NEW YORK - Not any luxury hotel would go to the trouble of replacing at its own expense a $100 shattered bottle of wine that a guest had clutched while arriving at the hotel but sadly dropped on the driveway.
But that's exactly what happened recently at Bardessono, a quiet, eco-friendly retreat in California's Napa Valley where you can pay $800 and even $900 to stay on a busy night, says Jim Treadway, who manages the hotel and spoke with me last week during the New York University's hotel investment conference.
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Within 15 minutes, the valet parkers who witnessed the minor tragedy made sure to drive to the vineyard where the guest had purchased her bottle, replace it (same vintage) on the hotel's dime, and deliver it to her pricey room - in an ice-filled bucket.
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This story above, Treadway says, is exactly why he thinks the newly formed "Personal Luxury Collection" - now with 13 hotels - will grow to become a dominant player in the luxury hotel business. Among the other hotels: Hotel 1000 in Seattle, the Italy-inspired Hotel Granduca in Houston and the new, mod Hotel 718 in downtown Brooklyn.
He thinks it can even rival luxury hotel networks under giant hotel companies, such as Starwood's Luxury Collection and Marriott's fairly new Autograph Collection.
Who's behind the new brand?
Treadway's company, MTM Luxury Lodging, recently sold out to Houston-based hotel operator Benchmark Hospitality, and together they've formed a new company that will seek to specialize in running ultra-luxury hotels.
Their goal is to lure owners of other ultra-luxury hotels who are eager to improve customer service, management - and their bottom line. That strategy will likely mean convincing a hotel owner to hire them to manage the property, or convincing an owner with Starwood or Marriott to switch sides.
With luxury travelers increasingly seeking better service and customized experiences, Treadway says that "Personal Luxury Collection" is better poised than its big-chain rivals to please these demanding guests.
"Every guest will have an experience that's tailored for them. With properties with under 150 rooms, we can do that," Treadway, a former president of Westin Hotels' North American division. "The Luxury and Autograph collections deal with both large and small hotels, and just because of the scale, at some hotels they can't deliver the personalized experience that we can."
Loyalty points not the point for this crowd
Alex Cabañas, Bechmark's chief development and strategy officer, told HotelNewsNow.com that they don't plan to spend time or money creating loyalty programs like Starwood or Marriott because they'll be too focused on creating personalized experiences for guests.
"The effect of that kind of service is that she will tell that story for the rest of her life," Treadway says, referring to the Bardessono story. "It wasn't orchestrated by a manager, but by two hourly employees who were immersed in a culture of 'What can we do when we have an opportunity to blow our guests away?'" That's a personal luxury experience. I can't imagine another hotel doing that."
Was the wine expensive? Yes, Treadway told me. It was a $100 bottle of chardonnay from the nearby winery that she'd visited before driving up to the hotel.
"But her bill was going to be $5,000. What's another $100 for a customer for life? I've got a ton of those stories."
"The Personal Luxury Collection" hits the ground running with 13 hotels, with the priciest being the eco-friendly boutique Bardessono hotel.
Via USA TODAY By Barbara De Lollis
Luxury News / Golden Choice by Lux Creative International
