“They never taught me in hotel school that I would have to close and open a hotel within a few hours, sometimes depending on the number of available intensive care beds in local hospitals,” said Philip Meyer, Rosewood Hotels and Resorts’ regional vice president for the West Coast of North America and managing director of the 120-room Rosewood Sand Hill, outside Menlo Park, California.
Throughout the pandemic, the State of California has regularly stated that if fewer than 15% of hospital ICU beds are unoccupied hotels must close immediately. That watershed figure was reached in Menlo Park Surgical Hospital, six miles away from Rosewood Sand Hill, on December, 18 2020, and the hotel had to close within 24 hours.
“We were allowed to host essential travel, which gave us 10 to 15 rooms most nights,” Meyer said. “This was to a large extent business associated with our owners, Stanford University. There were no indoor facilities and food was solely in-room dining.”
But then another surprise. On January 25, California Governor Gary Newsom said hotels could, depending on the relevant county, re-open for leisure guests. Rosewood Sand Hill could accept bookings immediately.
At 12:05 p.m. hotel phones started ringing and that very night they had 20 rooms taken by regular guests who were just so relieved to get out of their houses, Meyer said. “I am actually stuck in Vancouver – fortunately on the same time zone. Purchasing was my first call, to refill store cupboards. Marketing immediately promoted, and successfully sold, Valentine’s Day. The spa opened that Thursday, but because of lousy weather we delayed dining, still outside, to re-start February 3.”
Forecasts were torn up. Now Meyer hopes for 12% to 15% room occupancy for this month, with longer stays and a rate US$20 higher than February 2019.
Then, Meyer recalled, Rosewood Sand Hill was invariably almost full Mondays to Thursdays with the Silicon Valley crowd. Weekends were staycations, locals plus a catchment area of 200 miles, from Napa south to Monterey: 16 acres of gently rolling landscape, and great food and wellness, boosted a roughly 40% repeat factor.
“Now I predict an average staycation of three nights, with considerably higher incremental spend than before as we have a dynamic director of sales and marketing team working with corporate out of Los Angeles,” Meyer added. Social media marketing is boosted by appearances in such key Bay Area publications as San Francisco Magazine and Silicon Valley Magazine.
Rosewood Lifestyle club members, a network of 100 top-tech CEOs, average age 50-plus, are flooding back. (They get discounts, plus one free spa treatment a month). “They have been very patient and understanding, and now we will be able to schedule our highly popular Summer pool party,” Meyer said.
The close-open situation was hard on the team, which, with furlough, dropped from 350 to 80. It has also been tough on Meyer, who after 10 months separation finally visited his kids in Vancouver (he had a compulsory 14-day Canada quarantine and when he can eventually get back into the United States, he will need another COVID test pre-flight, and a further test within three days of arrival).
But Meyer is so mentally and physically fit he knows he can cope. As a lifetime serious cycling addict, he manages, unless in quarantine, to fit in a daily ride, aiming for a total 200 miles a week.