Political involvement is a common hobby for New Hampshire residents, but for hotel owner Steve Duprey, it’s been more of a second career. Since the 1970s, he and his wife, Susan, have worked on more than 30 national and state Republican campaigns. “Too many,” Duprey says, laughing. “Those are all volunteer jobs—not nearly as good as the hospitality business.”
A Republican National Committee member, Duprey made his first foray into politics at age 19, when he got elected to the state legislature. His other political achievements include serving four terms as the New Hampshire Republican Party chairman. But his most memorable experience came in 2008, when he traveled with John McCain as a senior adviser.
Just like managing a campaign, running a hotel involves crisis management and flexibility. “Frequently in campaigns, things don’t go according to plan and that can be true of hotels too,” Duprey says. “Some nights there could be a power shutdown or you’re oversold.”
A Cornell Law School graduate, Duprey practiced law at a major firm for 10 years, focusing on real estate finance and permitting. But his family background in construction led him to do some small real estate development on the side. In 1986, he left law to build office buildings, apartments, and condos. To diversify, he asked his brothers to help him build a 100-room Comfort Inn in Concord, N.H., in 1988. (They are part owners in the property.)
Since then, he’s built a Residence Inn, a Courtyard by Marriott, and the Grappone Conference Center, all in Concord, and is looking to acquire another hotel to join the Duprey Hospitality portfolio. Lacking a hotel operations background, Duprey learned to step back rather than try to be a hands-on manager. Doing so gives his associates a sense of empowerment to do what’s necessary to make guests happy. “My businesses would fail if I had to manage the property directly,” he says. “I have hired and am fortunate to have the best people around me who are the leadership team.”
While law served as a good training experience for business and developing critical, analytical, and organizational skills, Duprey has found hospitality more rewarding and fun. When he first started his company, he sought the help of a third-party management company, but now he has his own management arm. “We learned to crawl, walk, and hopefully run.”
In the end, the success of his company correlates to a love of serving people. “I tell our associates, a hotel room is just a hotel room, it’s the genuine sense of hospitality and warmth that we give our guests that is responsible for our success.”
Hello Steve,
Is this the Steve Duprey who owns the Fairfield Inn at Concord, NH – I have been a Marriott rewards member and an employee at Corporate IBM for many years. I am staying at the Fairfield INN, Concord, NH for the first time today ( 06/30/2016) and I was disappointed to find out on arrival , that you decided to no longer provide warm cookies to your guests. Is this a trending decision for all Marriott locations ;because this is the first I have encountered in my travels. Your staff is excellent and advised me that it costs too much for the gourmet cookies — perhaps you can think out of the batch and purchase locally or tollhouse. I know everyone who travels, and stays at the Fairfield Inns, look forward to something that hits close to home — cookies and hot coffee after traveling a long day. It seems simple – but this is just one more take away that makes people unhappy.