GOSTELOW REPORT—“I run two lovely hotels, five blocks apart from each other, that are both jewel boxes, but they only work because of my people,” says Todd Temperly, general manager of Conrad Chicago and Waldorf Astoria Chicago.
The arrangement would arguably not work if the hotels were not both part of the Hilton family and if they did not share ownership, namely a partnership between Geller Capital Partners and Wanxiang America Real Estate Group, both headquartered in Chicago.
Conrad Chicago, built on the site that had previously hosted Laurence Geller’s office, has 287 keys and 280 employees. Waldorf Astoria Chicago, which had opened as The Elysian, has 188 keys, and 300 employees. In addition, Temperly, whose main office is in the Waldorf Astoria, has a complex team reporting directly to him that handles finance, HR and sales and revenue for both properties.
“Each hotel has its own director of operations who hold their own morning meetings. I have a daily 8:30 a.m. meeting for management of both hotels. On Mondays and Wednesdays, my meeting is at the Conrad, Tuesdays and Thursdays we are at Waldorf Astoria, and Fridays we rotate. In summer it is an easy nine-minute walk between properties, but in winter, well, we drive,” he confessed. There are shared manager-level social activities but when it comes to line employee-of-the-month recognitions, they are hotel-specific: In both hotels, only housekeeping, F&B and engineering are union-related.
“We can never do enough for our line staff. Recruitment is for one or the other hotel, but I encourage support between the properties. I believe in communication, and I want the hotels to be in direct contact with each other rather than via the complex,” Temperly explained. When it comes to purchasing, Conrad and Waldorf-Astoria have separate contracts with an outside procurement company, which actually happens to be the same in each case.
This is a highly organized hotelier who only wears his WA lapel badge when he is at Waldorf Astoria Chicago. He stresses firmly that he wants his overall structure, boosted by shared synergies, to enable both hotels to be a genuine experience, for team members, and for guests.
Here there is surprisingly little interchange. Conrad, which has average stay of 1.7 nights, gets more Asian customers. Waldorf Astoria regulars are less likely to be carrying branded designer handbags, but they are possibly more well-traveled, with average stay of three nights, and they appreciate having a first-class spa (Conrad guests can sign at any of the Waldorf Astoria offerings, and vice versa). Room rates for both hotels are comparable, and the pair see more Hilton Honors redemptions in summer.
“Just as I am responsible for two hotels, so I also report to two entities. As I said, I am lucky to have ownership that is really supportive, as is Hilton’s head of luxury, Martin Rinck. Just like Laurence Geller, when he telephones, he invariably says ‘how is Chicago?’ rather than naming one of my hotels.”
As a kid back home on a Wisconsin farm, Temperly was always amazed when his parents took him to a hotel. “I am still amazed, the whole time. This is the golden age of hotel-keeping,” he declared.