“I could not do what my job requires without years of operational experience – I understand what happens in a hotel – and what can and what cannot be done,” says Michelle Woodley, president, Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
The Chicago-based executive has a multi-function role at the 700-member soft-brand company. She oversees sales, marketing, technology, events, revenue management and customer relations and, working with Preferred CEO Lindsey Ueberroth, supports financial planning and talent management.
Reporting to Ueberroth directly, Woodley has eight senior managers, based variously in Chicago plus the Preferred global headquarters in Newport Beach, Calif., and she works with global teams in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
To get them all in touch simultaneously she usually uses Skype, initiated as early as 5 a.m., or late night, Chicago time. Skype challenges in Dubai and China mean that sometimes she reverts to good old-fashioned telephone, or she turns to Loop Up worldwide conferencing, with dial-in facilities. There are additional hiccups caused by different weekends, and national holidays around the world.
“I look at my role as making sure that everything works,” she explained. “It is what I call inter-operability, ensuring that all departments operate effectively and with each other. This responsibility extends to company partnerships, as we need to understand their point of view, and vice versa, in a bespoke manner that is not only efficient but cultural.”
Nearly all Preferred members are independent hotels, which need special support. “Sometimes I arrange for special assistance from our own people but, via our Preferred Hospitality Advisory team, we can arrange for introductions to specialists, with no commission from either party (there are a lot of agencies out there but our members trust our recommendations),” she continued. Partly as a result of this trust, Preferred’s net attrition rate is a mere 5% a year, while at the same time it is picking up conversions from big global brands.
“In the last five years, 35 properties have switched from major franchise brands to Preferred, which they see as owner-friendly, and cost-effective. Our fee structure nets out at less than 3% of total room revenue compared to 13% or more from a hard brand,” she declared with pride, adding that a conversion normally takes four weeks although it has been achieved in 48 hours.
Woodley has also been instrumental in setting up Preferred’s Revenue Management Certification Program. “To date over a hundred of our members have put team members through the program, which takes on average six months to complete, and, you know what, they are achieving about 20% extra returns when they are back on the job.”
How far does Woodley look ahead? “I always have a plan for the day but although I aspire to have a 10-year plan I generally look no more than three ahead. I think of my profession as a journey and I know it is necessary to make detours, so three years is realistic.”
She is constantly stimulated by youth, and she is working with Cornell University and other hospitality schools to try to keep more of their graduates in the industry. “Talent is the best amenity hotels can give their guests,” she said, adding that she is fully aware of the challenges facing hotel recruitment.
Some of her insights come from listening to her own kids, who are 17 and 14. “The younger is fanatical about cars, he knows everything there is to know – he can identify every car on the road. It is all picked up by short bursts from YouTube. This enthusiasm is translated into planning our family vacations; he researches avidly before any trip. I find with the many younger generation I work with that the more they are immersed in something the more passionate they become – and they are dedicated networkers.”
She joined Preferred in 2002. “I was with Swissôtel for a long time and then had a couple of years at Raffles but at that point I wanted to do something different. I knew the Preferred folks and had been talking to them on and off for a long time. We started thinking about working together and it seemed the right time to join them.” Originally, she had wanted to cook, but one semester in culinary sciences at Cornell diverted her to the front office, and then the sales, marketing and distribution ladder.
“Now I am absolutely delighted that it has all worked out like this. I have a very good life. No two days are the same,” she laughed.