The CEO of a 100-Year-Old Hotel on What You Should Never Preserve

0:00ZS is a global consulting and technology firm that partners with companies to improve life and how we live it. Working with the world's top hospitality brands, ZS brings together data, science, technology, and human ingenuity to transform ideas into customer loyalty. They're ready to help you elevate guest experiences, improve operations, and uncover preferences and motivations through their AI-powered solutions. With more than 1 ,700 clients in over 170 countries, ZS has built the expertise, fortitude, and vision to help you deliver impact right where it matters. I'm Tom Prescott, and you're listening to Sweet Success.

0:45You've just checked in to Sweet Success. Join me, Katie Klein, for exclusive conversations with hotel executives, hospitality leaders, and industry innovators. Together, we'll uncover the strategies and techniques these masters of hospitality relentlessly refined. Whether you're already in the industry or just starting out, tune in every week to unlock the secret to your sweet success.

1:14Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Sweet Success. I'm your host, Katie Kline, and today I'm thrilled to welcome Tom Prescott to the show. Tom is the president and CEO of Seaway Hotels Corporation, overseeing major properties, including the Biltmore Hotel, Miami Coral Gables, and the Sheridan Sand Key Resort. Before joining Seaway, Tom was the president of the Magnate Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm serving hospitality businesses and government entities. Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of hospitality, strategy, operations, and public policy, bringing an expansive perspective to what it takes to build, operate, and preserve great hotels.

1:57Tom, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Katie, for having me. I would love to learn a little bit more about your background and what drew you to the hospitality industry in the first place? So I grew up in the Northeast. However, given my family business was primarily in hospitality and of all things, cold storage warehousing, it was something I've always been surrounded by. So I always had a keen interest in it. I joke around with my sisters that at one point when our father was running aspects of the business, he treated them like their non-biological child. And so I said, well, why is that?

2:31And now I understand that passion that comes with it. I opted, of course, to pursue other careers first just to make sure that it was something that I wanted to eventually do, which I did get that bug back and came back to it eventually. So that's kind of the short story of a long journey. Yeah. And as you mentioned, hospitality is truly a family business for you. So can you talk a bit about working alongside your father? Well, it's been a great experience, not just because I get to spend time with my father, but because I can understand different approaches to how he, for example, undertook his management style, what was successful, what were things that could be built upon.

3:14It's an evolving time, obviously, in the hospitality industry. There's a difference of expectations. There's a difference of product that's on the market. But working together was really great. And the one thing that I am fortunate to have a very frank relationship with my father. He would say when that's not going to work or that's a good thing, you should consider that. I always viewed that as very positive. It's, you know, none of us, my philosophy is none of us have a monopoly on the best ideas. So being able to talk through and understanding why this might not be the best way to do it or to flush through something that could be a better way to do something.

3:48I had that benefit of working with my father for a number of years before he finally retired and then I moved on. Wow. Okay. So you both have had this relationship where you could have that push and pull. It wasn't just always his way, your way. It was really that collective, it sounds like. Yeah. Prior to me being more intimately involved with the business, when I was doing other things in Washington, D.C., as you alluded to earlier, that was where we did a little bit of cross-section and cross-utilization between the political public policy aspects and the hospitality industry, which you would think perhaps that makes for strange bedfellows, but it actually intertwines very well, regardless of the market that you're talking about.

4:28And we started to do more of that together. And then eventually it was like, well, you're going to come and, you know, run this, right? Because like, you know, I was like, yeah, but not just yet. I was finishing my graduate degrees at the time. I was also doing separately the work that you mentioned, which eventually evolved into a bigger consulting operation. so that was very useful for both of us in our respective businesses at the time but as it started to blend better together we always had the open dialogue we always talked about okay what this what what about this and then i would actually take the opportunity to ask him questions well i saw that you know this was going on what do you think about that and again being in a different market than he was at the time it was also interesting to see those differences between the two.

5:12Was there ever a moment that your dad wanted you to join the family business and you were like, no way I'm ever going to do that? No, I said, I want to make sure that's what I want to do. And he was fully supportive of that. He said, listen, you need to chart your own course. You need to make sure to do what it is you want to do. He like me and like my sisters, we believe in education and hard work and things that we believe no matter what path you decide to take is going to be a better likelihood of successful outcome should you obviously pursue it in those contexts. So he really said, look, I want you to, but I want you to, you to want it because otherwise it doesn't really make sense.

5:51You're not going to be as committed to it as you need to be. So I appreciated that because it wasn't a pressure aspect that he employed upon me. And for that, I'm grateful because it allowed me to do what I needed to do, which by the way, all of those prior skill sets that were acquired were actually, I actually use them today in everything that I do. And so that I feel has made me a better rounded individual to kind of lead the team. I agree. I was thinking exactly that, that if you have people who are at the same company for 20, 30, 40 years, there's nothing wrong with that. And there's ways to have different variety of experiences within the same organization.

6:30But I do think there's something really powerful to working in different places and working for different leaders and seeing what you like and what you don't like. And then when you end up where you want to be, you can choose what you're bringing to the table and what maybe the company had never thought about before. I completely agree. One of my common refrains, which I don't really need to, you know, say out loud anymore, but in the beginning when I came into the business more directly was, I don't care how we've done it in the past. If we've done it in the past that way, because that's the best way to do it, then great.

7:06But I found very few things in life in general, let alone in, any industry where it's perfect. There's always room for improvement. And so I believe in cultivating fresh ideas in trying to build upon what we have existing. And if it gets better, fantastic. So in the beginning, that was a little bit of a culture adaptation for folks, between different styles. But in the end, I think they've come to largely embrace it because they understand, as you pointed out, that you only are better with open and fresh ideas, with transparent discussion on them. And when you have that, you tend to find the best answer and the best outcome.

7:44Otherwise, you're just recycling the same thing. That's such a beautiful segue to talking about the Biltmore Hotel Miami Coral Gables because this year you're celebrating your 100th anniversary. which is incredible in some ways for this gorgeous asset, but then operationally challenging in a lot of ways. And going back to what you just said, things have been done there a certain way for a certain amount of time, and you're looking to the future. So for anyone who maybe isn't familiar with the hotel, can you first paint a picture of what really makes it so special? So as you alluded to, back in 1925, the founder of not just the Biltmore, but the city of Coral Gables, which is a municipality within Miami-Dade County.

8:29So most people see the pictures of Miami Beach and think, you know, Miami Beach, but Miami is bigger than that. And within Miami-Dade are what they call the League of Cities. Coral Gables happens to be one of them. But again, that community, that municipality was founded by an individual, George Merrick. He, and this is those type of visionary people that comes down into a particular place. I know some people don't like to say Bugsy Siegel was a visionary, but you could make an argument. He saw something that turned into something incredible, unless you're on the losing side of the bet. But anyway, putting that not withstanding, Merrick saw that and said, this is a place where we can build an oasis.

9:05We can build something from mangroves and lush vegetation and foliage into a centralized place. He thought that the best way to do that was to build something so magnificent, as you can kind of see in the backdrop, that would be the epicenter of that municipality and everything would grow from there. So in the U.S., and again, I happen to be a dual citizen of Italy and the United States on my mother's side. And here you have this incredible National Historic Landmark that was designated a landmark in 96. But it has influences of Mediterranean, Spanish, French, Italian, Moorish influences in its architecture.

9:49The tower itself, as you can see, was modeled after the Sevilla Tower in Spain. It has such architectural significance that just looking at it looks like a castle, you know, and you don't really get that in the United States. You know, you just don't. I'm not saying there's not other properties that are fantastic as there are, but, you know, America as a whole, we're coming in, we're going to be celebrating our 250th anniversary. Here we have something that has been around for, you know, more than a third of that timeframe. You don't get that. You don't get that in Florida that much. You don't get that across the United States.

10:23So aside from the majesty of the building itself and the structure is the grounds. As you can see, it's surrounded by tropical canopy cover and lush landscape with a championship golf course. You don't think of Miami when you see that image, but that's what makes the building and all of the little details that go into it so remarkable just on first appearance and glance. Absolutely. Absolutely. I really think people love historic hotels, but as I mentioned, operationally, they can be extremely complex. And in fact, one of the other guests that I've had on this show is the general manager of the St.

11:02Regis Rome. That's a hotel that was built in 1894. And when I was asking him about operational challenges in an old building, he kind of laughed and said, well, according to the guests, we're not allowed to have any problems. And that's very true. I imagine you experienced that with your guests of they expect this hotel experience to be of 2026, but they want that yesteryear feeling, that architecture, that special design from 1925, 1926. So what are some of the unique realities that come with running a property like the Biltmore? So it's funny you mentioned Italy because earlier in my career, I actually lived in Italy for a few years and I was an American consultant to ITT Sheraton when they acquired Chica International.

11:50And one of the hotels that was under that brand was the Excelsior in Rome, right? On the steps, same concept there built, you know, it's across from the U S embassy, but it's a, it's a former castle converted into, you know, a luxury property that now, yes, the fashion show goes on right outside of it. But like, here is something that, and I saw that difference between what I had been used to in the United States at the time of kind of box structures, you know, standardized versus something like this, where, you know, plumbing is a major issue, obviously. Put aside the exterior facade, put aside, you know, the specialty Venetian plaster that you may have versus drywall, but plumbing, basic plumbing, you know, smaller, combined, more confined spaces that in today's world, as you pointed out in 2026, that's not what people necessarily want.

12:42You know, poor lighting, um, air condition is not as plentiful. Ice is hard to get. And so from an operational standpoint, the modern day traveler has an expectation that's very different. So I saw that even back in the early nineties, fast forward to where I am here. And unlike the other property that you referenced, which is on the West coast of Florida, of that's more of a traditional kind of box hotel being a Sheraton Sand Key, which is part of Marriott. This is its own independent structure, a historic landmark. Operationally, any historic property is going to, you know, operationally, any historic property is going to have challenges.

13:21You do the best you can when you have opportunities of doing restoration projects or renovation projects, which as you alluded to, need to balance preservation, you know, and operational needs. And that can be a challenge at times. And again, you got a lot of people that have different opinions. Well, that color shouldn't be, you know, in that particular area. Well, this was not a historic area, but this is inside. And so it's something we need to update. I always joke around with some of the preservationists that, you know, at times we might not see eye to eye on how we, you know, take the landmark forward, where I'm like, do you think that the founder, George Merrick, would not have wanted AC.

13:57If we're going to be a personal preservationist, then we wouldn't have AC in here. We wouldn't have the toilet system that we do. So I was like, we have to be realistic. And I was like, Merrick himself, to his credit, recognized that it needed to be a luxury property of that time. He maintained the character and its true essence, whether it be the Biltmore or be any of these historic structures. But you needed to modernize. You needed to stay up with the times. So that is something that is fantastic because it enabled me to be able to move that forward as I'm talking about in this context. But it is absolutely challenging.

14:35I mean, you know, you can't touch this particular tile because that is historic. And there's no way that you can replicate it. And seeing what, you know, the folks at Notre Dame had to deal with going to source the original wood to the same forest, like, that's a little bit harder to do. the quarry that they sourced a lot of the stone and the coral that came here. I mean, that's not readily available anymore. Touching some of the architectural elements, you have to have a specialist in restoration. That makes it very challenging. But again, that gives the hotel some of its character, so you don't want to lose that.

15:08You want to find that balance. You have a lot more flexibility within the rooms itself because unless there's a special architectural element within a particular room, which we do have in some of our rooms. Like one is our presidential suite, which was the Everglades suite. And it has a fresco on the ceiling that is original. So we have to restore it and we have to pay it mine. But of course we can change the bedlining. We can change the lighting to make it better so that you can read. I know if I don't have my glasses or good light, forget it. I can't read a thing. So it is a challenge and anybody that sits there and says it's not is trying to just kind of put on a brave face, but from a capital expenditure standpoint, I tend to spend about two and a half times on an annualized basis at the landmark that I do on my other property just because of the nature of the historic structure and try to really be reasonable and hue to its original intent, what it's projecting.

16:03But sometimes, you know, cast iron cracks. So you have to change it to, you know, modern day PVC, which just lasts longer. So there's, there's things like that that the guest doesn't even see. So to the point of the general manager you had mentioned, you know, in Rome, you know, but the guest doesn't care about all of that. They don't care if the is leaking. They want to make sure that it's their experience that they have when they get into the hotel. Do you find if you're spending two and a half times on the CapEx, do you find that you make that back, at least in the revenue you're generating?

16:36So it's a combination of things. You kind of alluded to this about like what draws people to historic properties. You know, I think that it's an element of the structure itself, but I also think that it's more of the experience of the visit and all that that entails. So you start to get into, if you invest in preserving in a manner that doesn't detract from the operational needs or the requirements, frankly, of modern day luxury traveler, you can achieve that experiential aspect that they're looking for. And by that, I mean, you know, we had to invest in upping, not just the lighting, but this is internally, obviously you don't do as much to the exterior facade of the building because naturally that is, you know, historic and that's also more sensitized, but inside the rooms, you know, not just improving the lighting, but improving also the amount of electricity and plugins.

17:28The average traveler now has two and a half, 2.5 electronic equipments, laptop, iPad, AirPods, a cell phone. You have to be able to charge. You have to be able to connect to the TV with your wireless or Bluetooth function. So you're introducing things that you wouldn't necessarily think would be in a historic property. But then again, you've come to expect it if you are a traveler, especially in the luxury segment. So I think that going way back to the original point of my response to you was the experience is what makes it. But does it provide that return? I think it does, but it might take a little bit longer than, you know, I'm just going to replace this hurricane impact or this window with a hurricane impact window.

18:15And that's going to somehow generate more money from that. The guest isn't going to look at that. They're going to look at the whole package. So it's a little bit longer to recoup, but it eventually does. I think that's such a smart point that you're raising about people are going to be interested and potentially book because of the structure, because of how gorgeous everything looks. But it's really coming down to the experience. I think about a really gorgeous property that I've stayed up that will remain nameless. And I love to stay there because of the infinity pool and really what the property has.

18:47But they constantly fall short on guest expectations and experience. And you can feel that they've put the money towards the property. And because the property almost sells itself, they're like, cool, we don't need to do much else. Whereas I think your approach is so much smarter of like, how can we almost celebrate this asset through the guest experience? Because you know, that's going to have people returning time and again. Correct. And I mean, I put it back on you and give you a compliment. I think you hit the nail on the head with regard to what does that experience entail? It doesn't just mean the physical infrastructure.

19:22It means the consistency of the service standard that you've come to expect, the offerings or amenities that kind of come with it. So it's a whole package. It's not just one thing in an isolated silo. It has to be everything put together. And that's what makes it a true experiential visit versus just let's book a hotel and stay there tonight. Yeah. The other thing I didn't think about until you mentioned it as well was I'm thinking historic asset. I immediately was thinking of your HVAC, your plumbing, the plugs, everything that you just said, which is a challenge, of course. But also, you also touched on opinions of other people's opinions.

20:00And there was a property I was looking at purchasing recently, and it was a collection of cabins and the cabins were red. And my immediate thought was the first thing I would do is change the color of the cabins. And then the seller is talking about how all these people continue to come back year after year because they love the red and they're really they never want it to be changed from red. And that's a tiny property that does not have the historic significance of the Biltmore. So it's almost like every time you want to modernize and change something for the better, for the future, for the next hundred years, not only do you have to believe it, but then you have to get everybody else on board, too.

20:39So it's absolutely true. And, you know, you ask 10 people if they prefer this color over that, you'll get 10 different answers. I found most of the time. And the one thing that has remained consistent, as you can see, is the exterior facade color of the structure itself. That was actually dictated by the municipality. It was what they said. This is the historic color. They try to marry that for all of their buildings so that it's all the same. And I understand that. The inside is what gives, you know, some character and individualism, if you will. But look, if everybody wanted the red as much as you may hate it in your example, is that going to cause them to go elsewhere?

21:18And then you're suddenly wondering, well, so did, you know, did my taste cause this? Was it this? So yeah, it's something you have to take into account. Yeah. Yeah. Miami itself has changed dramatically over the last decade, definitely over the last hundred years. there's been a huge growth in luxury hospitality and really global attention on the city. How has that evolution impacted the way that you think about the Biltmore's positioning and its future? So Miami is right now, in particular, it's very hot. F1, FIFA World Cup, G20 meetings that are becoming in the Doral area, which has a spillover to everywhere else.

22:01it's really almost like a center of activity that, you know, it's a boom, if you will, for Miami. The evolution over the years, again, is more towards what is that luxury property providing the experience that you want. Miami as a destination has been very attractive. You know, crime has obviously gone down significantly. What was once a focus on, you know, the movie Scarface is now no longer what you first conjure up when you think of Miami. Some would say it's gone a little bit too much in some other areas. Well, there's so many cruise ships, there's all these things, but there's just so many opportunities and options for people that I think this particular city has that other places do not have.

22:48And I think that has been good for the overall community. that has been good for the hospitality industry. The problem there is that success begets competition because naturally more entrants will come into the market and say, we want to be part of that boom. We want to benefit from that. You get some entity like Marriott that has 34, 36 brands under its portfolio. It can drop a number of hotels right there in your backyard and suddenly you're competing with something that you didn't think you had to compete with. Now, we have the benefit that we're so unique, so we're not going to be compared in an apples to apples component.

23:28Nevertheless, you still have competition you have to be worried about, so you have to constantly innovate, but in a measured way, in a balanced way, as we talked about. But that has benefited on the whole, the industry as a whole. Now, again, good governance, lower taxes never hurt, things that make it enticing to come. Weather is, of course, a big factor. So location, location, location is going to always benefit. And I mean, the colder it gets in the Northeast, myself being a product of the Northeast, that's going to be attractive to a certain grouping. We appeal based on our location in the gateway to Latin America and just because of the different entities and backgrounds of people here to also the Latin American market.

24:08I take great pride in the fact that the Biltmore and, you know, we have just under 600 employees. We have 46 countries represented and backgrounds here. myself in Italy and a U S and that we have generations of families that work here as well. And those types of things make us unique. We have on all of our name tags, for example, for the team members, not just their name, but the country of origin, if they want to put it, the flag. And that also sparks further conversation. We're like, Oh, I do that. And that that's unique. I mean, you know, regardless of whatever the political rhetoric is, as I remind people, it's good to focus on the fact that we are a blend.

24:46And if you will, a kind of a exhibit for how it should be as a whole. And that draws, I think, people as well. Then you have the European clientele that when they come to the United States, they have their own beliefs, their own desires, what they're trying to achieve when it comes to a hotel stay. That further benefits us now than it did in the past because of Miami's evolution. So on the whole, it's been very positive. You had mentioned about a company like Marriott and soft brands or these independent collection brands are becoming more and more popular. Do you think travelers increasingly want these really unique experiences, but with the reassurance of a major company or at least their loyalty program behind it?

25:31So it's a great question. The other property that you mentioned, the Sharon Sand Key, that's technically a Marriott property. So they, I'm familiar by having both the hard brand, quote unquote, as you mentioned there with Marriott, And then the soft brand, because we're associated with preferred hotels here at the Biltmore. So I see both sides. I see the benefit internally from the business with regard to fee structure. Marriott obviously is a fee-heavy asset-like company, generally speaking. It's served them very well. Preferred is more individual, more of a focus on that uniqueness and individuality.

26:05And I think that the head of that program, Lindsay Uber off, she understood that that's going to be very attractive to a growing momentum of people. Now, their frequent stay guests called I preferred it's dwarfed by something like Marriott that has over 200 million Bonvoy members. And some people, it's all about the points. It's all about that. They know if they're at a certain level, kind of. And I feel this way about my status with American airlines or with other airlines. you know i know that if i have that status i'm going to have a different it's just a reality a different experience and it's consistent doesn't matter where i go i get that so if you're a bon boy member and you're a titanium level you know which is why marion has continued to grow it's this is again my opinion but grow its different brands because it offers that selection to any and all backgrounds limited service all the way up to luxury properties like a saint regis or a Ritz Carlton for like, if we were to be a brand associated with Marriott, we would probably be an autograph or something of that nature here at the Billmore because of the uniqueness.

27:11But I think that the movement is more towards these individualized properties and their character and their uniqueness. I think so. You know, it's different if you're traveling on the road and you want to stop at just a hotel to sleep over for the night on your journey. But If you're coming for a real stay or experience, then that is something you're going to want that's unique and not just cookie cutter. That's, again, my opinion, but we see the trends in that area growing. It's not at the detriment of the hard brands. It's just that those guys have what they want, which is why Marriott is trying to drive everybody to Bonvoy app through their phone because they want everything to be run through there so they can kind of control it.

27:50And I always joke around that Marriott is a little bit like the military. They want, you know, firm control over the properties. They want it their way because they want consistency. And that's sold well for them. That's not what our property here is. And that's what I think makes us unique. And what, again, I've seen trends that show that is growing. It doesn't mean that they're going to knock off Marriott in terms of frequent stay programs or a number of, you know, Marriott is the 800-pound gorilla with so much inventory in the market. But it's different. It's two completely different identities.

28:23And I think it's good because you can have an option for both and decide what it is that you really like. It's also interesting in this kind of digital age too, because I think if we go back 40, 50, 60 years, a Marriott in New York and a Marriott in Mumbai probably looked exactly the same if you think about the actual square box of the room. And that was important at that time because that felt like a really far trip and you didn't know what it was gonna be like. And we didn't have websites and social media and virtual tours and 360 videos to make you feel like you already know what you're going to get before you arrive.

29:05And then hopefully the actual experience elevates that as well. So it makes a lot of sense what you're saying of travelers looking for these really unique, special experiences and having trust that it's still going to have a lot of consistency that they want because they can look at the website. They can check the reviews. They can feel like they know the property before they ever set foot on site. Another major difference I've noticed, just since you mentioned that, is Marriott's big push, in addition to getting everybody through the app, is you can go on and you can kind of pick your room. Why?

29:42Because a room in one place is the same as a room in the other. Their room categories can be very similar. Not all places, but I'm saying in a lot. as a result they run everything through the marriott website as a result that lacks a level of individuality of certain things that you could get at the property level whereas you go to like our site the billmore site we load our website with content so you have the ability to see things directly without worrying oh is that going to be what it's really like when i get there versus not Now, because my room categories are different and no two rooms are exactly the same, the downside is I can't just say, well, someone can go on and book this one particular room and assume that on the fourth floor, it's the same as the third floor.

30:28It might be different. So that's a drawback, if you will, if you're looking for that type of stay. But more often than not, the people that we have, our general clientele, they like that individuality. They like that experience, as you mentioned. And all the things are what makes that traveler really want to have that. Yeah. You talked about the different perspectives that you have of having a hard brand and then being part of preferred. You also have the unique perspective of being an owner, an operator, a steward of a long-term asset, a historic asset. How do you think these priorities align?

31:05And I would imagine sometimes conflict with one another. So I think it's a benefit overall. Like I said, I referenced earlier in my father's statement about how my sisters and I thought that, you know, there he is talking so positively about his non-biological child because it's more than just an investment. Being an operator within that investment of that asset makes you almost wedded to it. It makes you want to obviously do more. You take things very seriously. I am intimately involved with every aspect of the business. And that's both a pro and a con. If you talk to my managing director, I'm sure he could, you know, tell you different stories, but the point is working together, talking directly with the department heads, walking the property, understanding it.

31:47That's just aligning both ownership along with the operations aspect. And just from a financial standpoint, you know, I happen to sign all of our checks, you know, that we obviously send out, which is a lot on a weekly basis. But that further connects me and keeps me in tune with things. It also allows me through those walkthroughs, through those discussions to really understand, all right, this is important. The benefit to the property is then I can act quickly with them. They don't have to go through some corporate structure to get an answer on doing something. So on the whole, I think that's very positive.

32:20Then the steward aspect that you mentioned on the third of the three, you know, as a national historic landmark, it is incumbent upon me in this case to be a protector and steward of that landmark to ensure that it survives and thrives in the next hundred years. So that's what I'm trying to do. And when you put all those three kind of pillars together, I believe you have a very positive outcome. You may not always agree with the direction that happens, that's normal, but I do believe that on the whole, that also is very beneficial to any property that has that type of dynamic. Let's talk about the next 100 years.

32:56What do you think whomever is sitting in your seat in 100 years, giving an interview to whomever is sitting in my seat, or maybe talking with AI, however the world is, flying cars, all the good stuff, what do you think they're going to be saying about the Biltmore? So it's very interesting you say that. What we did last year was we had buried a time capsule on March 13th of 25, which was to coincide with the hundred years of when they broke ground for the Biltmore back in 1925. And we put in current day menus, pictures of the staff, challenge coins, videos, catering books, things that are relevant and applicable today.

33:39thinking like you just pointed out, who knows what the future will be? I mean, you know, some people, if you take the doomsdayers, we'll say this whole place will be underwater. We're not in a flood zone, so we'll hopefully be beachfront property by then. But, you know, on the positive side, the one thing that the city has really taken great efforts to ensure is that it remains somewhat of a bubble in terms of not changing its character. If you go again, And as I mentioned to Miami, you got a lot of concrete, obviously. You got bills, you got skyscrapers. Here in Coral Gables, as you can see, we are the tallest structure in the area.

34:15There is lush canopy cover. And that's the reason why the city has a designation, the city beautiful. So that, I think preserving that, I think that will continue because it's not just my business is taking that approach. It's the entire city and community as a whole. That's that kind of tug of war between development versus keeping it kind of smaller and more more community oriented. But who knows? We could have in the background, these days, drones are flying everywhere. We did for our centennial celebration, we did a 1 ,200 drone show in the sky, kind of going through the history of how the Biltmore came to be.

34:54And that's remarkable because you look at that technology and you're just like, that's better. We didn't have complaints from neighbors that have pets that say fireworks, make them go kind of crazy. You don't have the debris. It's better for the environment, all these type of things. So I think that they'll look back on it and say, wow, there's a lot of changes. There's a lot of differences in the same way that when this property first opened, the lower lobby was the cart barn. So cars actually rolled into it. You'll see changes like that, that you'd be like, that's crazy. Why did they have that retail store right there versus a wellness center, let's say, or something that whatever the craze is at that time.

35:34But I think they will see a lot of consistency and similarities that have stood that next hundred years. And I hope they'll say, good job to the prior stewards. My family actually being the stewards for one third of this landmark's life, I think that they will look at it positively. That's amazing. Tom, I want to ask you the last three questions that I ask every guest. And the first is, what was the best hospitality experience that you have ever had? Oh, my gosh. Okay, so if I'm talking in general, I have several, and it's hard to pinpoint one. I mean, I have fond memories, like I said, of even just working in Italy when I was much younger because it was such a different experience.

36:18I joke around about when the Americans came through the worldwide reservation system, there they showed up at this hotel where you needed, you know, tails to dine at the restaurant. Here comes Americans with shorts and a soda in their hand. It was like a culture shock for them. But I've been to properties throughout the world. I've been very fortunate. Some of my best experiences were actually traveling with my mother, of all people, where she loved to travel. My father was too busy working. And so we traveled to parts of Australia and to the Gold Coast, the Heyman Island, the Lizard Islands, which is incredible in and of itself on the Great Barrier Reef.

36:51But I also have very fond memories of traveling with other family members in parts of the Orient that, again, it's such a unique experience at these different places, not just for the hotel, but the general visit. I mean, I have great memories here at this property, you know, with my family, with my kids. It's hard to identify like the best experience. I would say one of the most fulfilling and rewarding, which then makes it kind of one of the best experiences, was last year when we were actually awarded the I Preferred member hotel of the year. And the annual conference was in Singapore. So we went to Singapore.

37:27I was there for the meetings. And then when they did this at the gallon announced it, and I'm like, again, I'm sitting at a table with, you know, hotels from India that are converted castles, as you mentioned, uh, these other properties that are just so stunning from just an architectural or aesthetic aspect. And I'm like, and we got picked. I mean, it's a source of pride. It's a source of, you know, acknowledgement of the efforts that have done, that probably is one of the best experiences I could cite that ties the two of a personal as well as the property itself. And I have to ask, you mentioned kids.

38:01Do you hope your kids will take over in the family business one day? I have three children, two sons and a daughter, and the daughter's too young, but the sons are old enough, one going to college, and he is focused on cybersecurity and computer science. The other is engineering. And it's hard for me to be negative about such fields because it's a good field. So same thing as my father did for me, they've worked in the hotels growing up just as I did. I think it builds character, it builds a work ethic. So it's good for them to see that, to recognize working in housekeeping, because of course, you know, you don't want to have people saying, boy, this hotel employs, you know, child labor.

38:40I mean, there's that exception within the law for family members, but it's a good experience. And seeing that, I think that's good just as a general experience for my kids. And they did find it enjoyable, but they haven't yet caught the bug and maybe they never will. So do I hope that they'll be involved with it? I'm kind of the same as my father. If they want to, then that's fantastic. If they don't, there are other family members that have expressed an interest that are in the hospitality industry in different parts of the country. But I still think I'm young. I mean, I'm not saying that I am, but I think I feel like I am.

39:15And as a result, I'm hopeful to do this for a while longer. Yes, absolutely. Okay, going back to hospitality experiences, what was the worst hospitality experience you've ever had? I would say it was during COVID. And the reason for that is, well, twofold. One, I just completed a rooms renovation in 18. And so we took everything down to the studs to develop something, as I mentioned, that would move us into that next passage, that next chapter of the life of the landmark. That's at a respectable amount, all set, and then COVID hits. So from a financing standpoint, you're like, okay, how do I improve investment within the same timeframe?

39:57But the second component, which was the hardest, was going from having 600 employees to 20, the core group that had to remain to just maintain the property while you couldn't have any business. And everybody understood, but you knew that this would affect livelihoods. You knew this would affect the way people look at things. And you ran the risk of also people might not come back. They might say, I'm done with this. I'm doing something else. We were fortunate that we came back more quickly than most others. One, because unlike a typical hotel, we have over 75 ,000 square feet of banquet space.

40:33So we had ample outdoor space. We could accommodate groups when they lifted some of the bands. We had the golf course, which ever since COVID has run unabated. I mean, you would think we're giving money out on the golf course the way that everyone has to play golf, but we were able to do a lot of things. So speaking of New York, a number of the weddings would come down, which you feel horrible for those people would come down to utilize and be get married with us then from what, cause they couldn't do it elsewhere. And so side politics, I can say that Governor DeSantis' of Florida policies were very helpful to the business here, to the business community.

41:11Whether or not you agree with his health statements, from a business standpoint, it was extremely helpful. Now, that was still a very sad time because we couldn't just expand back. We had to do it reasonably and responsibly. But that was probably the hardest part to dealing with that. And I would say from a business aggregate standpoint, I do remember one horrible experience though of going to a property in California and just everything went wrong from the start. I mean, uh, I was attending a wedding of a friend and it, in Northern California and it, I mean, it just, everything was wrong from the moment of arrival to the moment of check-in to getting into the room and it was the wrong room.

41:53It was still dirty. I mean, it just, they, it was almost like they just didn't care. You're part of this room block. We just don't care. And it just changed. I mean, like it affected the actual feeling at the wedding, you know, and you're just kind of like, but again, I tried to be like, well, I understand you have a bad day, but I mean, everything was wrong. Yeah. Every single thing was wrong. And it became somewhat shocking to me that I was like, how is this possible that everything is wrong? Yeah. Again, I come to find out later that they were in the process of an ownership change. And yeah, it was a problem.

42:33So, but like I said, from a personal standpoint, it was more in regard to COVID and how it affected our business and our people. Final question for you. What does hospitality mean to you? And is there anyone, it can be a person, it can be a brand that you think has truly mastered it? Well, I think that there's more visionaries than mastering it, I would say. You know, we mentioned Marriott and Bill Marriott, what he conceived and how he viewed the landscape of what it would become, I think is unique. And certainly, as Emerson said, trading a new path forward. So I think that was for him. You have a lot of operators that can be independent properties.

43:18Ocean Properties is one that they're primarily in the New York area, but they have properties in the Keys. They have properties actually in the market of Tampa where I'm at, that they have an excellent product. They rely on excellent service. And again, to me, success in any property is, well, it's threefold. It's one, you have a product that is desirable, it's maintained, it's done all the things it needs. You have the customer service or the service standard that's there, the kind of couples and couples with the offerings offered, and you have consistency. Without that consistency, you really don't have a good property.

43:54You can have a great hamburger one day and a terrible hamburger four days after that, you've lost it. If the culinary, as using that example, if the culinary is there and it's the best hamburger in the world, but the service is terrible or vice versa, the whole thing falls apart. So consistency to an excellent service standard, an excellent product itself is what I think makes great operators. And you don't necessarily need like a company. You can have an individual property that has the right team, the right attitude on that. And I believe those are the ones, and I could cite dozens of those because you see some of those that then continue to have not just the repeat business, but they're able to expand organically without having to go and spend$100 ,000 on an advertising campaign just because they want to attract people.

44:43No, people come word of mouth, reputation. They know that They're always going to have that. So there's not one individual that I would say from an execution standpoint is the only one that I would say is the best ever. I would more focus on the visionaries. And I mentioned preferred and I mentioned the Uber off family, like mine started by her father and then Lindsay took over, but she too has recognized this is the path forward. And I think that that embracing of that individual type of property is going to serve not just her company well, but the industry well overall. Wow, what a perfect place for us to wrap.

45:20Tom, thank you so much for your time today. I've really enjoyed this. As have I. Thank you very much, Kay. All right, everyone. It's time for today's sweet summary where I break down the key insights and actionable takeaways from today's conversation. Before joining his family's business, Tom was intentional about building a life and a career elsewhere first. He lived in different places, gathered different perspectives, and then ultimately return to the family business with fresh eyes. And because of that, he made sure he wouldn't continue to do things a certain way simply because that was how they always had been done.

45:57That's an important lesson for any business, but especially in hospitality. The properties and brands that survive for generations are rarely the ones that resist change. They're the ones that understand how to evolve while still protecting the soul of what made people fall in love with them in the first place. The Biltmore is a perfect example of that balance. The magic of the property is rooted in its history. You can feel it the moment you walk through the doors. The architecture, the story is the legacy. It all gives the hotel a sense of permanence that's increasingly rare in today's world.

46:35But as Tom pointed out, history alone isn't enough. Guests may love old world charm, but they still expect strong Wi-Fi, cold air conditioning, great water pressure, and a seamless experience. Nostalgia can't come at the expense of comfort. Tom shared that the hotel team recently buried a time capsule to be opened 100 years from now. And honestly, it felt incredibly fitting because in many ways, the Biltmore already is a time capsule in it of itself. Not one frozen in time, but one that continues to evolve while carrying the stories, memories, and spirit of every generation that has passed through it.

47:18Ultimately, great hospitality isn't about preserving the past exactly as it was, but rather maintaining the feeling that people came there looking for in the first place. And that concludes another episode of Sweet Success. If you enjoyed today's conversation, please subscribe, rate, and review the show. We all know how important those five-star reviews are. I also want to say a massive thank you to each and every one of you for tuning in. It means the absolute world to me. And I'd love to hear from you. If you have ideas for future guests, new topics to cover, or even just want to say hi, don't be shy.

47:54Message me through our website, sweetsuccesspodcast.com or on social media at sweetsuccesspodcast. That's sweet like hotel suite. Once again, I'm your host, Katie Klein, and I'm super excited to see you all next week. ZS is a global consulting and technology firm that partners with companies to improve life and how we live it. Working with the world's top hospitality brands, ZS brings together data, science, technology, and human ingenuity to transform ideas into customer loyalty. They're ready to help you elevate guest experiences, improve operations, and uncover preferences and motivations through their AI-powered solutions.

48:35With more than 1 ,700 clients in over 170 countries, ZS has built the expertise, fortitude, and vision to help you deliver impact right where it matters.