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HI Connect Spotlight - Roger Hill, CEO of Gettys
Today we speak with Roger Hill, CEO of Gettys as part of our series focusing on the hospitality designers, architects and purchasing pros that are part of HI Connect Design 2013.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
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We’re getting ready for our BIG event HI Connect Design coming this April 10-12, 2013 at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN and it promises to be the most exciting event ever to hit the hospitality industry.
We’ve got dozens of built out fully constructed out vignettes created by the vision of leading hospitality designers, architects and purchasing pros. And those in attendance will get to step into their master creations, get a tour and see products in the content in which they belong; in a real hotel environment!
HI Connect Design offers attendees an incredible opportunity to view, first hand, original concepts designed by industry designers and purchasing companies in collaboration with suppliers shown in context within a real environment of a guest room, bathroom, and public spaces such as Bar/Lounge, Spa/Fitness to name a few. This is a truly the most collaborative effort ever at any hospitality event.
As part of our countdown to HI Connect 2013 we’re interviewing the people that are bringing their creative vision to life. Read the story below, or for a more fully in-depth interview listen to the podcast!
For today’s interview, Editor-In-Chief Glenn Haussman speaks with Roger Hill, CEO of Gettys who is creating a Bar & Lounge during the three days of HI Connect Design.
Glenn Haussman: How are you, sir?
Roger Hill: I am delighted to be here and really want to thank you for inviting me back for this interview. And it’s always a pleasure speaking to you, because not only do you guys have a great digital publication, but the enthusiasm that you have in your voice is just contagious. So I know we’re gonna have some fun over the next few minutes.
Glenn Haussman: Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. And you know, I just love hospitality, and I love what you guys do. It always excites me, because I have no sense of design whatsoever. It’s really kinda sad and depressing. And I’m amazed when you guys could see things and you see the world a little bit differently than us normies, I think, see the world. So my guess is, you probably take inspiration and cues for what you’re doing sometimes from unusual places, right?
Roger Hill: Absolutely. Absolutely, and it can literally be something as an innovative way that trash is collected in Chicago right now. You know, we’ve got these really interesting new trash compactors that are operated by solar energy. Aesthetically they’re really pleasing, and it’s fun for a kid to use them. So as business travelers and leisure travelers, you want to have fun after you’ve gone through – we all today fly so much. And that experience, unless you’re fortunate enough to be flying on Richard Branson’s airplanes, not much fun anymore. So we try to bring unexpected fun into what we do and we’re inspired to your point by things that are atypical. We love to see what our peers are doing, but if we can be inspired by the fashion industry, the automotive industry, what’s going on in a cityscape, we’ll use that to inspire us and build on it.
Glenn Haussman: I’m hearing that more and more, and I think what it’s done is, it’s added a really great aspect to the design dialogue that takes place in this business, because nobody’s copying from each other, and by looking outside of hospitality, it’s really re-invigorating people. Plus I think that the shackles are off, and you’re allowed to be more free with design than ever before, right?
Roger Hill: Absolutely. And also because of technology, there’s all kinds of innovative things that we can do today that are a lot more affordable, and that’s making great design really be that much more approachable, and to me, that’s really exciting. When I look at giving back, I’m very proud. And we’re recently completing renovating the Peninsula in Hong Kong, but I’m just as happy and proud of renovating the Hampton Inn in Milwaukee, I mean, and those great design moves that are involved in both of those projects. And to me, that’s a wonderful gift that you can give to somebody that’s not fortunate enough to be able to stay in the Peninsula, but if they can experience an awesome, perfect mix lobby, that’s pretty cool.
Glenn Haussman: Yeah. That is pretty cool. And you know, I like Hampton [Inns & Suites], and I think they’ve done a good job. They were one of the first brands, 10-12 years ago, to start to break out from traditional hotel design.
Roger Hill: Right.
Glenn Haussman: Opening it up to give their owners an opportunity to do something different. Give them some sort of a selection process, with the little winks that they do there, for example.
Roger Hill: I love the winks, and they are an incredible brand. I don’t know if you saw, but they were recently awarded for the third year in a row the most successful franchise opportunity for entrepreneurs. And the innovative thinking that they have there is spectacular. And Phil Cordell as a leader is amazing, and we’ve had the pleasure of working with him for a number of years. And it’s just really exciting what they’re doing to create an incredible experience, and it’s so affordable. And whether it’s in an urban setting, which they’ve done some great redevelopment projects, adaptive reuses, or along any highway in America, it’s pretty exciting.
Glenn Haussman: Very. Now let’s go across the world to the Peninsula in Hong Kong.
Roger Hill: Yes.
Glenn Haussman: I mean, you go from mid-scale, comfortable lodging, to one of the finest hotels in the world, one of the most renowned properties that there’s ever been. How do you keep that tradition alive while modernizing it and making it more accessible for today’s modern traveler?
Roger Hill: Well, what’s wonderful about that experience and right, like Mr. Cordell at Hampton or Mr. Kadoorie, who’s the chairman of Peninsula, both very hands-on leaders and he, Mr. Kadoorie, was very involved in making sure the tradition of the Peninsula brand was certainly had a hat tipped to, but at the same time he wanted a very much in look forward. So we like to think of what we’ve been able to do there is if you take the luxury of a Rolls Royce, but then think of the innovation that’s going on in the aerospace industry.
We’ve really combined those two things that the technology in that room is really seamless. So a guest has an ability to connect effortlessly but at the same time do it in a very elegant fashion. So they’ve done just some really spectacular things. They’re collaborative. There were tons of people that worked on that project to really create an environment that is extremely forward-thinking and will be classically elegant for the next 50 years.
Glenn Haussman: I like those words classically elegant, because it doesn’t mean stale.
And it doesn’t mean old school. It means having touches that recognize where the roots of that hotel came from, while also meeting modern standards. Yes?
Roger Hill: Exactly. Exactly.
Glenn Haussman: You know, and that is really what it’s all about, because you can’t alienate the old guests, but you also have to welcome new guests.
And I would say that the 50, 60-some-year-old traveler who’s probably their core customer is very used to things being a certain way. Did that present any particular challenges?
Roger Hill: Well, that’s a great question, Glenn, because I think we find ourselves all the time being in situations where people, loyalists, have been someplace for a long time, and they don’t want it changed. And that’s one of the things that we’re entrusted with when you’re doing a renovation of that magnitude, to create something that will have that aura now for the next generation, but yet at the same time pay respect to the existing generation. So I think we’ve done that really well by just some of the beautiful detailing.
You know, it’s the subtleties that you see in that room that you really appreciate if you’ve been fortunate enough to experience a lot of luxury, or if it’s aspirational and you’re there for your honeymoon, and you may not ever be back to a place like that. It’s a truly a handcrafted room. I mean, it’s really spectacular in how refined it is, but at the same time, designed in a way that the room attendants will be able to efficiently take care of them.
Glenn Haussman: So how do you design it in a way to get like that butler service to work seamlessly? What are some of the things that you have to think about before you really get going with the project?
Roger Hill: Well, it’s incredibly important to not only think about that aesthetic, but also think about how you’re gonna take care of that aesthetic and make sure that you’re not creating an environment where the details are such that they look really elegant but they’re not functional. So that’s often forgotten, and you will see that as a guest sometimes where there’s something that seems to be very much a trend-setting idea, but then unfortunately is not taken care of because it’s too difficult for that room attendant to really make sure that that finish looks as beautiful as it looked that first day. So that was a huge part of it.
And then from a hand-on perspective, again, you know, Mr. Kadoorie, sleeping in the model room, you know, so here you have the brand and iconic ambassador for the entire company taking an interest and saying “I want to sleep in this room, and I want to give you that feedback.” And there were a lot of iterations, in relationship to detailing and making sure that everything was really done correctly, and then getting a lot of good input from existing customers, aspirational customers, and having it be a collaborative process.
Glenn Haussman: Now, I’m not going to be able to get to the Peninsula Hong Kong anytime soon, and if I do, I can’t afford to stay over there.
Roger Hill: It’s a great place to go for tea.
Glenn Haussman: But I think – yes. [laughter] It sounds like that would be great. So I want to talk a little bit more about some of the big trends that we’re seeing here in the United States. And one of the big trends is, of course, the lobby, and program with the lobby with a lot more to do. And one of the things, a sure moneymaker, is the bar and lounge, of which, of course, you’re going to be doing at HI Connect 2013 April 10th through 12th at the Gaylord Opryland. But I’m curious as to how you see current bar trends, and how you’re responding to them through the designs that you’re able to implement.
Roger Hill: Yeah. Well, thank you, and we are very excited about doing the Gettys lounge as we’re describing it, and it’s gonna be a great experience. And I think HI Connect will be a great example of what you and I, if we were a hotel owner today, we want to be able to do in a bar environment. Because you want to be able to have, during the times that it’s appropriate to be selling alcoholic beverages, to have that environment be inviting, and the kind of place that you want to hang out and enjoy a beverage, with a small bite or just a delicious handcrafted beverage that might not be an alcoholic beverage but something that’s thoughtful and something that people appreciate. But the real nuance there is creating an environment that doesn’t make you feel like you’re having breakfast in a bar or having a cocktail where you’re having breakfast. So that’s where the rubber –
Glenn Haussman: That sounds really, really challenging.
Roger Hill: It’s very challenging.
Glenn Haussman: Because your mood is completely the opposite from one to the other.
Roger Hill: Right. So it’s important to be able to create an environment that can truly have a day/night feeling. And then you also want to create environments and zones where people can be alone but not be lonely, because if you’re a traveler and you want to have a place to do some work and you might want to be downstairs but not necessarily be with lots of people, and there’s a real art and science with that.
Glenn Haussman: But so what are some of the things that you do in order to bring that to life and make the place successful? Because I always say where people want to be alone together. But I like what you’re saying more.
Roger Hill: Yeah.
Glenn Haussman: Because they don’t want to be lonely, and having the right amount of atmosphere around them is critical.
Roger Hill: Right. Well, and that’s really – you know, in a perfect world, you want to create zones of discovery, places where if you and I were out and we’d been working all day, but yet we needed to work some more tonight together, you could be in an environment where collaboration can occur but you can also have a little bit of fun and have it be somewhat privatized. So you’re seeing now, and I certainly love a good community table, but you’re seeing different versions of that now occur today. And you’re seeing those tables have a lot more functionality, where they not only might have the ability to plug in power, but also have technology use. So you can seamlessly connect your laptop to a monitor and have a conversation about a presentation that you and I are preparing for that night.
Glenn Haussman: I like that idea. So all right. So then you have the whole bar itself.
Roger Hill: Right.
Glenn Haussman: What are some of the things that you have consider? So again, ‘cause it’s gonna be there during daylight hours –
Roger Hill: Right.
Glenn Haussman: – but it’s gotta be – it’s gotta be fun. It’s gotta be sexy. It’s gotta be inviting at night.
Roger Hill: Right. Well, and it’s gotta be functional. So as it relates to the bar that we’re working on with you guys, we’re going to be working really closely with the Gaylord Opryland.
Glenn Haussman: And Marriott, for those of you who don’t know, is managing that property now and the whole Gaylord portfolio.
Roger Hill: So we’ll be working closely with their catering team to make sure that we’re creating a way for them to successfully service the bars and during the day, offer hopefully a fantastic expresso coffee. And we’re really hoping that we’re gonna have some vendor collaborators we can work with that will have the right technology there to be able to morph the space from night to day. And we’re hoping to work with, and it’s not quite finalized yet, a really interesting technology firm that’s going to allow us to create some environments on the walls that we’ll be able to change the mood of that space really cost-effectively.
Glenn Haussman: That is a really interesting point. Having technology to help change the mood. So you’re talking not just video screens, which I think are a really good part, but lighting, I would think, as well.
That can really be effective to change a mood. And color.
Roger Hill: And sound. You know, there’s some fantastic technology now that relates to speakers which we hope that we might have an opportunity to feature at HI Connect. But if not, it’s certainly something that we’re exploring to start using in hotels, where there’s incredibly directional. So we could be working in that environment that I was describing to you earlier, if you can visualize it in your mind. We’re around this table, and we can change the mood of that music, and it’s – or we’re watching something on the screen and we want to hear the audio from the television and it’s completely personalized.
So you could be in an environment where there’s maybe 10 to 15 different tables, and they’re all hearing different things, or they could all be hearing the same. So there’s some great innovations that are gonna not only work in public spaces but also in guest rooms in relationship to knocking out urban noise or beautifully seamless aesthetic white noise in rooms that are going to help people with sleeping.
Glenn Haussman: How do you keep up with all of the changes in design and technology?
Roger Hill: We really have tried to create, and I’m proud to say, I feel like we have a culture where, when people see interesting things, they just push them out through our Intranet, and we’re – it’s exciting to see when someone comes across a really interesting article or there’s a story that you guys have published, and we just push it out throughout the world, through all our offices, and then people often build on that. And we encourage people, when they see things, to either post it on our Intranet or put it on our Facebook page. And that kind of layering and building is a big part of what helps us all be successful, but it’s also what keeps us really interested and invigorated and having fun.
If you are interested in participating in this unique and dramatic experience at HI Connect Design™, coming this April 10-12, 2013, please contact us immediately at (631) 424-7755 x150. You may also go to our website for more information and to see the photo gallery of HI Connect Design™ 2012, please visit us at www.HIConnectDesign.com.
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