GOSTELOW REPORT—“Travel changes people’s lives,” said Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, which held its annual global conference February 25-28 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.
Themed “Momentum, a journey of hearts and minds,” the event provided the 274 delegates with two major pieces of news. Two days before, Ueberroth had signed a partnership with Porsche – which, among other benefits, will give the 772 member properties favorable access to Porsche charging stations (this will attract locals, whether staying in the hotel or not and regardless of the car marque). And, she said, Porsche has its own network of loyal car owners.
In addition, she stated Preferred Hospitality Solutions is already proving its worth. “I want hoteliers to come to Preferred when they need a solution, say pre-opening, branding, revenue management, anything one-off or ongoing,” Ueberroth explained. This could be described as a butler or concierge service for hotel owners and operators.
To show its versatility, when The K Club in Kildare, Ireland, asked for immediate help with a PR hiccup, Preferred Hospitality Solutions arranged what turned into a six-month contract for the hotel’s communications to be handled exclusively by Preferred’s PR and social media team. This team is 17 strong and it can provide coverage 24/7 from Preferred’s headquarters in Newport Beach, California, plus some of its other 35 offices worldwide, in this case New York, London, Singapore and Beijing. By the end of the contract, Preferred said The K Club recorded a 203/1 return on investment, verified by commercial value of placements and social media activity.
It is exactly 15 years this week since travel entrepreneur John Ueberroth and his family bought the Preferred brand. Lindsey Ueberroth, his daughter, became CEO in 2014. “Now we have five Collections – Legend, L.V.X., Lifestyle and the extra-value Connect, plus Preferred Residences, which bridges a possible gap between a hotel and a standard home-stay alternative,” she said. “I cannot envisage any more Collections, though I never say never, and freestanding restaurants might be fun,” she admitted.
The CEO does see big-brand consolidation offering opportunities. “Already, over 40 owners have de-flagged hotels to join us and I anticipate many more,” she said. One incentive to get away from tighter contracts demanded by big chains, who then want, say, 15% of total revenue, is that Preferred works on the pay-by-result model, charging 3.5% or less, on average, of income merely for room rate.
Preferred’s strongest consumer group is in the 35 to 65 age group. In 2018, all the members saw more than six million bed-nights via Preferred. Average stay across the portfolio is 2.3 nights, boosted by generally longer stays in resorts.
The I Prefer loyalty program generated US$200 million in total reservations last year and the program has picked up 500,000 new members in the last 12 months to make a total of over three million. The company is planning to reward loyal customers with pop-up events, and newcomers are solicited via displays in American Express Centurion Clubs.
“In general, I think in three-year phases,” Ueberroth said. “At the moment I am giving more time to curating what we already have than to going after massive expansion, though we will continue to grow as we penetrate additional locations such as Bhutan and Myanmar, and many countries in Africa.”
With a degree in Communications from Wake Forest University, followed by four years’ change management for Accenture, Ueberroth fully understands the importance of spreading the passion for Preferred both to potential owners and to consumers.
There were several owners among new Preferred members in Monte-Carlo last week – one declared he was impressed by how approachable Ueberroth and her parents were throughout the event (and, like everyone else, he had not expected the ruler of Monaco, HSH Prince Albert, to open the welcome cocktail party and stay around for much of the evening, chatting to delegates).
The following evening’s movie-festival-style jazz buffet at the exclusive Monaco Yacht Club and a final gala dinner, black tie and white-glove service, showed the planning and entertaining that those who know them say is a Ueberroth differentiator.
“I know what I want, and with a Preferred team that numbers more than 330 associates, in 35 offices worldwide, it will happen. I am determined that Preferred and its pineapple logo will be the most recognized luxury hotel company of independents,” she said.