 11. The guest rooms and baths, and
corridors on floors 6, 7 and 8 were also renovated in 2017. Floors 3, 4
and 5 will be renovated this year, with completion expected by April. When
the Bristol renovation is completed, it will be a wonderful modern day
interpretation of the 1960s;
- the Best Western Seven Seas also underwent a multi-year renovation
project, completed in 2017. The project included renovation of the lobby,
café and lounge. Guest rooms were upgraded to include new artwork,
lighting, headboards and seating. Building exteriors were upgraded with
standing seam metal panels for a more modern look, all buildings were
re-painted, new railings installed on all second-floor corridors along
with new staircases and sidewalks throughout the entire property. The
guest laundry area and employee break area were upgraded as well;
- a full renovation at the Fairfield Inn and Suites was
commenced in late 2017 and is expected to be completed by Spring, 2018. All
guest rooms and baths, corridors, lobby and breakfast area are being
renovated and upgraded with the latest “Modern Calm” Marriott design
scheme. The fitness room will be expanded;
- the lobby of the King George Hotel was renovated in
2017 to complement and enhance the rooms, bathrooms and corridor
renovations that were completed in 2015. The King George lobby is now a
lively place to meet, relax or work in the new Mason Social Club;
- a multi-phase renovation
project was initiated at the Creekside
Inn in 2017. The first phase involved the renovation of 32 rooms and
suites as well as the renovation of all guest bathrooms in the Tower
Building. The 47 rooms in the Tower Building will be renovated and
upgraded in 2018;
- the Elan Hotel exterior was repainted in 2017 and a renovation of
the lobby and guest room corridors commenced. The lobby and corridor
renovation is expected to be completed by Spring, 2018;
- 2018 will see the
commencement of a phased renovation of the Hotel Griffon. We are planning to refresh and upgrade the
guest rooms with new hard and soft goods and art work, the corridors and
the lobby; and
- 2018 will also see the
commencement of a phased renovation of the Hotel Los Gatos. We are planning to refresh and upgrade the
guest rooms with new hard and soft goods, the corridors and the lobby.
As hotel owners and operators, we are committed to
reinvesting in renovations and upgrades to keep our properties in excellent
condition. However, renovations and improvement projects only go so far. Daily dedication to cleanliness and
preventative maintenance programs combined with our exceptional service levels are
essential to ensure our guests have exceptional experiences at our hotels.
Our Front Office Managers and Guest Service Agents are one
of the keys to providing exceptional service. We held a FOM training in early
2017 (repeated in early 2018), focused on service. We continue to employ
Signature Worldwide to provide training, support and measurement of guest
service skills.
Sales continues to play a key role in our efforts to drive
revenues at our hotels. Unfortunately, 2017 saw Jennifer Langham’s retirement
and relocation to Australia. However, despite the time difference and distance,
Jennifer has stayed on in a consulting role, working directly with the sales
teams at each hotel until we are able to hire a new Vice President of Sales for
Greystone. 2017 also saw the successful re-formation and staffing of the San
Francisco Sales Cluster with a team of dedicated hospitality sales
professionals. We held our annual sales training in early 2017 (repeated in
early 2018) to help our sales team hone their sales skills and learn new sales
techniques based on e-commerce.
Dave Rubin and his social media and e-commerce team spent
2017 focused on increasing our social media footprint on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. Our hotel websites were revamped, with a fresh, modern look and
upgraded photography. Look at all our websites to familiarize yourselves with
your sister hotels. Also, don’t forget to share photos you have of your hotels
and our wonderful cities we all call home with the social media team. They are
always looking for great content to post. Search for #GSH and #greystonehotels
to see some of the great content posted by all the properties.
Providing a safe and welcoming work environment, free of
harassment and discrimination, with competitive pay and benefits, is critical
to our success as a Company. As recently announced, we have created a dedicated
human resources department and hired Jennifer Colvin, an experienced HR
professional to head the department. Jennifer starts on February 26 and in the
weeks and months after she starts, she will visit all our hotels and endeavor
to meet as many Associates as possible.
We continue to invest in new technology to meet guest needs.
Additions such as new TVs with media hubs, upgraded internet and KeyPR digital
tablets were made in 2016 and 2017. 2018 should witness the full deployment of
KeyPR mobile check-in and check-out capabilities, as well as smartphone based
keyless entry capabilities across our boutique and independent hotels. In 2017,
under Dave Rubin’s guidance, we rolled out state of the art software designed to
assist us in creating customized marketing campaigns, and under Jessica
Pancoast’s guidance, we also rolled out state of the art software designed to maximize
the efficiency of our revenue and financial management.
As many of you are likely already aware, we are working on
an exciting new project in the wine country town of Santa Rosa. We are
converting two historical buildings on Old Courthouse Square in downtown Santa
Rosa into a high end 70 room boutique hotel with a restaurant, a coffee shop,
rooftop lounge and an expansive lobby with a wine tasting bar and meeting space.
From a financial standpoint, 2017 was a challenging year.
The closure of Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco for part of the year
along with ongoing renovations and expansion throughout the year created
challenges for our San Francisco hotels as many conventions that normally come
to San Francisco did not come in 2017. We expect a similar pattern in 2018.
This will require a singular focus, particularly in sales to capture our fair
share of the leisure and business travelers who are coming to San Francisco in
2018.
The business environment in the Silicon Valley remains
robust which has helped by Creekside Inn and Hotel Los Gatos. However, these
robust conditions have attracted new hotel construction in the Valley. Our
renovations will assist in maintaining and expanding market share, but as with
San Francisco, we all need to work hard to retain our loyal guests with a robust
sales effort, exceptional service, the highest levels of cleanliness and
preventative maintenance to keep our hotels looking sharp.
Bend emerged from the Great Recession with another growth
spurt. As with Silicon Valley, this has attracted hotel developers. A new
SpringHill Suites by Marriott opened in 2017. A new Residence Inn by Marriott
and a Best Western are expected to open in 2018. An Element Hotel may also be
coming to Bend. With the full renovation of the Fairfield Inn & Suites, we
will have the equivalent of a brand-new hotel. Again, our efforts must be
focused on retaining our loyal guests and expanding our market share with robust
sales efforts, exceptional service, the highest levels of cleanliness and
preventative maintenance to keep our hotels looking sharp.
Los Angeles and San Diego remain very popular tourist
destinations. As with San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Bend, popularity breeds
competition. Both cities are
experiencing a wave of new hotel construction. Without sounding like a broken
record, the same principles must be applied to our sales, marketing and
operations in Los Angeles and San Diego – robust sales, exceptional service,
cleanliness and preventative maintenance.
Thank you all for your hard work in 2017, and I look forward
to another successful year in 2018.
Eric Horodas
President & CEO, Greystone Hotels
