NEWH - Summer 2012 - (Page 22)

Q&A Meet Adrienne Pumphrey director of sustainable hospitality for the NEWH Sustainable Hospitality Committee, and the global head of Adoba Eco Hotel & Suites Why did you want to become involved in NEWH? I was eager to align and learn from the experience and depth of the talented individuals on the NEWH sustainability committee. I felt this organization would allow me to grow and move towards a much more sustainable pathway and draw attention to the growing need of the greater commitment to reduce our carbon footprint within the hospitality industry. no other with so many trades under one roof—from customer service and human resources to sales and food and beverage. What are the biggest challenges in the industry today? What has it done for you? It has greatly expanded my sustainable network and given me an opportunity to connect with several great new business partners. rough best practices and completed actions it has assisted me in better managing our brand through a lens of sustainability to bene t travel for future generations. What are some of the initiatives you hope to implement in your role? A couple things come to mind. e changing talent condition, meaning the compression or shrinking of the labor force, escalating health care and bene t costs, among other issues. e ability to anticipate and provide superior service to evolving customer needs continues to be a high-priority, especially as customers are increasingly becoming sophisticated in their use of technology. And of course, my biggest concern is as we continue to merge into a truly global marketplace, to meet this growing demand, we must be able to do so in a sustainable fashion and operate our business in ways that provide the current customer with what they need, while preparing our sustainable and environmental benchmarks to meet the needs of future generations. I would like to assist in growing the organization’s membership throughout the hospitality industry, and work closely with Dina [Belon, NEWH’s vice president of sustainable hospitality] and the team on educational and engagement programs for the membership including online learning, centralized social media content, and various training modules. Why did you start Atmosphere Hospitality Management? Where is NEWH headed? Great question. You can’t pick up a magazine or read a blog without some kind of story about green campaigns or carbon footprint reduction. It’s not just hype. I feel the NEWH Sustainable Hospitality Committee is positioning to develop educational framework and o er instructive resources to assist companies and the membership respond to these challenges. Atmosphere Hospitality Management was started to create the rst independent LEED certi ed hotel brand and use sustainability as a fundamental strategy that o ers owners sustaining value for their buildings and long-term survival within any economy. Our vision was to use sustainability and responsible, environmentally friendly hotel designs as a core value to connect businesses, associates, and guests. Additionally, we felt the traditional business model of a franchise fee approach to running a hotel was dated. We designed an entirely new approach and launched a performance-based fee approach. Talk to us about Adoba Eco Hotel & Suites. What are some of the exciting events planned for this year? Virtual tradeshows, sustainable initiatives from the chapters, and there are some amazing programs for the calendar year. Finish this statement: 2012 will be known for… For me, 2012 will be known as the year the Adoba Eco Hotel brand came to life, as we just nished our rst property conversion in Rapid City, South Dakota. How did you get in the hospitality industry? I was lucky enough to obtain a part-time job in college at a newly opened Embassy Suites in St. Louis. I was love-struck within thirty days and completely changed my career path from pre-law studies to the hospitality industry. I’ve never looked back. e brand is based on the premise that sustainability is simply good for business; it also establishes sustainability as a brand standard. It was important for us to create a brand with programs and products that deliver superior guest experiences and protects the world we live in. Our proprietary technology system, A-Gemini Technology System, is a huge highlight of the brand. It is the lodging industry’s rst totally integrated information technology platform, revolutionary in its capabilities and integration. A-Gemini is everything a hotel needs to manage guest tough points: customer loyalty; promotion; energy e ciencies; merchandising; reservations; and it e ectively helps each owner make smart, pro table decisions. e proprietary system connects team members and owners to every guest touch-point speci cally geared towards increasing pro tability. When you are not working or at an NEWH event, we can nd you... What do you love about it? 22 www.newh.org The fast pace; the people. This industry is so encompassing like At the new Adoba in Rapid City, and when weather permits, in my garden or creating a new sustainable project for my husband and I. ❙❘❚ http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - Summer 2012

NEWH - Summer 2012
Table of Contents
News
Who’s Who
Sustainability: Point of View
Scholarship
Q&A: Jason Stock
Q&A: Adrienne Pumphrey
Have You Seen?
Product Know How
On the Scene
Hunter Douglas Hospitality
Project: Omni Dallas Hotel
Project: Creek Tower at Cherokee Casino & Hotel
Save the Date
New Members
Partner Profiles
Ad Index

NEWH - Summer 2012