3 min read March 2024 — With scores exceeding 90% in guest satisfaction, it is no surprise that Wyndham Deerfield Beach Resort recently won two major awards. It is all about the team, said General Manager Claude Dubois. “We strongly believe that if you take care of your team members, they will take care of your guests,” he told Invest:.
What are the major milestones for the hotel over the past 12 months?
Recently, we won two major awards. We won “Best Wyndham Hotel Worldwide” and also “Best upscale Wyndham Hotel Worldwide” at the Wyndham Global Conference. We compete against 170 hotels in the first category and against 552 hotels worldwide in the second category. We were also the first Wyndham Hotel Worldwide to achieve the highest level of green certification within Wyndham against 9,200 properties. It is the second Wyndham Global Conference in a row that we have won both awards. Those have been big accomplishments for the team in terms of recognition for our hard work and commitment to consistently delivering quality for our guests.
What do you think separates your hotel from the competition?
You may have the most aesthetically beautiful hotel but if the service is not where it should be, including cleanliness, friendliness, and the professionalism of the team, you cannot separate yourself from your competitors. “Excellence is a journey, not a destination”. We know who we are, and we have a very clear vision of where we want to be. We provide personalized service, innovative technology, including one of the fastest high-speed internet access in the market and many other amenities. We have an incredible team; we have amazing owners, Chase Enterprises, who provide us with the support that we need to succeed. We are passionate about taking care of our guests. We have fun at work. We deliver our results in a fun yet very professional environment.
What are guests looking for in their hotel experience?
People are looking for personalized service and recognition. When you travel to a hotel and the team members are not opening your door, giving you the right of way and/or not greeting you, that is a problem. The first and last impressions are extremely important. Your team has to be happy as it is felt with every interaction the team has with the guest. A smile goes a long way. We create a personal relationship with our guests, which is why our guest loyalty is very strong. Our guests know our team members want to take care of them.
What strategies have you been using to hire and retain your workers?
When COVID hit, we had to lay off quite a few employees, especially in housekeeping and in the kitchens. Some of them went to work for Target or Walmart but after a few months, 90% of them came back because of the way we treat our team members. We have increased our pay to be competitive and we have increased employee benefits. For example, we did not have a 401k matching before but now we do. We strongly believe that if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your guests.
What advice would you give to people considering a career in hospitality?
It is an amazing business. I have had the opportunity to work in Europe, the Middle East and now in the United States. It is a lot of hard work but extremely rewarding. If you want to be in management, you need to go through the steps of learning all the basics. It takes dedication and passion. You always must put your best foot forward. Every guest that stays with us gives us a rating on our performance. Our business is about taking care of people. We always need to stand out in terms of quality.
What makes Palm Beach a great area for hospitality and what are the greatest opportunities right now?
This past year was an amazing year for hospitality in South Florida as Florida was one of the few states that was fully open. We saw a lot of compression in the market pushing occupancy and ADR. This year has been slower, a lot of Americans chose to travel abroad. There was an increase of 55% of Americans traveling to Europe last year and it did affect the entire state. But with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, we are a prime destination for the domestic and international market.
Where do you see the hotel going within the next three years?
I am very optimistic about our property and the region. We have very supportive owners who are open to new ideas and who do not shy away from spending money to keep the property up-to-date and keep us attractive. Florida was known as a destination for older generations. This has changed and we are seeing younger generations moving to South Florida and making the state as a whole very attractive. The future looks very promising.
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