Successful Meetings - May 2009 - (Page 32)

PLANNER’S WORKSHOP visionaries Old-fashioned values are at the core of Andy Dolce’s hotel and resort empire, with 23 properties and counting Andy D lce: By Andrea Doyle andrea.doyle@nielsen.com That’s Amore A more surrounded Andy Dolce growing up in a tightknit Italian family in Bronx, NY. So did many of his relatives, all living in adjoining dwellings built by his grandfather, who immigrated to the United States at 18. “We all grew up as one big family—cousins, aunts, uncles, my grandparents. I learned a lot about old-fashioned family values growing up in this environment—values I brought to the company I founded. It’s all about respect and treating people fairly,” says Dolce, founder and chairman of Dolce Hotels and Resorts. The company manages 23 hotels, resorts, and conference centers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He started working with his grandfather, Vincent, in construction at the age of 10. His grandfather instilled in him not only a stringent work ethic, but people skills as well. Dolce was drawn to the charisma of his grandfather, who grew up in the Palace at Caserta in the Naples area of Italy where his mother was a cook for King Victor Emmanuel II. The children of the palace staff were educated with the royal children, learning sculpture and other fine arts. “I often joke I was inspired by my great grandma’s hospitality service to King Emmanuel in Italy,” Dolce chuckles. The art of hospitality has been passed down through the Dolce generations as Andy’s three sons, Danny, Today, Dolce serves as chairman of the board for Dolce Hotels and Resorts 32 I SM I May 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - May 2009

Successful Meetings - May 2009
Contents
Editor's Letter
News Update
Education
Management Matters
Meetings Law
Mouth For Sale
Visionaries
Gurus
Forging Ahead
The Road to Ruin
The Case for Spas
Foreign Affairs
Paper Purge
Carnival Spirit
Defending Meetings
Places + Spaces
Upstate NY
Anaheim
Minneapolis
San Diego
French Riviera
Park City

Successful Meetings - May 2009