Offer Nissenbaum recently moved from a position as regional vice president for Omni Hotels to become Managing Director of the Peninsula Beverly Hills succeeding Ali Kasikci who had run the hotel since 1992. Kasikci became renowned for creating southern California’s first Five Star Five Diamond hotel, but Nissenbaum intends to raise the bar even further with pre-set room temperatures, a scent for every guest and – “lots of bananas.”  In a chat with Luxury Travel 360, Nissenbaum took us on a quick tour of his ‘agenda in excellence’.  His Top 10:

• On brand image: “Peninsula ownership and top management always looks at long term brand recognition,” he said. “They do not cut expenses in down times, but continue to deliver great guest experiences. “
• On property upgrades:  “I just spent $4 million on a pool deck It was a great pool deck but we made it incredible with a three-meal restaurant, fire pit and heated limestone form Germany. And we installed flat screen TV’ in the pool cabanas.”
• On his management philosophy:  “I manage as if I own the hotel, like it’s my money. The key is to spend money in the right places. You have to have the mindset of an owner.”
• On his staff:  We have incredible talent already but my job is to continue to ‘cast’ the right people in the right job. We hire people for unique talents and put them in the right job."

• On innovation:  “We started an innovation committee with associates from every department. We cannot rest on our laurels, but have to continue to innovate.
• On check-in:  We are trying to eliminate the front desk so that guests are greeted at the door and escorted to the room. We already doing that with regulars but will be extending it to first time guests. It’s much more intimate to check in in the room than at a front desk. It is also a good opportunity to learn about the guest.”
• On knowing the guest:  Nissenbaum’s highest priority seems to be knowing every detail about the guest. He says, “Of course we send e-mail to every guest before they arrive to learn their preferences as far as pillows and all the rest. We also try to find out what temperature they like the room to be so it can be pre-set for when they get there. We get to know a new guest on their first visit – their preferred hour for turndown, when they want their room cleaned. We get that by escorting them to their room.
• On amenities:  The Peninsula will have amenity bags for each guest – and it will be something they like. Says Nissenbaum, “If we find out they like bananas and don’t like peaches, we will not have a fruit basket with lots of bananas but no peaches. We might have fruits and nuts instead of chocolates. The key is to personalize.”
• On personalization:  So keen is Nissenbaum to personalize, he is seeking to create a scent for each guest so that scent is present in the room when the guest checks in.

“We just upgraded our property management system,” concludes Nissenbaum, “so we can store even more information about the guest. Every time there is an interaction between the staff and the guest that information is input into the system.”

Harvey Chipkin