(Editor’s note: This second in a series of regional roundtable discussions covers issues facing the hospitality industry in the Merrimack Valley.)
Industry experts agree: The number one challenge facing those in hospitality is upgrading the professionalism and expectations of the workforce through educating and training. “People who want to go into the industry really don’t have the background or training to understand what it takes to be in this business,” says Keri Laman, owner of Tidewater Hospitality Resources and Tidewater Catering Group. “It’s unrealistic, some of the ideas that universities put into the minds of students.”
Jeff Paige, co-owner of Cotton Restaurant, agrees. “I blame a lot on the Food Network. Although it has boosted our industry, it has also helped fuel the thought of some who figure they’d be making $60,000 and say, ‘Oh, by the way, where’s my cookbook contract?’”
Peaches Paige, also co-owner of Cotton, says that she is always trying to find good people. “Lots of times, we hire people who are using this [restaurant work] as a stepping stone. That’s the reality though; you know they will move on, you have to expect that, it is part of the business,” she says.
Jason Lyon, CEO of The Common Man Family of Restaurants, says he too struggles with entry-level management assistants who expect hospitality to be more glamorous than it is and to deliver higher salaries. To help close the gap between unrealistic expectations and reality, he says his restaurants have started a mentoring program. “We have a team of certified training mentors. They are responsible for training their peers. They make a higher wage for every hour they are working. We home-grow staff, make an investment in their education and think in the long run it will benefit the establishment,” says Lyon.
Increasing Traffic to Manchester
While a trained staff is key, no one succeeds without customers. Almost everyone at this roundtable noted that Manchester’s prime lodging and restaurant driver is business travel. Darlene Johnston, owner of Ash Street Inn, sits on a tourism committee for the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. She says, “It is difficult to get people to realize that there is something here in Manchester. The city is more of a cultural area, and the Manchester Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) is working hard to get different groups into Manchester.”
David Roedel, co-owner of Roedel Companies, a total service hotel company that builds, operates and renovates hotels, agrees that the city of Manchester is making an effort to attract tourism. “Most of Manchester is served by business travelers. Locally we are having a fantastic year and I think the market is generally up. The occupancy rate has been consistent in Manchester, unlike a city like Portsmouth where there are spikes in the summer and fall,” says Roedel. But given that business travel is changing to a shorter Monday-through -Wednesday evening travel week, he says the Queen City needs to do whatever it takes to attract more tourism as well as businesses to the area.
“The city is stuck on economic development, though the state is coming to realize that we have something more than a business destination to offer,” Roedel says.“The airport is the straw that stirs the drink; otherwise we never would have invested in Manchester.”
Getting Locals to Stay for Dinner
Roedel points to statistics gathered by the CVB. “They show that 85 percent of the people who work in Manchester don’t live in Manchester. People who go out for a business lunch don’t necessarily live in the area and might go somewhere else to eat dinner,” says Roedel. “Sunday nights are typically bad in the hotel business, Thursdays have become worse over the last 10 years and Fridays and Saturdays depend on what there is to do in the area. Weekends are a mix of local Manchester clientele, group travel and lots of types of teams,” Roedel says. “We look forward to elections coming up. Manchester hotels should be a hot spot, and restaurants should benefit from that,” says Lyon.
A Long Way to 2008
“Let’s face it–primaries are a huge economic boom. The catering business goes berserk,” says Laman. It’s a boom for the hotels too, but some caution about extending credit lines. “We have to be very careful of what type of sales we take, and we stay away from the candidates themselves. They are notorious for skipping out on their bill, so it is cash and carry for them. We concentrate on the press and journalists,” says Roedel. Laman adds that when she is booked for a candidate’s private party, she demands a check upon arrival. She says one time she chased a candidate for two years in order to get paid. “It’s started already,” says Jeff Paige. “[Barack] Obama’s people have been here four or five times. It’s huge for us. All the staffers come in and they have unlimited budgets,” he says.
It’s Not the Heat
Weather, of course, is always NH’s wild card. While a mild winter wreaks havoc on the North Country, it can prove quite favorable for the Merrimack Valley. In fact, Peaches Cotton says this winter’s warmer temperatures resulted in a busier than usual January and February.
Tallene Eichelberger, general manager of The Highlander Inn, located near the airport, says she prays for fog. She says inclement weather elsewhere in the country or fog in NH provides her hotel with a captive audience.
Johnston says business in 2007 is up 55 percent over the past two years, with nearly 65 percent of guests being business travelers.
An Industry That Works Together
Interestingly, one topic that came up is the tight bond among industry leaders but the lack of support on the state level. “The hospitality industry is the state’s largest employer. This should be a huge focus for the state,” says Tom Boucher, a partner of the T-Bones Restaurant Group. “The state needs to take leadership to bring all the hundreds of hospitality associations together that are fighting for the same cause.”
