New York City

Managing Through a Blizzard

person sitting on bench looking across river at NYC skyline

With 14 hotels in New York City, M&R Hotel Management was heavily impacted by the blizzard that paralyzed the Northeast last month. According to the U.S. Weather Service, 26.8 inches of snow fell in Central Park during the storm, a near record.

Fortunately, our managers and line employees rose to the occasion, staying true to the company’s core philosophy of providing hands-on hospitality. In case after case, they went the extra mile on guests’ behalf, despite trying circumstances.

With four hotels near John F. Kennedy International Airport and a one hotel near LaGuardia Airport, we certainly are accustomed to dealing with inclement weather and the urgent, unplanned demand for rooms that can result.

Some current guests may need to stay extra nights, while others never arrive due to cancelled flights. During the blizzard, our front desk associates worked diligently to track arrivals and departures and make rooms available to everyone who requested them.

Complicating the situation, the city shut down mass transit and ordered all cars off the highways as the storm barreled down, leaving some associates with no way to get home and others no way to get to work.

Associates at a number of our hotels ended up working extra hours and staying overnight on property. When housekeepers couldn’t make it in, other line employees – already overburdened – helped restock fresh linen, towels and toiletries.

None of the guests, grateful for refuge from the storm, complained about having to change their sheets.

Many M&R hotels provide complimentary hot breakfast as a brand standard. Those guests stranded in our hotels were sure to show up for breakfast early Saturday morning and again on Sunday for what could turn out to be their only meal of the day.

Associates from other functional area helped breakfast attendants keep the hot coffee and cold orange juice flowing in a great example of teamwork.

Resourceful general managers, meanwhile, canvassed local neighborhoods to identify open restaurants willing to deliver meals to their hotels and local pharmacies that could sell pharmaceuticals if needed.

As the snow and wind abated, our heroic associates rose to the occasion once more by helping guests dig out cars from under mounds of snow, expediting their check-outs and ensuring their ability to continue their trips. Only then did our associates dig out their own cars.

It’s at times like this that people outside our industry can truly appreciate the real meaning of hospitality – direct and authentic.

Guests and Hotels Both Win With Advance Reservations

Early each November, the staff at the Holiday Inn L.I. City – Manhattan View looks forward to welcoming long-distance runners who travel from Germany to run in the annual TCS New York City Marathon and spend a few days afterward recovering, sightseeing and shopping.

Holiday Inn L.I. City – Manhattan View

Before checking out of the hotel, the leaders of the group make sure to book rooms for the following year. Over the years, the Holiday Inn staff and their German guests have developed a friendship, celebrated with handshakes each year upon arrival and hugs on checkout.

For both hotels and repeat guests, there are several advantages to booking follow-up stays – whether they be a month or a year away – as early as possible. For hotels, advance bookings provide a base of business to build on. For the repeat guests, booking early avoids the worry about finding rooms at the last minute.

Holiday Inn L.I. City – Manhattan View

Even if rooms are booked in advance at a relatively low rate, hotels benefit by having confirmed business on the books for an entire year in advance. In the weeks and months to come, the revenue team will use dynamic pricing to adjust the rates up or down as the market demands, even impose a minimum length of stay, to maximize income.

Guests who book early gain the comfort of mind of knowing they’ll have a place to stay in a hotel they know is comfortable, well maintained and convenient. Moreover, the hotel staff knows their needs and will take care of them in advance. As a bonus, repeat guests who are members of the IHG Rewards Club will earn points good for future stays.

The Benefits of a ‘Soft’ Hotel Opening

Like owners of a newly constructed house who need weeks to feel truly comfortable in their new home, hotel owners and managers consider the first initial weeks of operation to be a “soft opening,” a period before any grand-opening celebration when glitches are expected and everyone is on the alert to address them.

Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square

It all begins before the first guest steps into the lobby, when contractors work feverishly in the final hours before opening to complete repairs specified in the owner’s punch list. But today’s hotels are vastly complex, and the opportunities for complications range from sophisticated communications technology to traditional housekeeping.

Minor though any problems they be, the hotel’s owners and managers want everything to be as close to perfect as possible to enhance their guests’ experience. Those initial guests are, by and large, unaware of these kinks as managers and rank-and-file associates work to resolve them quietly and efficiently.

Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square

M&R Hotel Management’s newest hotel, the 271-room Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square, is in the midst of its soft opening, having opened its doors last month. We are working with all deliberate speed to resolve even the smallest issue before we formally celebrate the opening.

Preview performances in the theater serve a similar purpose as a soft opening in our business. Once the actors have had the opportunity to perform enough times before a live audience, they are ready for the official opening night.

M&R Appoints Manager of Holiday Inn Express in Manhattan

M&R Hotel Management today announced the appointment of Glenda Gomez as general manager of the 177-room Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West at 538 West 48^th St.

Gomez, an 11-year hospitality industry veteran who has managed branded as well as independent hotels in New York, will oversee the hotel’s operations, sales, marketing, security, maintenance, housekeeping and accounting.

Gomez previously served M&R Hotel Management for two and one half years as general manager of the Holiday Inn Express LaGuardia Airport in Queens. Prior to joining M&R, she was director of front office operations for The Alex Hotel in New York City. From 2007 to 2011, she was overnight audit manager and front office manager at the Gardens NYC, an Affinia Hotel.

Earlier in her career, Gomez held similar positions at The Mark Hotel from 2006 to 2007 and the Best Western Convention Center Hotel, both in New York, from 2004 to 2006.

Gomez earned a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management at the New York Institute of Technology and is fluent in English and Spanish.

“Under Glenda’s direction, the Holiday Inn Express LaGuardia has earned numerous awards for excellent performance from the brand’s parent company, InterContinental Hotels Group,” said Brian McSherry, M&R Hotel Management chief operating officer. “We look forward to her bringing the same focus and enthusiasm to her new assignment.”

Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West

The Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West features a mix of king, queen and double rooms, 24-hour fitness and business centers and guest laundry. Complimentary amenities include Express Start hot breakfast, grab-and-go lobby market, Wi-Fi throughout the building, bottled water and daily newspaper.

The hotel is near the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Times Square, the Broadway theater district and world-class shopping and restaurants. The hotel is also a short walk from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, making it a convenient choice for pre- and post-cruise visits to the Big Apple.

The hotel is one of four M&R-managed properties in Manhattan, including the 89-room Comfort Inn Midtown West at 548 West 48t^h St., the 132-roomHoliday Inn NYC – Lower East Side at 150 Delancey St. and the 271-room Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square at 585 Eighth Ave., which opened last week.

M&R Hotel Management, based in Great Neck, also operates six other hotels in Queens, including four near John F. Kennedy International Airport and one in Long Island City, as well as three hotels in Staten Island. The company operates a hotel in the Boston suburb of Braintree, Massachusetts, and two hotels on the Caribbean islands of St. Maarten and Dominica.

M&R’s portfolio includes the brands of InterContinental Hotels Group, Choice Hotels International, Wyndham Hotel Group and Best Western International. In addition, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide have certified M&R to manage select brands.

M&R’s business plan calls for expansion of its portfolio in the New York metropolitan area and beyond through third-party management contracts. The company’s more than decade of success as an owner-operator brings an ownership perspective to its third-party clients.

In addition to management, M&R provides consulting services in hotel site and contractor selection, feasibility analysis, permitting, financing, franchising, human resources support, sales and marketing, revenue management, food & beverage management, brand management, account and risk management audits, e-commerce, design, procurement, accounting and engineering.

Holiday Inn New York City ─ Times Square Debuts in Manhattan

looking up at the exterior of the Holiday Inn Times Square M&R Hotel Management today announced the opening of the 271-room Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square at 585 Eighth Ave., between 38^th and 39^th streets.

The new hotel is located three blocks from West 42^nd Street with convenient access to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York Penn Station, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Broadway theater district, world-class restaurants and shopping.

The Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square features king and queen rooms, 24-hour business and fitness centers, flight check-in kiosk, complimentary high-speed Internet access throughout the hotel and Guest Link technology, which provides guest room charging and TV connections.

The Beer Authority, operator of restaurants and bars in Manhattan, will operate Rattle N Hum West Craft Beer Bar & Kitchen in the hotel, providing breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night bites and room service.

The 35-story hotel becomes the 13^th New York hotel in M&R Hotel Management’s 16-hotel portfolio and fifth Holiday Inn hotel. M&R also manages five Holiday Inn Express hotels, including the Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West on West 48^th Street. Both brands are franchised by InterContinental Hotels Group.

“The opening of this hotel marks several milestones for our company,” said Brian McSherry, M&R Hotel Management chief operating officer. “The Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square is the largest hotel in our portfolio, adds a full-service hotel to our growing presence on Manhattan’s West Side and extends our already strong relationship with InterContinental Hotels Group, parent of both the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands.”

M&R Hotel Management’s New York hotels include four in Manhattan, six in Queens and three in Staten Island. Rounding out the portfolio are a hotel in the Boston suburb of Braintree, Massachusetts, and hotels on the Caribbean islands of St. Maarten and Dominica.

Along with day-to-day management, M&R Hotel Management provides consulting services in hotel site and contractor selection, feasibility analysis, permitting, financing, franchising, human resources support, sales and marketing, revenue management, food and beverage management, risk management audits, e-commerce, design, procurement, accounting audits and engineering.

Managing Hotels to Win

By Brian M. McSherry, M&R Hotel Management