As president/CEO of a mega-brand company, Sonesta International Hotels Corporation‘s John Murray is faced with plenty of challenges on a daily basis, but as he points out, that’s not unlike the business of running hotels. And for Murray, who characterizes himself as a “people person,” he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Murray weighed in on what he likes most about the hospitality business.
“You know this may sound weird, but it’s the change or variety. Every day the challenge is a little bit different. You don’t know until you wake up what it’s going to be—whether you’re going to be dealing with the impact of a natural disaster like a hurricane or wildfires or if you’re going to be dealing with unusual City Council regulations in Los Angeles or New York,” he said.
Murray cited additional examples of hotel challenges such as personnel issues, technology, guest satisfaction, and renovations, to name a few. “You kind of have to be ready for everything and see what happens because the best-laid plans are usually over by 9 a.m.,” he added.
Meanwhile, the CEO was asked about his overall outlook on the lodging industry, particularly in the wake of lots of political uncertainty and economic headwinds.
“There are two groups of people, but I think they all have the same mindset at the end of the day, which is that travel is almost like a birthright or a necessity to maintain your sanity. So, there are those people who may have lesser means or more debt and they may tend to—in challenging times—dial down to lower brands and or do long weekends several different times instead of one- or two-week-long vacations. And then there are the people who are more wealthy and they’re going to travel regardless,” he said.
Murray concluded, “All in all, travel is going to continue to be a mainstay; this industry isn’t going away. I think that there are ways we can make it a little bit more efficient with technology and artificial intelligence, but that personal interaction is always going to be important. The hotels where there’s camaraderie among the staff and where they work together and deliver for the guests are going to be very successful. Because it really is all about caring for your customer, and so I think that how you bring that to life varies by type of hotel, but at the end of the day that’s really what it’s all about, your guests.”
