Hospitality from a world view

Karen Stephens: Hey and welcome everybody to the Resort Second podcast. I’m your host, Karen Stephens, the COO of Revinate. Each week we discuss to totally different trade leaders about hospitality, and tendencies, and funky issues occurring on the market. And I’m very excited to be joined this week by Rob Mangiarelli, who’s the COO of Atrium Hospitality.

Welcome.

Rob Mangiarelli: Thanks Karen it’s, uh, thrilling to be right here.

Karen Stephens: Sure. Nicely, I’m very excited to have you ever on. , I had a have a look at your, your LinkedIn, and it seems to be such as you’ve had actually huge expertise, um, inside hospitality, with Hyatt for 25 years, and now you might be working for Atrium Hospitality. So are you able to inform us just a little bit extra about your present position?

Rob Mangiarelli: Positive. So I joined Atrium again in February because the Chief Working Officer. We have now 80 plus inns across the nation, 20,000 rooms, primarily Marriotts and Hiltons. And I moved over from Hyatt. We will get again to that. To, uh, to actually transfer into an operations position. After which in Could, they added on the president title to my new position. So I’m now each the president and the Chief Working Officer. And like I mentioned, we’ve 80 inns. We have now 20,000 rooms, 7,000 staff throughout the nation.

Karen Stephens: Very cool. Nicely, I positively wanna dig into all of that as a result of the opposite factor that I, that I seen when, when your background is deep, deep roots in finance. So I actually wanna get into information, and finance, and the way you concentrate on working an organization and, and likewise, you recognize, how attention-grabbing it’s to maneuver from an enormous portfolio and enterprise model like Hyatt, to a bunch that’s nonetheless very, very massive, however, positively totally different, proper? Positively totally different animals. So, I’m very excited to have that dialog. However first I’ve a couple of questions for you simply to heat you up and likewise introduce the viewers to, to you on just a little bit extra of a private degree, if that’s all proper.

First query, When did you begin work within the trade and do you keep in mind your first day on the job?

Rob Mangiarelli: I do. So it was, it was attention-grabbing. So, instantly after faculty, I used to be an economics main at Stanford, and I wished to be a math trainer or a lawyer. And after I graduated I didn’t know what I wished to do, so I went again dwelling, Colorado Springs, and I used to be trying to preserve myself busy at night time.

So I received a job working night time audit at a Vacation Inn and, the primary day, I used to be drained as a result of I’d by no means labored in a single day earlier than. So it was only a lengthy night time. And that began my, lengthy historical past of, espresso ingesting, was working night time audit on the Vacation Inn.

Karen Stephens: It’s so humorous as a result of I used to be actually questioning after I requested you that query, I discuss to lots of people on the podcast, and so many people began in hospitality and simply labored our method up. However that’s actually attention-grabbing, you beginning with a level in economics from Stanford, and nonetheless making that journey, actually from the, from the entrance desk up. So very cool.

Rob Mangiarelli: It’s a terrific reminder, I believe for the entire individuals becoming a member of this trade, that it’s not only a job, that it may possibly flip right into a profession. And it actually doesn’t matter what your background is if you’re coming into the position. It truly is about studying the enterprise and, and determining what you’re keen on.

Karen Stephens: Yeah. Completely. And I, and that’s what I, I do love about this trade. As a result of yeah, completely you may, you may are available in, in many alternative avenues, and there’s plenty of locations to develop and, it’s incredible. You’ll be amazed how many individuals I discuss to that begin, you recognize, at a resort, and work their method up.

So, very cool. All proper, so second query. What was essentially the most uplifting second up to now in your profession?

Rob Mangiarelli: So there, is a director of finance for Hyatt proper now who works on the Hyatt Centric in Instances Sq.. And after I first met her, I used to be the controller of the Hyatt Regency Greenwich, and he or she was an admin working within the engineering division, and he or she was in search of a brand new position. And I had a gap as, uh, revenue auditor. So I moved her into finance, or into our accounting division. After which I left Greenwich and I went to the company workplace, however watching her profession develop yr over yr. After which she was named supervisor of the yr, a pair years again, on the resort. And her boss known as me to inform me that she was a supervisor of the yr, and to consider how her profession had grown and the place that every one began. I believe that was in all probability, you recognize, a type of nice moments of your profession, simply having the ability to look again at, uh, the individuals you’ve labored with and what they’ve been in a position to do.

Karen Stephens: What’s the most putting expertise up to now on a private degree, when it comes to a vacation, or a restaurant, or a, a resort; one thing that you just’ve skilled, by yourself time, in your leisure time that involves thoughts?

Rob Mangiarelli: Oh, essentially the most putting expertise. Nicely, okay, so take this, uh, image. The one over that shoulder? No, this shoulder. That shoulder. So for my fortieth birthday, my spouse, took me to Pebble Seashore. And I, I really like enjoying golf, and we did the entire thing. We, you recognize, received the caddy and did the stroll, and he or she employed a photographer to observe me round and take photos all day, knowledgeable photographer. However simply that stroll, and the caddy who knew the whole lot in regards to the course, and he was not solely my caddy carrying my golf equipment and telling me the gap, however he’s additionally my tour information. And he’s declaring homes and he’s telling me about historical past and simply that entire expertise. Proper? It’s simply that reminder in our enterprise that this isn’t about, you recognize, stuff, it’s about experiences. And that was a type of memorable experiences that he was in a position to create for me. It was a, it was a incredible time.

Karen Stephens: That’s nice. Clearly I work for a tech firm and we, we wanna leverage know-how to enhance visitor expertise, and we wanna be sure that we’re serving to drive income, et cetera, for our clients. However I believe you hit it on the pinnacle. It actually comes right down to the individuals which can be within the inns that, carry that have to the visitor, or on the golf course or no matter it’s. You possibly can’t exchange that. And so I really like listening to tales like that. I additionally love Pebble Seashore. I imply, what a incredible, what a incredible place. So stunning.

All proper, quantity 4. Have you ever met any celebrities when you’ve been within the trenches?

Rob Mangiarelli: I’ve. Plenty of them. We’ve had presidents keep in our inns. We’ve had skilled athletes. We’ve had many of the basketball groups stick with us after I was working on the Hyatt Charlotte. However the, the funniest one, I met Ed Sheen on the Grand Hyatt Rio, was one of many inns I used to be liable for, and I used to be doing a walkthrough with the Basic Supervisor. And we walked into the health club, and there’s Ed Sheeran working on the treadmill.

And naturally I don’t know who Ed Sheeran is. And, he needed to inform me and I used to be like, oh, that’s who he’s. , he’s sweating away on the treadmill and we’re, we’re strolling the resort. So, you see lots of people. After which he was nice. He was by the pool, speaking to individuals, taking photos. For essentially the most half, celebrities are fairly gracious, so long as you attempt to give them their area.

Karen Stephens: Proper. Generally it’s good when you don’t acknowledge them proper.

Rob Mangiarelli: For positive.

Karen Stephens: Then you definitely’re, then you definately’re, actually enjoying it cool. In all probability to the extent they recognize, proper? In order that’s good. All proper. Ultimate query right here. Who’re the ladies at work you’ve been most impressed by? So that you talked a few girl only a second in the past, however is there anybody else you may consider, uh, in your profession that has been very inspirational for you?

Rob Mangiarelli: I’d say there’s two that bounce instantly to thoughts. Considered one of them, labored for me, for 15 years, uh, Gina Tallarico. She’s the Vice President of Asset Administration now at Hyatt. However after I employed her the primary time, she was my quantity two working finance for North America. And what I cherished about her was the way in which she balanced her strengths and my weak spot off, you recognize, her precision for being a terrific accountant, her potential to take care of relationships, her understanding of the whole lot that was happening, was a terrific counter to, what I used to be good at. And I believe surrounding yourselves with any person who, who can actually play to your weaknesses was nice. And, you recognize, we’re nonetheless good buddies, at this time.

And having her round was incredible. And I believe second was Joan Bottarini. Joan’s the CFO at Hyatt. And she or he began within the firm the identical time I did. And so our careers form of grew collectively. And simply watching her, possibly six years in the past, seven years in the past, she left her job within the Americas to go take a job in Asia. And in a male dominated trade, in a male dominated firm on the time, after which in a male dominated ambiance like we’ve in Hong Kong. For her to have the ability to put herself on the market after which that set her as much as come again and be the CFO at Hyatt. And you recognize, it was a terrific inspiration for me actually, as I thought of leaving Hyatt of, you recognize, right here’s any person who took an opportunity. Who took an opportunity and put themselves on the market to, uh, strive a brand new expertise. And I, I believed it was incredible. And, she’s only a incredible particular person as nicely, so, that makes it even higher.

Karen Stephens: That’s nice. That could be very inspirational. I, I really like listening to that, and I believe it, I believe that dovetails properly into a few of the issues I did wanna discuss to you about at this time. So, um, you recognize, having the ability to work for an organization that’s international, and the expertise you may have there. Are you able to simply discuss to me just a little bit about what it’s wish to work in several worldwide markets and what you suppose, you recognize, that have brings to you to have the ability to then come again to america and focus extra on North America.

However what are a few of the experiences you had in your profession having the ability to work globally?

Rob Mangiarelli: Nicely, yeah, it’s, attention-grabbing. So the primary 15 years of my profession, I solely labored in North America, and I had by no means traveled internationally, as a baby. I’d by no means stayed in a resort. As a baby. We stayed in motels that you just drive as much as. So I didn’t have that have. And I keep in mind our first worldwide journey, our first massive worldwide journey, we had a world normal managers assembly in Dubai, 2008. And you recognize, Dubai, there’s cranes all over the place, model new shiny buildings, the cleanest place on the planet, and repair was unimaginable, far past something I’d ever skilled. And we left Dubai after that assembly, and since we have been already midway world wide, we went to Mumba. So we flew from Dubai, which was the cleanest, nicest, latest place I’d ever been to India, which was not the cleanest, nicest, latest place I’ve ever been.

However the service within the resort was spectacular, and the fervour that the groups had of going to work, and the delight they took was unimaginable. And what I discovered actually transferring from market to market to market is, you get to expertise new cultures, you get to expertise new issues, however the ardour of the individuals who work in these inns, you see items of that as you journey world wide. And its only a nice expertise, culturally to have the ability to try this.

However from a enterprise standpoint, it additionally actually opens your eyes on how enterprise is totally different in several elements of the world. That service tradition, the way you deal with individuals. Yeah. I keep in mind, my first time in Shanghai. There have been two individuals, and their job was to push the button to open the elevator for you.

And coming from america, I believed, “Oh my gosh, what an enormous value burden on the resort to have any person there.” However that was the expectation of the friends who keep there. And it simply reframes your thoughts if you’re working a enterprise of, you may’t run it relative to the way you need to run your small business. You need to run your small business based mostly on the expectations of the shopper. So studying what that’s in each market, I believe simply makes you a greater chief.

Karen Stephens: I might actually agree with that. I, I had the chance to work in London, uh, for a couple of years throughout my profession, and I additionally studied in France after I was in, at college, and the chance to, get a special perspective. I believe we might admit as Individuals, typically we are able to really feel like we’re the middle of the universe, and that everyone should do it the way in which we do it, and that isn’t the case.

There’s an entire massive world on the market, and there’s totally different expectations, and totally different cultural norms, and when you strategy it with an open thoughts and form of put your personal biases to the aspect, you may study lots. And in addition, you recognize, discover plenty of alternatives, for development, for enlargement, for partnership. So, I actually take pleasure in speaking to individuals who’ve had that and the way thoughts blowing to go from Dubai.

By the way in which, I’ve stayed within the Hyatt in Dubai and it’s phenomenal. Um, What a distinction although. I’m simply considering, that is your first time overseas and to go to Dubai after which Mumbai again to again, you have to, your head will need to have simply been spinning.

Rob Mangiarelli: Oh a completely. It was, it was like getting into a, a special universe. And you recognize, I’ve had the pleasure of going to India possibly 2 or 3 instances a yr for the final 4 or 5 years I used to be with Hyatt, so I really like the journey and it’s modified lots since ’08. The airport is newer, the roads are newer, however nonetheless, if you see that degree of poverty, and whether or not it was in Mumbai, or whether or not it was in Brazil, it’s only a reminder, proper, that it’s a terrific massive world and we’re very lucky for what we’ve and, and it, simply places issues in perspective.

Karen Stephens: Yeah, I believe that’s actually true. I imply, to have a little bit of gratitude as a result of there are lots of people who will not be as lucky by a protracted shot, so wow. That’s once more, nice views, you recognize? Nice views. Okay, very cool. So that you had talked about earlier than you may have a background from Stanford. Your diploma was in economics, and from Stanford, so, and I seen that plenty of your work expertise actually centered round finance. So now as you concentrate on the place that you just’re in, you’re the President, you’re the COO, you’re on the operational aspect of the home. Are you able to discuss to me just a little bit in regards to the significance of, of information, not simply monetary information, however the way you form of take into consideration, it’s a special lens, proper, than most individuals have coming into these positions.

Rob Mangiarelli: Completely. However I believe you, what you actually see is how our trade has developed over the past 20 years. I keep in mind after I got here to the company workplace, one of many causes I believe that I used to be in a position to transfer up so rapidly in my profession, and take a look at these new roles was as a result of I knew the place the info was.

I knew methods to use it, and I knew methods to clarify it in a method that individuals understood. And, you recognize, this was again within the day once we did the whole lot in Excel. And also you linked collectively 100 workbooks and I used to be in all probability the one one that knew what a V lookup was or methods to write these equations.

However again then, I believe, you recognize, data was energy and whoever had the info, had all of that data. And our trade has actually developed over the past 15 years. We have now an increasing number of details about our opponents, about our clients, about our associates, and determining methods to use that to drive choices. I believe it’s now extra ingrained in our enterprise than it ever was. I imply, take income administration as an ideal instance. We didn’t have income administration after I began my profession. It was 5 individuals sitting in a room making guesses about what was gonna occur in two weeks, or it was altering your price yearly, and now we’re altering charges by the minute, in our markets. So, information actually modifications the way in which you concentrate on income administration. But it surely then rolls into operations. It rolls into each aspect of what we do. It modifications the way in which you have a look at new hires, proper? What are our turnover charges in sure departments in sure areas. How will we take into consideration our coaching to raised affect that? And you recognize, that’s I believe the fantastic thing about possibly my background, is having the ability to have a look at all of that information and switch that into insights operationally.

Karen Stephens: You hit it on the pinnacle. How do you get, there’s plenty of information on the market, proper? So the problem is how do you really consolidate all of that so to interpret it? And motion it. And, and I’m curious, you talked about, uh, you may have 80 inns in your portfolio. Sounds prefer it’s a wide range of manufacturers, proper?

You’ve received some Marriotts, you’ve received another manufacturers.

How do you concentrate on stitching collectively? Or do you may have the power to look and see what friends are throughout all of that portfolio? Or is that one thing that’s somewhat laborious to get to? I imply, with, you may have separate loyalty applications for all of these manufacturers, so what do you do as a administration firm to form of perceive who your loyal friends are, simply to your specific, for Atrium?

Rob Mangiarelli: Nicely, that’s the distinction. I believe one of many largest variations between now working for Atrium, and earlier than working for Hyatt. Once you’re working for Hyatt and also you’re working for a type of manufacturers, you might be involved about loyalty and crossover, and who strikes from what resort to the opposite. Once you’re working for a administration firm or a franchisee, it’s totally different. No one is aware of who Atrium is and once they’re staying in our resort, they don’t know that they’re staying in an Atrium Resort. They know that they’re staying at an Embassy Suites. So we attempt to ship that Embassy Suites expertise, not the Atrium expertise. We don’t spend plenty of time whether or not our clients are transferring from Little Rock to Norman, until it’s a bunch buyer, after which it’s about constructing that relationship with a bunch to get that multi-unit expertise. However from a transient standpoint or from a loyalty standpoint, we’re much less involved about that than I used to be after I labored for a model.

Karen Stephens: Proper. And that completely is sensible. I believe if you do have a branded portfolio, as you speak about, we, we work with some clients which have collections of impartial properties, which is a bit totally different. As a result of with an impartial property you may clearly entry the PMS and get information, put that into one system, after which see how one can cross promote throughout the manufacturers, which once more, when you’re impartial, you form of want that firepower, proper?

Since you don’t have, like, you recognize, if in case you have an Embassy Suites, they’re clearly advertising by Embassy suites, and if in case you have a Marriott, you’re counting on Marriott. However for independents it’s just a little totally different. So, however that’s an attention-grabbing perspective.

Rob Mangiarelli: Yeah. And I believe it whether or not it turns into necessary is to then work with the model companions. So we’ve a terrific relationship with Marriott and we’ve a terrific relationship with Hilton, and we’ve a terrific relationship with IHG. And determining how can we leverage their energy, and their work with their loyalty members to be sure that they’re staying in our inns, in order that we’re good companions. So versus us attempting to try this ourselves, it’s actually us attempting to try this by them.

Karen Stephens: By way of them. Proper, proper. Which makes good sense. Okay. So only a couple extra questions for you Rob. We’re, we’re in finances season. Right here we’re, and also you’re the finance man, you’re the President. So what recommendation do you may have, to our listeners on the market, they usually’re serious about finances season, there’s plenty of unknowns occurring on the market.

What, what’s some items of recommendation you may depart our listeners with, as we undergo the subsequent couple?

Rob Mangiarelli: As a finance particular person, that is at all times awkward to say, however spend as little time doing all of your finances as attainable. We begin method too early as an trade, proper? You begin doing all of your finances in August. You end it in January. You spent half the yr after which two weeks after you completed it, you’re flawed.

So when you’re going to be flawed in your finances, be flawed rapidly. The period of time and mind harm that we put into our finances course of is counterproductive. We want a finances. We want that to be a time limit. However then we have to acknowledge that that time limit is past us, behind us. And as we transfer ahead, it’s about our forecasts, and the way can we now mission the subsequent 60 days, the subsequent 90 days, the subsequent week and a half to consider our staffing, our schedule, our wants. However not, how will we examine to what we thought was going to occur final October? So I believe this entire idea of budgeting, it’s nice to sit down down and take into consideration your small business strategically, however getting caught up within the decimal factors and the trivialities, I simply suppose is an old-fashioned mind-set and it’s counterproductive for our groups.

Karen Stephens: Wow. what? I really like that perspective, Rob. That’s, that’s refreshing. And I believe the quote of the day is, restrict the mind harm, you recognize, cease the mind harm. As a result of we do the identical factor, clearly. We have now budgets and forecasting. We do all of that as a tech firm, and it’s an enormous carry.

And also you’re proper, as quickly because the yr takes off, issues change. So it’s extra necessary to have the ability to forecast, and pivot, and roll with the waves as we get into the subsequent season.

Rob Mangiarelli: Precisely.

Karen Stephens: Nicely, hey Rob, it’s been an actual pleasure. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of me at this time. And if individuals wanna study extra about Atrium Hospitality, the place ought to they go?

Rob Mangiarelli: They’ll discover us on our web site at atriumhospitality.com.

Karen Stephens: Simple peasy. All proper, thanks Rob. Take care.

Rob Mangiarelli: All proper, thanks Karen recognize it.