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Sonesta Hotels & Resorts is a third-generation hotel company operating in the U.S. as well as markets around the world. Its chief executive officer and president is Stephanie Sonnabend, one of the few women CEOs in the industry.
With 27 properties, Sonesta's holdings consist of U.S. hotels in New Orleans (2), Miami (3) and Boston; and international hotels in St. Maarten; Sao Paulo, Brazil; seven posadas (city inns and country lodges) throughout Peru; four properties in Tuscany, Italy; and eight in Egypt, including three Nile cruise ships.
Stephanie and I had a chance to catch up at the NYU Investment Conference in June to discuss the challenges of heading a family-run, yet publicly held company, as well as Sonesta's outlook for the future.
-Melinda Bush
It's all in the family, and then some, for this lodging veteran
Q Melinda Bush: With 27 properties operating in a very competitive four-star market, how does Sonesta stay ahead of the game?
A Stephanie Sonnabend: When you're a smaller player, you need to work smarter and with more creativity and efficiencies. The positioning of Sonesta hotels is key to our strategy, in that we have unique properties in great locations that reflect the environment in which they are located. We also provide a great deal of local autonomy to our managers that lets them run the show in their respective markets, which is why so many of our employees and managers have been with Sonesta for such a long time.
Q Bush: How does that fit in with setting standards for the Sonesta brand and the all-important focus on training that is so much in the news these days?
A Sonnabend: What's most important to us is to instill a level of professionalism among our staff and then keep them motivated with ongoing training, educational opportunities and customer feedback that comes through customer research and focus groups, as well as our own personal visits to the hotels.