Fighting Goliath

How To Stay Afloat When A Big Brand Moves To Town

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 7/1/2007

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA Over four decades of business, the

Westlake Village Inn near Malibu, California, gained a reputation

as one of the pre-eminent luxury lodgings on the Pacifi c Coast,

regularly drawing Hollywood VIPs and powerful politicians to

its grounds. Owner John Notter had a strong hold on the area’s

luxury market until a couple years ago when Renaissance- and

Hyatt-branded properties opened nearby. But it was not until a

challenge from luxury goliath Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts

that Notter began to worry about his hotel’s future.

As an independently managed, unmarket property, the

141-guestroom Westlake Village Inn was at an immediate disadvantage

competing with the new Four Seasons hotel opening

less than two miles (3.2 km) away. Its marketing budget was

virtually nonexistent, and the hotels would be largely targeting

the same consumer base. Not that Notter has anything

against big chains—he is on the board of Hilton Hotels Corp.,

after all—but he realized that to stay afl oat his hotel would

have to make some changes. “It made me wake up, as far as

the condition of some of our physical structures,” he says.

“We have invested about US$8 million in the last year, just

so that we would not look too shabby compared to the Four

Seasons, which does a fi rst-class job.” Notter upgraded all of

the guestrooms and the hotel bar, Bogie’s. And he shuttered

the restaurant for a full year, renovating and re-concepting it as

Mediterraneo.

Notter also knew it would be the intangibles that would

make or break the Westlake Village Inn. If the hotel could hold

onto longtime clients, like local biotech

company Amgen Inc., it would have little

problem weathering the Four Seasons

storm. “Instead of worrying about new

clients coming in, we really worried

about losing our top clients,” Notter says.

“It was about us showing our appreciation

for them. We had dinners and lunches in

their honor. We made them feel good, and

they have stayed with us.”

Of course, the biggest key to keeping longtime guests happy is providing

them with top-notch, friendly service, pointing to that old hospitality

ethos: “If you take care of your staff, they’ll take care of your

customers.” Notter made sure his highly trained staff was making

at least as much as they could be making at the Four Seasons and

that their work environment was one they would not want to leave.

“To stay competitive, we have had to watch our P’s and Q’s and make

sure we did not lose our staff. We have not lost one person. It

is like a family feeling here,” Notter says.

Through the fi rst six months of

competition with the Four Seasons,

business at the Westlake Village Inn is

actually up a bit, Notter says. He

attributes that somewhat to the piggyback

effect, wherein people who would not

normally visit Westlake Village are lured

to the area by the glistening new Four

Seasons, and in researching the area come

across Notter’s charming independent

hotel. Now, Notter considers the big

brand to be as much a blessing as a rival.

“Four Seasons would not be coming to

our area unless they thought it was growing

and could support another hotel,” he

says. “It has been a friendly rivalry. We

work well together. I see it as raising the

bar for everybody in the area.”

For independent hoteliers facing similar

incursions from big brands, Notter advises

sticking to the basics of hospitality—

friendly, expedient service in modernized

and clean buildings. Remember why

guests chose to stay with your property

in the fi rst place and play up your hotel’s

position as the experienced market veteran

that is small and nimble enough to

provide the customized, personal

attention guests crave.

“Don’t panic,” Notter says. “Take

care of your customers that you already

have—that is critical. And just show

appreciation for your people.