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The Alex effortlessly combines modern style with classic service


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Mary Lou Pollack

Driving Higher
Standards

Editors’ Note

A graduate of Duke University, Mary Lou Pollack is a 27-year veteran of the hospitality industry. Prior to assuming her current post in May 2003, she worked for New Jersey-based Prime Hospitality Corp. for 16 years, eventually becoming Vice President of National Sales.

Property Brief

Opened in November 2003 in midtown Manhattan, the Alex Hotel (www.thealexhotel.com) features 203 luxurious rooms and suites, each with custom-designed furniture, original artwork, a fully equipped kitchen (in suites), and a host of high-tech amenities, including a DVD player and high-speed Internet access, as well as a flat-screen television in every bedroom, living room, and bathroom. Owned by real estate developer Izak Senbahar and hotel developer Simon Elias, the property also houses business and fitness centers, as well as Riingo, a Japanese-American restaurant serving the food of critically acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson.

Were you pleased with the strength of The Alex’s business in 2007, and are you optimistic for continued growth?

We’re very optimistic. We saw 15 to 20 percent revenue growth in 2007, some of which is attributable to the strength of the New York market, and also to our relationship with the Leading Hotels of the World and that organization’s enormous reach in international markets.

We have doubled our Global Distribution Systems [GDS] business and seen enormous rate increases in the year and a half since we became a Leading Hotel of the World. The organization has significant strength in Europe, where the rate of exchange for the dollar is extremely favorable, making a $600 rate a bargain. So we’re very optimistic about next year. We are hoping to have stable occupancy levels and a 10 to 15 percent rate growth.

Why is the Alex such a popular choice for people making extended visits to New York?

Because our suites are like luxurious furnished apartments, we have become a first choice for people who spend extended periods of time in New York. We operate in a high-end niche in which the hotel becomes a very convenient substitute apartment, with maid service and 24-hour room service, for people who could afford to live in New York but don’t have a residence here.

Does The Alex cater to high-profile members of the entertainment and fashion businesses, as well as captains of industry?

The entertainment industry from California lives in the hotel, and a lot of senior executives of major corporations have become repeat customers. However, heads of corporations have fiscal responsibilities. They don’t want their local newspaper to print that, while their company’s stock was down, they spent $900 a night on a hotel room. The least price-sensitive customers are international leisure travelers.

Have you been happy with the impact Riingo has made in the New York market, which is brimming over with excellent restaurants?

We’re truly, consistently busy now for all meal periods, but that was a gradual, uphill climb. It has taken time and consistency to become well established in our neighborhood. So we’re really happy with the progress. Plus, our international guests seem to spend a lot of time at our sidewalk café; they return, again and again, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Furthermore, our private dining room in the restaurant has steadily become more popular for small, beautifully catered dinner parties. In addition, we have a spectacular penthouse terrace where people can host intimate events.

The Alex is known for its in-room technology. How do you balance the gadgetry with personalized service?

Actually, we need a human touch to deliver the technology, because in most cases, technology can be daunting. In 2007, we hired our Director of IT, who has the ability to take us to higher levels of technology while adding a touch of personalized service. He is polished and incredibly knowledgeable and service-oriented. You can have all of the technology in the world, but if you want to deliver wonderful service, you need someone terrific to come to the aid of business travelers.

How do you motivate your employees to deliver the levels of service your guests expect?

We drive service standards in many ways, from prizes for associates who score the highest on daily quizzes to week-long quality assurance training sessions. When we joined the Leading Hotels of the World, it became much easier for me to hire department heads from other luxury hotels who know the standards and can drive that initiative every day.

You recently received the HSMAI, Frank W. Berkman, Big Apple tourism award for “General Manager of the Year” in New York City. It must have been quite an honor.

Getting to follow such industry greats as Eric O. Long at the Waldorf=Astoria & Waldorf Towers, and Conrad Wangeman from the Hilton New York was really thrilling. I have a true love for our industry, especially in New York City. The past presidents of the Big Apple Chapter of HSMAI are the ones who voted. It was wonderful to be recognized for my work.

In running a luxury property like The Alex, do you need to make constant updates to the hotel?

Yes, I think you have to update your facilities and products, as well as reevaluate your position in the marketplace, to stay fresh. When we opened, we were so modern that we were concerned we wouldn’t be accepted by the market. But now it seems that every major hotel brand wants to have that young, modern element that The Alex has captured. I think we have hit a home run because we combine young, fresh design with traditional standards of service.