Summer is coming and that means it’s prime vacation time. And not soon enough for the multitude of those having lived through what felt like interminable cold and snow. Good riddance! The good news: Right now, proactive hotel owners, operators and property teams are hard at work preparing their assets for the summer crush.
“We never stop activating our spaces even in the slower months, so we are always working on activations and prepping for summer,” said Simon Little, area director of sales and marketing for The Asbury Collection, an eclectic pair of properties on the Jersey Shore in Asbury Park, N.J.
The Asbury Collection is owned by iStar, a real estate investment, finance and development company, and managed by Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group.
Little, a 35-year industry veteran, confirmed the summer season—defined as Memorial Day to Labor Day—is, indeed, the strongest period in terms of performance for the 54-key Asbury Ocean Club and the 110-key The Asbury.
“Occupancies in the summer range between 85% to 100% and average daily rate ranges from $600 to $1,200 for a regular room. Suites at the Ocean Club can go up to $4,200 in peak season,” he said.
As summer locations go, the properties, which are contiguous, are sited about a block from the iconic 1929 Asbury Park Boardwalk fronting the beach and Atlantic Ocean. While only a two-minute walk from each other, the distance between them in terms of market positioning and guest-facing offerings is disparate.
Although both hotels focus on lifestyle-driven experiences, The Asbury, which turns 10 this year, claims fame as the Garden State’s rock ’n’ roll hotel, reflected in its back-in-the-day guestroom design and signature The Boss Suite, an homage to music legend Bruce Springsteen, who in the 1970s played nearby at the now-fabled The Stone Pony.
In contrast, Asbury Ocean Club Hotel, which debuted in 2019, features modern décor by Anda Andrei, a gallery, the sophisticated The Drawing Room space and places a focus on wellness in a luxury setting, offering a fitness center, meditation deck, spa and yoga studio.
It is also New Jersey’s only Forbes-recommended hotel and Michelin Key-awarded hotel, said Little, and, because of this distinction, prepping for high season, he added, is a little different due to the strict guidelines and standards required by both organizations. “Forbes has [its] own specific training program, which we must adhere to,” he said.
From an overall training standpoint, “kick off” for the Collection is April 1; however, veteran hoteliers know “prepping” is a year-round activity to ensure a successful operation.
“It’s never too early to start is the key lesson learned,” said Little. “Also, when you are a ‘seasonal’ hotel, community engagement is key and we spend a lot of time ensuring we keep our local seasonal staff updated on new opening timelines and holding open talent recruitment sessions for new employees.
“Labor is always the biggest challenge,” Little continued. “It’s a never-ending revolving door and we spend an inordinate amount of time training the staff to ensure they offer the highest levels of service and adhere to company standards.”
Summer Story
Farther north, in Meredith, N.H., Barbara Beckwith keeps prep-work, particularly around labor, in focus. As general manager of the Mill Falls Resort Collection, four properties in close proximity on Lake Winnipesaukee, she stressed, “A large component to ensuring operational success is solidifying the staffing model for proper coverage in peak season. Staffing effectively also allows time for proper onboarding, training and team building.”
The properties—Church Landing, Bay Point, Chase House and Palmer Inn—offer 170 guestrooms in total, and are owned by Procaccianti Companies via its affiliate, Hampshire Hospitality Holdings, and are managed by TPG Hotels and Resorts.
All four of the boutique-style hotels have been renovated since 2019, with Chase House and Palmer Inn seeing completion this past January.
The most recent renovations touched almost every aspect of the buildings’ interiors, including guestrooms and common areas, said Beckwith, a 27-year industry veteran. Spaces feature new furnishings, fixtures, paint and décor that give off “a coastal modern style that’s fresh and relaxing,” she said.
With its lakeside location, summer is a prime time for the Collection (as is the fall foliage timeframe), which draws a mix of families, transient, business travelers and repeat clientele, with an average length of stay of 2.3 nights.
According to John Brosnan, VP of sales and marketing for TPG, these renovations were strategically timed to ensure the resort was prepared for the coming summer season with all new products. “At Mill Falls, we aim to create unique guest experiences across all aspects of their stay. This includes being able to enjoy new, fresh room products, in addition to all of the resort amenities,” he said.
Features of the Collection include a half-dozen restaurants, a marketplace, the Cascade Spa and Salon and what’s known as the EKAL Activity Center. The center is a hub for on-site water sports (e.g., kayak rental, canoes, stand-up paddle boards, etc.) boat rides and private charters, as well as guided hiking, yoga, bicycling and other activities.
Prep-wise, Beckwith said a full review of equipment is done at EKAL to ensure “everything is new or in great condition.” At the spa, “We review what exciting new products we will be featuring and if there are any popular new treatments our customers will be looking for us to offer,” she said.
A similar sentiment is shared at The Asbury Collection. “Occupancies and rates are high, so we want to provide the best possible service and amenities,” said Little. As soon as high season winds down, Little said, the engineering team embarks on a room-improvement plan to ensure rooms stay in the best possible condition. The Asbury recently upgraded its corridors and will also refresh rooms with new flooring this year.
The enhancements are expected to resonate with the properties’ guest mix, which is composed of 80% transient and 20% group. “Leisure travel accounts for up to 65% of the transient mix with the remainder business travel,” Little added. Average length of stay is 2.4 nights.
Seasonal Serendipity
Summer opens up all sorts of potential for a property, not the least of which is a boost in occupancy and rate and added ancillary revenue opportunities that come with heightened foot traffic. Consider The Asbury Collection properties, which will bring in expert mixologists to create unique cocktail-making classes, as well as involve the local community to participate in many other activations, such as our pool parties. They also bring in local fashion designers for events that showcase their designs using live models. “These have been especially welcomed at the Asbury Ocean Club [by] guests and residents alike,” said Little.
Prior successes include food-and-wine pairing events and activations at Salvation, The Asbury’s rooftop bar. Other plans for summer are likely to include programming for Baronet, The Asbury’s rooftop outdoor cinema,  and detailing the line-up at the adjacent Asbury Lanes (bowling alley and live music venue) and Diner.
The Mill Falls Resort Collection has also found success at its Church Landing and Chase House locations, where outdoor wedding tents that offer views of the lake are found, helping cement its reputation as a wedding destination venue.
Brosnan said in addition to bringing on key staff support, TPG, via its Intera Collection (an upscale boutique and independent asset division), has an internal team that explores, evaluates and executes activations across our resorts and marinas, further ensuring something different than our competitors may be doing. “The preparation by this team is a year-round endeavor and the activities brought to life are designed for individual travelers, families and corporate groups to both elevate and make more memorable their stays,” he said.
Story contributed by Stefani C. O’Connor.