SAINT LOUIS—Kurt Furlong, a seasoned revenue generation expert, and Rob Willard, a multi-brand hotel operator with more than three decades of lodging experience, have launched a new hotel management company, Genuine Hospitality, LLC. The St. Louis-based firm provides premium hotel management services with a focus on revenue generation, operational oversight, sales and marketing, accounting, and growth and development.
At launch, Genuine Hospitality has a collection of five properties in the Chicago and Wisconsin areas, including a Best Western Plus, Four Points by Sheraton, Holiday Inn & Bar Louie, and Holiday Inn Express & Suites. Two more hotels will be added to the portfolio by year’s end, including the Four Points by Sheraton-Omaha Midtown and Hyatt Place Hotel-Chicago, Wicker Park, Ill.
As CEO and president, Willard will oversee hotel operations, human resources, and accounting, with a particular emphasis on delivering associate and customer satisfaction, high brand quality rankings, and bottom-line results. As chief revenue officer, Furlong will oversee the company’s revenue generation efforts, providing the hotels’ sales and revenue management support and market share results.
“We want to have fun and enjoy the hard work ahead for which we have so long prepared; thus, it is important that we really know and understand our associates, customers, and owners and what makes them tick,” said Willard. “We’re not just operators from afar or ‘the corporate level.’ The hotel owners and associates will truly get to know us because each of us will be ‘boots on the ground’ at all our properties.'”
“We are a values-based enterprise,” said Furlong. “We have a conscious and want to work with owners who appreciate these values too. We know that with specific goals and working with like-minded owners and teams, we can quickly achieve results. It is clearly stated in our name, after all.”
“Our growth strategy is simple,” added Furlong. “We will grow strategically and selectively. Our 60-plus combined years plus the industry know-how of our corporate team members will certainly boost guest experiences and drive economic value to our owners.”
