Hospitality Design - July 2009 - 88

on site roger hill Right: A rendering of the Chinese restaurant at the Newport Entertainment & Commercial Center. Below: A mock-up guestroom at the Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou. wanted to continue to create an environment to attract entrepreneurial people. We always want to ref ine ourselves. It’s part of our core values. model. The idea came from a project we did for HD: You mention core values. What is most critical to Gettys? a major fast-food chain, helping them create a series of designs for their restaurants. We thought if it was appropriate for restaurants it should be appropriate for hotels. That’s not to say everybody buys that way, but it was a nice alternative. HD: Are there areas on which you’re bullish? RH: We’re bouncing along the bottom of tough times. For those who are opportunistic, there are fantastic opportunities for acquisitions. We are seeing some light and it’s a ray of sunlight; I couldn’t have said that in January. I truly felt in my lifetime I wouldn’t have experienced this in the way my parents experienced something as dramatic as the Great Depression. RH: We treat people the way we want to be treated. That’s why our average tenure of our leadership team has been over a decade. We share the successes and the challenges. We approach things collaboratively. Even with our clients, we share the successes and the challenges. HD: Are you doing things differently now than you were a decade ago? RH: People are recognizing the “secret sauce”— which is no secret. It’s a good formula, the way we go in and make an opportunity assessment. Under opportunity, there might be redevelopment or the strategy for new development. We want to be held accountable to execute that. HD: You mention your parents. I understand that your father had been a positive influence on the firm. What did he teach you? RH: He and my mom were very much entrepreneurs. He was a great mentor and one of my best friends. He played a key role in giving us the courage to start the business. He was our de facto controller and CFO in the early days. He was a great guiding influence and a great inspiration. He was a great gentleman, too. He taught us how you can be a very good businessperson, yet he was all about everybody winning. HD: What is different from just a year ago? RH: We’re a global company. It’s been a good defensive move due to the slowdown in the States. In retrospect, it was a smart decision and we’re very thankful. We never anticipated we’d be in the economic malaise we’re in right now. HD: You have always championed innovation in design, in services, in sustainability, in technology, in the future of design. As an industry, are we embracing innovation? HD: What is your advice on how hoteliers can HD: What have you changed design-wise that shows you were thinking differently? survive the downturn of 2009? Do you believe solid design is part of the strategy? RH: Unfortunately, as an industry, we’ve been a late adopter. LEED will continue to gain momentum. We’ve been fortunate enough to take some risks. We just opened the Hotel Felix, an eco-friendly boutique hotel, designed to meet LEED Silver certif ication. We’re continuing to stay true to that mission of innovation, and LEED is an important differentiator. RH: I think we were thought leaders particularly when We it comes to mass our customization. have evolved RH: There’s no better time to make a commitment to your asset. Spend wisely now when you’re not interrupting your highest occupancy. We’re fortunate enough to be working for people with that vision. Renovations are not as big, but those owners will be ready to take advantage of the upturn. New supply is really being choked off here, so recovery will be much faster in the hotel business. Guestroom Express™ program since we launched it in 1994, originally as a way for developers to get good, cost-effective design that could be evaluated quickly as meeting or exceeding brand standards, and for knowing pre-schematic what the costs are—a dealer 88 hospitalitydesign www.hdmag.com

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - July 2009