Hugh Templeman, General Manager, The Grand Bohemian Charlotte
In an interview with Invest:, Hugh Templeman, general manager of The Grand Bohemian Charlotte, talked about the hotel’s performance in a challenging market. While room occupancy remains slightly down, banquet bookings are up, and the hotel is strategically positioned near Charlotte’s major event venues.
What is the state of the hotel, and what is the visitor profile between out of state and in-state?
The first quarter of the year was difficult for us. We are flat as a business year-over-year, which actually is great because the market is down about six points in occupancy and the restaurant booking market says it is down 12%-15%. While being flat doesn’t necessarily feel successful, we are happy with that given the context of the market.
In terms of specifics, we are slightly down on occupied rooms and slightly up on average room rate, which gives us that flat scenario. Our restaurant is still flat, but in terms of banquets, that area is up and the numbers overall are balancing. There is also a movement back to the office. As a result, that is creating less flexibility for leisure time, which is what I believe we are experiencing as companies become more focused on productivity.
We are fortunate because of our location close to the arena, the BOA Stadium and the Spectrum Center. We are starting to see more concerts and events take place here as well, which is good for us. In Q1, the weather was terrible for Charlotte so that limited us in terms of events that people were traveling for.
In terms of visitors, a majority of people are out of state when it comes to occupancy, but the majority of the people in restaurants are corporate-driven.
What are some amenities you are looking to provide guests?
In today’s world, luxury has changed a lot. It comes down to what somebody wants, not what we want to give them. Our entire objective is to inspire guests, and we listen to what they want so we can provide it. Right now, we have a spa, our own on-site Starbucks, and a restaurant rated fourth on Tripadvisor, while our hotel is ranked third. That shows we are doing things correctly and we want to continue to do so.
An example of innovation is our private barrels of bourbon. We worked with Elijah Craig and selected our own barrels and taste profile. Our No. 1 cocktail is the Elijah Craig Old Fashioned that we selected the bourbon for. We also have a private selection from Woodford Reserve, The Bohemian Reserve.
We are in the hotel business, which means we need to optimize facilities to fulfill the needs of our particular guests. In our business, as an Autograph hotel, we do not have to have an executive lounge but we choose to because that is appropriate to the financial market we are in and the type of customer coming here.
What is your perspective on how Charlotte promotes tourism?
Charlotte is very fortunate to have a sports ownership group, the Tepper Group, owner of The Panthers and Charlotte FC, together with The Hornets and The Knights, that make the city a very strong sport’s hub. It carries over into the stadiums and event spaces near us, and the convention center has been renovating as well as they gain momentum year over year.
What is unique to Charlotte in terms of challenges?
In some respects, the city is really on the upswing, with people migrating to the area for economic reasons or seeking a better quality of life. On the flip side, we have a traditional uptown, or what would be considered downtown in most cities; it is a financial center rather than a center like Manhattan, which is made up of some residential. When there are no events going on, that area is quiet, which is not an issue that other cities have as they are lively regardless.
As an industry, we struggle with getting employees because of the type of work done here, and the restraints on immigration only further interfere with that. Many of our workers are from immigrant backgrounds so challenges there impact us greatly.
What is your five-year outlook for the city?
We need to continue our evolution of growth and economic development. There are restaurants opening up in and around our uptown, and I think that will only continue. As the institutional organizations get back to their status quo, there will be a burgeoning upswing.
