Boutique Design - November 2019 - 88

MARRIOTT MIAMI AIRPORT

L AURA BENNER

HOW'D YOU FIND YOUR WAY INTO THIS
INDUSTRY?

Honestly, I actually "fell into" the hospitality
industry. After two years of chemical engineering
classes at Cornell University, I realized that I really
did not want to be an engineer. I was deciding
between Cornell architecture and the Cornell hotel
school and decided on the hotel school. It wasn't
until I worked at HVS doing hotel appraisals and
market studies that I realized I enjoyed the hotel
real estate industry.
WHY COLONY OVER A SEXY STARTUP?

While I like challenges and new endeavors, I am a
bit risk adverse when it comes to my financial
stability. A typical day always involves multitasking
and prioritizing. I am usually involved in anything
hotel related, which could range from selecting
corridor carpet to valuing one of our many hotel
assets. The good, bad and crazy aspects of what I
do at Colony are that I am involved in multiple
aspects of each of our hotels: operational issues,
brand standards, ROI projects, renovations/design
oversight, strategy, hold/sell analyses, brand/operator relations, quarterly reporting, and everything
in between.
HOW DOES THE MARKET LOOK TO YOU SHORTAND MEDIUM-TERM?

2020 is likely to be a buyer's market considering the
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slowdown in RevPAR growth and a favorable
lending market. Hold periods will likely extend as
the economy softens.
WHAT'S THE NEXT BIG CHANGE IN HOTELS THAT
DESIGNERS, OWNERS AND OPERATORS NEED TO
PREPARE FOR?

Housekeeping labor costs are one of the largest cost
centers to hotel owners, and while innovation
around check-in and food and beverage offerings has
occurred, the process for cleaning guestrooms has
remained the same for more than 20 years. With
increasing wages, lower unemployment and changes
in the workforce, owners and operators face an
uphill battle to find quality housekeeping labor while
still managing labor expenses. Innovation within
hotel housekeeping needs to be a focus. Hotels will
need to promote the idea of cleaning every third day.
Designers have to specify products that are not difficult to clean and will last. In general, they need to be
more aware of the operational side of the business.
GIVE US YOUR BEST ADVICE FOR SUCCESSFUL
ASSET MANAGEMENT.

Hotel asset management needs to involve both
operational and real estate asset management.
From an operations perspective, an asset manager

needs to have ongoing oversight of the operator to
improve top line revenues via effective revenue
management while also properly managing
expenses. From a real estate perspective, an asset
manager needs to identify underutilized space
within the hotel which could be revenue generating, assess if the number of guestrooms could be
increased, create "premium" guestrooms that can
generate a higher ADR, identify ROI projects such
as LED lights or the conversion of indoor pools to
meeting space, etc.
WHAT'S YOUR PERSONAL SECRET SAUCE FOR
MAKING SURE PROJECT DESIGN WORKS?

Whenever I conduct a design walk with the
designer and project manager, I make sure the
general manager, chief engineer, and if available,
head of housekeeping attend the walk-through, and
I make sure to encourage all parties to speak up if
they have any concerns or issues with the direction
of the design decisions.
WHAT'S YOUR PINCH-ME MOMENT?

Since I am always trying to further my career, that
moment will come when I get to the end of my
career and take a look back. I also want to create a
better working environment for women.

C O U R T E S Y O F L AU R A B E N N E R ( B E N N E R ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F C O L O N Y C A P I TA L , I N C . ( M A R R I O T T M I A M I A I R P O R T )

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HOTEL ASSET
MANAGEMENT, COLONY CAPITAL, INC.

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - November 2019

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