REPORT FROM THE U.S.—They call it “living in”—hotel general managers who live in their properties full time for an extended period—and not just when they are relocating to a new position.
While it’s hard to get a fix on how common it is for GMs of upscale hotels to “live in,” there are many prominent examples. According to several New York GMs, the practice is fairly common in the Big Apple, partly because it’s less expensive to take up hotel space than to pay for housing.
While most major brands do not keep track of how many GMs live in, Peter Strebel, live-in GM of the Omni Berkshire Place in New York, said four of Omni’s 50 GMs live in their properties.
Strebel pointed out that in the past, many European-trained hoteliers came to America to run hotels and typically lived in them because they had no roots in this country. With more American-born GMs, that has become less common.
Offer Nissenbaum, Strebel’s predecessor at the Omni Berkshire Place and now managing director at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, agreed it was more common decades ago for GMs to live in and it continues to remain more common outside the U.S.
In his case, Houdré said, “I have lived in hotels most of my life. I was born in an inn in the Loire Valley in France.”
Houdré said in New York It would be just as expensive to rent or buy housing. He said either the GM or No. 2 manager has lived in the Barclay for more than 30 years.
On the other hand, the Sheraton New York recently did away with its general manager’s apartment to make space for additional rooms as part of a major renovation. GMs had not lived in the hotel in recent years.
At-home advantages
“It was by choice that we lived in,” said Nissenbaum of his time at the Omni Berkshire Place. “It was very beneficial to the hotel for me to be there all the time.”
“I can socialize with customers, including a number who stay with us every week,” added Strebel. “This is a 24-hour city, and having somebody in the building is a small price for the company to pay for somebody who lives in 24 hours a day.”
Strebel said he’s always in the elevators asking questions: “How did you hear about us? Are you enjoying your stay?
“You really get the pulse of the hotel,” he said.
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Hervé Houdré |
Another plus is getting to know your neighbors, the restaurants and local service people, Strebel said. That can work to your guests’ advantage.
“I consider the GM job not so much as a mystery shopper but as a permanent shopper,” Houdré said.
For example, he said, “I was in the gym of our Times Square hotel at 6 the other morning and noticed that the TV monitor on the elliptical machine was out of order. I was able to tell engineering immediately.”
“Having me here gives a soul to the hotel,” Houdré continued. “I can say good night to the night manager on his way home. I can have breakfast and lunch in the staff cafeteria. Regular guests can even meet with me on the weekend. Because I live here, I have no excuses for saying I’m not here. We have a lot of diplomats stay at the hotel because we’re close to the United Nations. They may come in at 11 p.m. and are happy to see the GM waiting for them.”
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Extended-stay excellence
Most often, live-in GMs at iconic properties are provided with enviably comfortable apartments. Strebel said he has a duplex. Downstairs are a living room, dining room, full kitchen, master bedroom and two bathrooms; upstairs are two bedrooms, two bathrooms and another living room. “There is also a beautiful outdoor patio,” he said.
“We had fabulous apartments with kitchens, guestrooms, living rooms and laundries,” said Campbell Black, regional director of operations for InterContinental and GM of the InterContinental Cleveland, who lived in at a number of hotels overseas.
Many GMs have not only lived in, but have lived in with their families. Nissenbaum lived at the Omni Berkshire Place for eight years with his wife, Bonnie. He moved in with two children and a third was born while they lived in the hotel.
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Offer Nissenbaum |
“With young children,” said Nissenbaum, “you have to be vigilant about them being quiet since your neighbors change every night. They couldn’t yell, scream or cry because we were on a regular guest floor.”
Nissenbaum’s three children went to three different schools, which made for an interesting logistical challenge. “It was a very cute thing every morning,” said Nissenbaum, “when a yellow school bus would pull up in front of the hotel.”
One of his children continues to live “at home,” Strebel said. His 17-year-old son is an avid longboarder. He takes the subway to school and longboards home.
Houdre takes his 4-year-old daughter to preschool every morning. “Everybody knows I am busy between 8:15 and 8:30 each morning,” he said.
Black lived in hotels in London, Athens and Muscat (the capital of Oman, where he was No. 2) for a total of 13 years. “Many of your guests are international, so it helps being able to maintain contact with them,” he said. “By living in you can bond with a lot of guests.”
After only six months of marriage, Black moved to Muscat with his American wife. By the time they moved to Athens so he could take a GM position there, they had two sons. “Do you know what it’s like to see your two boys riding through the lobby on their skateboards?” he asked.
Andrew Flack, now VP of global brand marketing for Hilton Hotels & Resorts, lived with his wife and 7-year-old daughter when he was GM at the Parmelia Hilton Perth in Australia a few years ago.
“We enjoyed it because we are always looking for different experiences,” he said. “When my daughter had friends over, they would meet in the lobby, then they would come up to our room on the 10th floor. On Christmas Day, we had a lunch and she dressed as Santa’s helper. On her seventh birthday we used our nightclub for a disco party.”
And yes, Flack said, “she was a big fan of Eloise” (the subject of a beloved book about a girl who lived at The Plaza in New York).
Keeping it normal
All the GMs stressed their attempts to maintain normalcy living in unusual circumstances.
“Bonnie and I tried to create a living situation that was normal as could be,” Nissenbaum said. “We didn’t call room service except on special occasions. Everybody had to make their own beds. We were concerned that if someone asked the kids where milk came from, they didn’t say, ‘room service.’”
Strebel did say the great value of living in is to be able to enjoy the property like a guest. “I feel that if I utilize hotel service that can be a true test of those services. I eat in our restaurant once a week,” he said.
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Andrew Flack |
While he and his wife do not ordinarily call room service, Strebel said his son will occasionally “order a burger when he’s by himself watching TV.”
Sometimes others guests mistakenly try to get into his suite, said Strebel, and occasionally room attendants will knock on the door. “But we don’t use those services,” he said.
Houdre said he calls room service only if he is coming home from a trip at a late hour. “We do have a normal life,” he said.
“We tried to make it as normal as possible,” Black said. “It was easier when the children were young. When they become teens it becomes a bit more challenging.”
“We always had the kids make their own beds,” he added. “They had to put their towels back on the towel rack. We would occasionally call room service and we would use the pool and the restaurants.”
Flack said he did offer his wife the choice of having housekeeping services and “she was happy to have them come in.”
As a single woman at the time, Cindy Estis Green, managing director of the Estis Group, lived in the Newark Airport in New Jersey while she was GM. “I lived in a suite for almost two years,” Estis Green said. “I’m a private person, so it was interesting to deal with housekeeping coming in and everyone knowing what I was eating in the restaurants.”
Houdre said he hopes to live in the Barclay for as long as he keeps his position.
“I thought it would be difficult for my wife because of the lack of privacy,” he said. “If you put a few bags in a car, people will know you are going away. Your life is very visible. But we have adapted.
“In general I prefer to be inside a hotel,” Houdre added. “When I leave to go outside I always feel guilty that I might be missing something. I’m simply more relaxed being in the hotel.”
“I’m staying until they throw me out,” Strebel said.