3 min read January 2024 — Invest: spoke with Bill Simmons, general manager of The Union Station Nashville Yards, to discuss how hospitality is evolving in the city and what the hotel is doing to meet changing demand. “In the hospitality industry, the fact is that if you’re stagnant, you’re dying. As a result, we are constantly reinventing ourselves,” he said.
What distinguishes The Union Station from other hotels in Nashville?
It’s a beautiful hotel and means a lot of things to a lot of different people. The building has been around since 1900, and since the hotel’s establishment in 1986, it has seen a lot of different iterations. We’re entering an era of a higher-scale segmentation, but the true core of who we are and what we do is exactly the same as almost 40 years ago. We welcome people in and give them rest when they’re weary. Our job is to be storytellers about this space because we are offering a boutique experience. It’s everyone’s job, from the line cook to the managers, to raise the excitement level for our guests so they have a great time in Nashville.
What have been your key takeaways from the past year?
Our recent theme has been renewal and growth. We just completed a multimillion-dollar room renovation project, including our newly revamped Conductor’s Suite. Also worth mentioning is the bridge construction on Broadway that took place throughout 2023. This was a challenge, but also an opportunity for us to look at this hotel and culture and offer a pre-opening of our evolving experience.
Occupancy has been strong, but our biggest push has been Food & Beverage activations including our recent pop-up bar. These activations not only elevate our guests’ experience, but also bring more awareness of The Union Station to locals. A lot of the time, they’ll drive by the hotel without thinking of it as a destination for a night out. More than just revenue, we want more people from the city to enjoy what we have to offer. While there’s ROI to our growth, ultimately, we want to be a beacon for Nashville.
How are amenities evolving to meet the demands of guests?
We consider our lobby to be the living room of Nashville. When guests are here, we want them to feel like they’re home. We’ve started a lobby cocktail service every evening. It offers a level of convenience that modern guests are seeking. We are always looking to push the envelope. One of our calling cards has been Stationairy, our restaurant. We have an amazing culinary and food and beverage team. Our restaurant is part of the entryway to the hotel, which is a great way to showcase all the other activations and hopefully bring repeat business. We’ve built the infrastructure to set ourselves up for success on projects in the years ahead.
In the hospitality industry, if you’re stagnant, you’re dying. As a result, we are constantly reinventing ourselves. But we don’t want to do any activation or experience just for the sake of doing it; we want to do it well, and at the convenience of guests and locals. We want guests to have fun, and provide Instagrammable moments they can share with friends and family. This past year was a great entryway for us to do just that. Over the next year, we will be opening up a whiskey tasting room in our lobby, which will truly add to that living room vibe the space offers. We’ll also be rolling out a curated mini-bar in the rooms that will also include spa products along with traditional services. It’s the type of true luxury proactive service that is important to us, and also is fun for the team, which always makes it a better experience for guests.
How does The Union Station recruit and retain top talent in a tight market?
It’s one word: culture. If we are not preaching culture on a day-to-day basis then I am failing as a leader. While we need to stay competitive with wages, that is just one aspect. If people come in and are excited about the culture and work, with leadership that checks in on a regular basis, it makes a major difference. It’s important for us not just to talk about hospitality as a career solution, but how fun it can be as well. I love this job because every single day is different, and it makes for exciting and engaging work. My door is always open to discuss issues, and we do self-audits of engagement to gauge the pulse of our employees. It is a key factor in retention and by extension productivity, which ultimately helps the bottom line.
What is your outlook for the hospitality industry in Nashville over the next few years?
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Nashville is a Top Five market with an unbelievable growth trajectory that is leaving everyone optimistic. With all the development, including the potential for Major League Baseball to come in, the future is bright. We have to continue competing with Los Angeles, New York, and other major markets. There is immense competition where everyone must elevate their game. We cannot be a transactional business; we must be experiential and truly understanding of the trends and guests’ desires as they evolve.
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