ANDERSON, SOUTH CAROLINA – Most folks wouldn’t think that a corporate meeting would resemble something of a family reunion, but that’s what happened for nearly three dozen general managers and Paragon Hotel Company leaders at the Professional Development Conference at PHC’s headquarters here.
Huddled together for the intensive daylong program, the leadership of the company’s 21 hotels met with company officers to examine Profit & Loss statements—share best practices—and to brush up on leadership skills.
“P&Ls can be pretty dry,” says Shera Patel, Director of People & Culture. “But at the end of the day, these handy financial statements serve as useful tools, not just for our headquarters in Anderson, but for everyone on the Paragon team.
That’s because a P&L, which is typically a one-sheet snapshot of a company’s financial performance, details each hotel’s sales volume, less its expenses, to determine its gross margin (or gross profit). From each hotel’s internal financial report, company leadership can measure … leadership.
And that was the other item on the agenda. Patel often draws from popular management literature, including ex-Disney executive Lee Cockerall’s influential The Customer Rules. Cockerell, who also has enormous hotel experience, having worked in the upper stratosphere of Hilton and Marriott, offers 39 customer-satisfaction rules. Many of those involve family themes, such as: “What Would Mom Do?” (Rule No. 5) or “Treat Customers the Way You’d Treat Your Loved Ones” (Rule No. 14).
“We really are a family,” Patel says, “and we strive to treat our teammates the way they strive to treat our customers. That’s why our workshops often feel like a family just talking business.”
For more information about Paragon Hotel Company, visit http://www.phc-hotels.com.
About Paragon Hotel Company
Founded in 1995, PHC is a hospitality real estate management and development company based in Anderson, SC. The company’s vision, “constantly challenging the status quo,” complements its mission to acquire, develop and manage a portfolio of unique properties and lifestyle experiences for the enjoyment of our guests, while delivering exceptional financial results to investors and positively impacting the surrounding communities. The company’s portfolio of more than 2,100 rooms in South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee includes hotels within Hilton, Marriott, Intercontinental, Best Western, Choice, Carlson Hotels Worldwide and Wyndham Worldwide franchises.
