More On Preferred From the Top Man: John Ueberroth
The industry veteran talks about why golf still matters, how the company saves money on Coca-Cola and why brands can sometimes work against luxury hotels.
Last month, we ran an interview with Lindsey Ueberroth, who heads up brand development for Preferred Hotel Group; and Sarah Clark, vice president-marketing. Just as a refresher, Preferred is a 700-hotel conglomerate of brands comprised of mostly independent properties - including Preferred, Preferred Boutique, Summit Hotels & Resorts, Sterling Hotels, and Historic Hotels of America (see www.preferredhotelgroup.com for descriptions of each brand). But the man who bought the company in 2005 and has grown it rapidly is CEO John Ueberroth and he had his own take on a few things. Here is what he told LT360 in a recent interview.
"A lot of travelers like the differences you find in a non-chain hotel; sometimes being a chain at the high end will works against you. We will take a chain hotel but not usually. There are so many new chains coming along and they tend to be very similar."
"We don't recommend overlapping membership in other hotel groups; we do have a few members in that category."
Operating five brands makes selling to corporations easier because "for the most part they do not stay in five-star hotels; we have more ways we can help.
Having five brands in a variety of price categories brings buying
power; "we can buy a lot of Coca-Cola, which we use in all of our
hotels."
While some of the Preferred brands are not widely
known, Ueberroth says, "We would like every consumer to know who we
are; that's what makes a strong brand."
"It's easier to make
the travel agent community and other travel sellers aware of what you
do; that's a more targeted audience. It's also very efficient to work
with large corporate agencies like Carlson and American Express.
Similarly, groups like Virtuoso and Signature makes it easier to deal
with the top agencies."
Preferred boasts a collection of "the best golf resorts in the
world" in its Preferred Golf collection and will have 100 resorts
within a year. Consumers can join a club for $295 and get benefits as
far as complimentary rounds and more. While golf resorts have taken a
hard hit because of the "AIG affect" Ueberroth thinks that will pass.
Preferred has been adding salespeople "because it's more necessary than
normal. We don't know where the end of this downturn is but we think we
will be stronger after it's over." Ueberroth expects to maintain
membership because, "Our contracts last three years or more and very
few hotels leave of their own accord."
Ipsos Mendelsohn and American Express Publishing-Harrison Group OfferFreshInsight on Consumer Behavior in 2010
According to new studies from two blue-chip research sources, Ipsos Mendelsohn and American Express Publishing - the affluent are not only ready to travel -- they are frequently going to spend more on it. While the Ipsos study focused on intent and American Express Publishing on mindset, they both point to a surge in affluents taking to the road (Amex sees an increase of 6 to 8% in spending on all luxury categories).Interestingly, both studies agree on a positive attitude despite lingering concerns about the economy. Here's a look at the highlights of both 2010 studies.
LuxuryTravel 360 has long looked to the affluent as a burgeoning market in business and leisure travel, fueling growth in more affordable, common sense luxury - less glitz and glamour, but ready to pay extra for memorable family experiences and genuine local culture.
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