Meisel Holdings Managed Services

Elevating the art of hospitality

Business View Magazine interviews Marc Meisel, CEO of Meisel Holdings Managed Services, for our focus on Best Practices in Facilities Management

More than a hotel management company, Meisel Holdings Managed Services (MHMS) is a team of seasoned professionals with more than 50 years of experience leading every aspect of real estate investment, from hotels, to commercial condominiums, to retail centers, to marinas. The firm understands the expectations and needs from both ownership and management sides of hospitality operations.

MHMS manages with an entrepreneurial approach – customizing a comprehensive plan for each individual hotel, focused on the client’s specific investment goals. All day-to-day hotel management tasks are expertly handled with attention to detail, from operation issues, to sales and marketing campaigns, to human resources procedures. From each guest’s arrival to departure, the ultimate goal of MHMS is to boost profitability and long-term asset value. In essence, propelling profit growth, while elevating the art of hospitality.

To learn more about MHMS, Business View Magazine went straight to the top – Marc L. Meisel, CEO of Meisel Holdings Managed Services. Marc is a third-generation member of the award-winning Meisel Holdings LLC family business and shared a wealth of information on the reasons behind its success. The following is an edited version of his remarks.

BVM: How did MHMS come into being?

Meisel: “My family has been in the commercial real estate business for two generations before me. So real estate was naturally in my blood. And the one part of the commercial real estate industry that peaked my interest was the hotel business. In the hotel world, first and foremost you’re a customer services company, you’re running a marketing company, a cleaning company, a maintenance company, a restaurant, multiple concession stores, and other services, all housed under one roof. At first, I inserted myself as the asset manager of a few hotels that my family owned at the time. Recognizing quickly that irrespective of the which management company was running the hotels, they were just that, a management company.

“Over time, I realized I was doing the job that I hired the management company to do. Therefore, I decided to manage the properties myself and opened Meisel Holdings Managed Services, the hotel management company for the Meisel Holdings hotel portfolio. Through the years, we were managing our properties, buying new hotels, and building hotels from the ground up. We developed our own SOPs and marketing techniques, created alliances with various providers, and procured and developed systems while building a great foundation of talent. All our hotels thrived under our management company and we started to get recognized by our peers – receiving numerous awards and being the top of our class on Trip Advisor.

BVM: What sets you apart from other management companies?

Meisel: “Two years ago, I decided to offer other hotel owners our hotel management services but I wanted to make sure that what frustrated me early on as a hotel owner working with management companies would not be the case with Meisel Holdings Managed Services. Therefore, we operate differently. Our pricing is straight forward, all-inclusive with no hidden fees. We operate off of short term management contracts. Most of all, we have the unique ability to look at a hotel from the perspective of ownership and not just a fee-based management company.

“We have experience and knowledge in every aspect of the hotel industry: from hotel construction and starting up a new hotel, running boutique hotels, branded hotels, and operating business hotels and vacation resorts. We understand that decisions that we, as the management company, make will result positively or negatively on the profitability and overall value of a hotel. Therefore we leave no stone unturned when it comes to the ongoing analysis of a hotel for potential profits, marketing avenues, operational efficiencies, and providing the best in customer service.”

BVM: Why would someone want to work for MHMS?

Meisel: “MHMS employees are the heart and soul of my company. They are primarily the ones that make Meisel Holdings Managed Services the success that it is and provide us the ability to grow. We operate like a smaller family business – nourishing talent, motivating creativity, and supporting our employees’ aspirations. Being in the customer service business, it’s our responsibility to make every guest’s stay enjoyable. It’s not fair for a front desk agent that may be having a bad day to spread that negativity to the customer. So we preach to all staff how important it is to greet each customer with a smile and say hello, no matter what position you work in. We also treat our employees with respect, provide for good health and wellness programs and company parties, so they are healthy, happy, and feel a part of the organization.”

BVM: In what areas are you investing?

Meisel: “It’s essential, now more than ever, to keep investing in hotels and raising the bar for appearance, customer convenience, and investing in green initiatives. With social media and review sites as prominent as they are, you can’t afford to let a property get tired or have deferred maintenance. Customers notice these things, and they don’t hesitate to take pictures of what they see wrong and report it to the rest of your potential customers. Outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are more willing now than ever to pay for quality and experiences. Therefore there is a return on investment when reinvesting wisely in a hotel property.

“Another area we are investing in is technology. Being able to operate effectively and efficiently with your property management systems, marketing tools, communications, and other technology is essential. Just as important is to make sure that your technology is protected and invest in safeguarding systems and data. Credit card data theft and cybersecurity breaches are on the rise and it is important for us hoteliers to not only protect our data but our customers’ personal information. We cannot afford to let our technology get antiquated or slow us down. The overall cost of efficiency or a breach is much more expensive than the cost of replacing that server or upgrading your systems.”

BVM: What is your marketing strategy?

Meisel: “Technology now allows us to know massive amounts of information about our customers or potential customers.  Where they are, their household income, their age, their interests, likes and dislikes, buying habits… without us even actually meeting them or saying hello. It has allowed us to provide a much more targeted approach to marketing. Now that we have all this data at our fingertips, we need to utilize it in a way that provides us the best return on our dollars. No one methodology will work for all properties, so a well-tailored plan needs to be generated based on each unique property and customer profile.

“We are now able to geo-target our marketing strategies and target people across the country or anywhere in the world that are a specific age, with a specified level of income, and have particular travel profiles and common likes or dislikes. Or we can focus on that last-minute buyer that’s a few blocks away. We can pinpoint our target market digitally via text messaging, email blasts, social media, web ads, retargeting advertisements, and so much more with current technology. Once we reach a customer, we can further tailor that customer’s experience from booking the room, all the way to check out, and everything in between. This not only provides superior customer service but also provides upsell opportunities for increased revenue.”

BVM: What are your main goals for the next five years?

Meisel: “Growth and profitability are key – not only to grow but to grow in a specific way. It goes back to the principal idea of why I decided to expand into providing hotel management services to other hotel owners. I want hotel owners to feel good about Meisel Holdings Managed Services as their management company and feel like we are their partner in profitability. I want owners to not only be ecstatic with the financial results but be happy about the way we got there. Meanwhile, I want to continue to be an employer that provides an enjoyable work environment for employees and provides a long-term career path with upward mobility for many of them.

“I’m excited about the hospitality industry. At the close of 2019, a Global Pipeline Trend Report stated that there are over 15,000 hotels in the construction pipeline, which is an all time high. A third of that pipeline is in the U.S. Combined with the current number of hotels, renovations, and changes in the industry, there is a lot of room for us to expand as a company in the years to come. We look to open new hotels, as well as replace management companies at existing properties, showing hotel owners what a difference a management company can make given the opportunity.

“I look forward to continuing to make our mark in the industry, just on a grander scale. One by one, each hotel that we manage, we will raise the bar so that hotels managed by Meisel Holdings Managed Services will be the top of their class, executing on our company tag line promise of ‘Elevating The Art of Hospitality’.”

AT A GLANCE

Meisel Holdings Managed Services

What: Hotel and asset management company

Where:  Rockville, Maryland

Website: www.meiselhms.com