Tom Donovon - The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch
Bringing new meaning to “The Ritz-Carlton Way”

Tom Donovan, the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch has a busy year ahead. With the unveiling of the new restaurant in late summer of 2007 as well as the standard change of pace that comes with the winter season each year, not to mention the community efforts and philanthropic initiatives, well, actually, Tom Donovan is rather busy all year round.

Some would speculate that’s exactly as it should be. Tom Donovan’s role in the community is far more impacting than many realize. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, a name synonymous with luxury and award-winning service, the margin for error is small. Maintaining a culture that keeps customer satisfaction at top of the priority list is not an easy feat. More importantly, the impact both Donovan and The Ritz-Carlton have on the community is significant.

“We want people to understand we are here for the community as much as the guests that arrive,” states Donovan. “The importance is not just the gusts and out of town visitors to the community. The focus should be just as much or more for the community.”

Donovan participates in a variety of philanthropic and community efforts. Even a few “not so glamorous” projects including the river and roadside clean up initiatives. “It’s very simple,” he says, “We all have to do it. If you are promoting tourism, the area has to look good.” Also important is efforts with any of the charities in the area. According to Donovan, it’s a good thing to be a part of the community. “We were definitely viewed as being disenfranchised from the community in the beginning. Our goal was to get back involved. We employed over 600 people, that’s a big part of the community. Our job is to keeping them employed. The biggest thing you can do for the community is to create and maintain jobs.”

“Our future growth is completely tied to the community,” states Donovan. This isn’t New York or Los Angeles. Growing into their fifth year, Donovan’s aspirations are to grow organically through the community and getting the residents to embrace the resort. “It’s tough here,” he says. “We have a welcome gate – a sort of enclave. We are changing our restaurant in 2007 bringing in Wolfgang Puck, our attempts to involve more of the community to visit and instill the property is not a club or a penthouse, it is a place you can come with your family. To the outdoor fire pit, to the Buffalo Bar, to Spagos – not entirely a destination for out of town guests but locals as well.”
Culture

Donovan knows that establishing a culture starts at the top and demands relentless vigilance. It means recruiting the right people and training them the right way. One of the driving forces behind The Ritz-Carlton’s unique environment is the little card Donovan carries in his pocket every day. “It’s our service values –the credo” Emblazoned on a pocket sized card that each employee carries with them. Donovan takes it for a test spin every day in a line up. “We don’t advertise too much. Almost everything we do is word of mouth. It’s a 40 million dollar operation and that we don’t really advertise means our people take care of that. This thing we call a line up happens every day at the beginning of every shift that is the commercial. We run that every day. There is a reason why Coca Cola drills it in your head day in and day out –we don’t have that kind of budget, rather we utilize our employees.”
Also coined as “The Ritz-Carlton Way”, the culture that is defined within the organization has enabled The Bachelor Gulch Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, for the third consecutive year, to be awarded the coveted Mobil four-star award. The only spa in the State of Colorado to be so recognized. Mobil reviews over 300 spas annually and only 47 spas were given the four-star rating in North America. “We are so thrilled to have received this honor and to stand alone as the only four-star spa in Colorado,” said Gillian Agre, Spa Director.

The fact that The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch and the Bachelor Gulch Spa have both received these ratings so quickly is a testament to the level of service and the quality of the resort. “Our ladies and gentlemen at The Ritz-Carlton are committed to providing the finest personal service and facilities to our guests,” said Donovan. “Each member of our team is empowered to provide exceptional service, clearly these awards affirm our commitment to each and every guest.” 

“To achieve such a four star rating is significant –to maintain it is a challenge,” says Donovan. “You have to select great people, orientate great people, train great people, and line them up or inspire them every day.”

Donovan does this every day, literally. “Its not a complex plan, but you have to show the ability and the will so that every day you are focused on it. We run an employee satisfaction assessment with the company. This hotel ran in the top five domestic in our company. If the employees aren’t happy, there is no way the guests will be happy. One of my favorite quotes comes from Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwest Airlines who when asked how he makes his people really excited to come to work says ‘Its simple. We tell them it’s a great place to work. Then we reinforce it.’”

For Donovan, the number one thing employees are looking for is great communication. “Its way above the paycheck.” Donovan selects staff based on the right people for the position. Not the other way around. “Employees need to fit into their jobs.”

“One of the great things we use is a very scientific tool where only one in twelve can fit through a specific selection process. An employee can have five interviews before actually being selected. It’s all about the selection then the maintenance of that choice. It’s the only way to achieve our company’s success is by starting with great employees,” says Donovan.

Loyalty
“As a company, we’ve reduced our turn over to less than twenty-four percent. Most of the hospitality industry is fifty percent or greater,” he says. “This process has helped us do some great things. One of our hotels closed their doors for five months in Palm Beach. “The company placed employees in resorts around the United States to make sure they were still working. We’ve taken in twenty-five here. This way each employee will go back to Palm Beach after the renovation and hit the ground running.”

“Anywhere you can do that to hold on to employees that have been trained ten to fifteen years, you bring back seasoned employees to a hotel opening and the challenge is significantly less,” says Donovan. “To look at the big picture, not just the bottom line is critical, even when we are of course all working toward that bottom line!”
According to Donovan, more and more people are finding out that corporate culture is the number one thing a company needs to focus on. You can talk about your services, your banking, financials, awards, but the top focus is the culture. What does it say about your organization and how does that help you deliver on your brand. “I am fortunate to work for a company that has a very strong corporate culture,” he says. “When we were purchased by Marriott, we got stronger. Louis Gertsner took over IBM and spoke of all the things he had to do to turn the company. Culture is not one thing, it’s the only thing.”
Donovan’s take on Gertsner depicts “Of all the things he had to focus on, culture was the most important. Embarking on your cultural journey, it really is important to get into your employees’ head and heart to stay in the game.”

“Our toughest customer is our employee. They know the standards and they know what it is supposed to be,” he says. “Leading by example is important. A close friend of mine, Allen Murray, CEO of Mobile Oil Corporation, taught me a lot about humility. People don’t follow the big ego driven guys. They follow the humble leader. Ego is important, but a humble person, employees can follow. And they will.”

A Shift
Each Ritz-Carlton location has its own sense of refinement, culture, ambiance if you will. The Bachelor Gulch hotel is going through a cultural change. “We are keeping most of our culture,” says Donovan, “but we’ve turned it in a different way. We were accused of being very robotic. We are changing that to be much more personality based –to let employee’s talents really show. If two people get an assignment, they might get toward the final product, but will hit it two different ways. I’d like to unlock the ability to get to the same success in different ways. This is big for us. We’ve been around for twenty-three years and this is the first time we are making a significant change in the culture. It’s exciting. We want the ability to let staff interact with the guests. A much more casual elegance versus strict refinement.

Donovan describes the Bachelor Gulch property as a resort, but different, not your standard Ritz-Carlton, but with a greater sense of place. “This place exudes the mountains and we have to fit into that environment. When I arrived here, we were all wearing suits with the open collar. That doesn’t work. We wear sports coats in the winter but ensure its appropriate what we are wearing and the image we are presenting.”

Image and ambiance is important to Donovan. “We hosted a bar-b-que in the winter on the patio. All the men were wearing jeans. Our long term employees were floored and insisted you cannot wear jeans at the Ritz-Carlton! Absolutely we can. That’s part of the sense of place that goes into this.”

To Donovan, this isn’t faltering by any means with the guests. “It has to be warm and inviting with refinement and professionalism. Guests do not want the same type of service here that they receive in New York. One of our leaders used to say ‘Refinement without warmth is arrogance’. We have a warm refined ambiance. It has to be together, not just one or the other.”

“Its amazing how customer measurements are going. In the 90’s it was all about customer satisfaction. Then it changed to customer loyalty. Now, we are changing over to customer engagement. It’s kind of evolving. Customers that are actively engaged in your product are like a walking billboard. Of course the actively disengaged are killing your business. We have both –but definitely many more actively engaged.”
“Companies that focus more and more on their employees see the difference with customer loyalty,” he says. “All business margins are shrinking. Healthcare costs, utility costs. The only way you get back your margins are by increasing productivity from your employees. That doesn’t happen when you poke and prod them to work more. Then you see that reflecting customer interaction. Turn over costs are simply huge. In our resort here, it is significant how our turnover is. We have to hire and train close to 400 people each year and still try to maintain a world-class service. There are other challenges out there, however, this is the most significant.”

Amenities
The Bachelor Gulch resort comes complete with the amenities that make the Ritz-Carlton brand unique. This location however is set apart from other destination resorts. The top two draws for guests that make their stay memorable according to Donovan are Bachelor and the marshmallow pit.

“The fire pit we affectionately term is just a great focal point for the resort. It is the center of the property. It brings people out of their rooms to congregate. We have the high class hotel – defining luxury – there is something casual about the fire pit that draws guests out. You meet other guests, relax, talk about their stay. Not much brings guests together in a place where they can really unwind.”

Then there is Bachelor. The resident yellow Labrador. “He really gets the emotional engagement of our guests,” says Steven Holt, Director of Public Relations. “The kids come and they want to see Bachelor. It’s those details that keep guests coming back.”

Bachelor, who is a great symbol for the resort, is a true rags to riches story. The retired Bachelor was replaced with a new one for 2007. He was rescued on the 4th of July. He’s moved from his “orphanage” to his home at the Ritz-Carlton. By participating with the non-profit, Nakino’s, the hotel can facilitate walks with Bachelor that collect donations benefiting the shelter. Just another way the Ritz-Carlton at Bachelor-Gulch is participating with the community.