the hotelier

David G. Gabri
Working together to face the big issues
Fall 2007

DAVID GABRI is President, CEO and Owner of Associated Luxury Hotels International and is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Meeting Professionals International Foundation Board of Trustees.

MPG:   What attracted you to the hospitality industry?

Like so many that have joined the hospitality industry, I was lured there through relationships that needed some sales and marketing assistance and introduced me to the industry.  I found a home, something that I liked, and as we all know, when you like something and you work hard, normally you find some success.  We’ve been blessed with success. 

What was your very first industry job in 1973?

After graduating from Syracuse, I joined the industry as the assistant manager of a golf and country club in Florida.  Members of that club had hotels and they hired me.  

My hotel career took me to an international company called Trusthouse Forte.  I had six years with them and became their director of marketing, North America.  I left in 1981 to move back to Florida and became a partner with Buena Vista Hospitality.  After 8 years, I joined the Tishman Hotel Corporation for 14 years as a vice president.  In 2003, I acquired Associated Luxury Hotels. 

I read that you collaborated with John Metcalfe to develop Associated Luxury hotels.  Please tell that story.  What was the initial mission statement for the company?

That collaboration started at an HSMAI (Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International) conference in Philadelphia in 1985.  The Buena Vista Hospitality Group’s biggest asset was the Buena Vista Palace, a major independent meeting, convention and incentive destination hotel.  Our concept was to compete against the major U.S. chains by combining the knowledge and sales efforts with other independents and trading post-convention information.  We started that concept. 

Our clients would meet in our hotels and then have meeting in other parts of America.  When they returned to our region we wanted to make sure that we were in the driver’s seat for that business.  One of the advantages major chains enjoy is sharing leads within their own sales organizations.

In March of 1983, John Metcalfe, the founder of the company, formally established Associated Luxury Hotels.  John developed from one office in Washington to an independent national sales organization, predominately for the legendary, luxury, independent hotels and what was referred to as the “emerging brands” which included Loews Hotels as they built their brand, and later Intercontinental as they began to develop new assets attractive to the meetings and incentive sectors. The both came to Associated Luxury Hotels to assist them in positioning and actively promoting their hotels to the luxury markets.

You acquired the company in 2003.  Has the company’s initial vision changed since 2003?

The vision has not changed.  We still are a true competitor to the major US brands and now we have aportfolio of over 100 hotels and resorts worldwide that can compete effectively and successfully with any major brand.  We have broadened the scope of our reach into the marketplace by extending our national sales force.  We’ve gone from four to twelve offices and we’ve more than doubled the professional sales force and support teams coast to coast. 

Last year, you served as Chairman of the MPI Foundation.  How does the foundation support the meetings industry?

First of all, MPI is doing a very good job in creating a marketplace for CVBs, hotels, and planners, and has been providing helpful information and assistance in career development for years.

The foundation’s mission is to support MPI’s mission and is a fundraising arm to help accelerate information to the membership.  It’s a place where I could invest my time and resources where there was additional knowledge gained and shared with the industry -- on buying patterns, procurement, other projects -- that enable a broader awareness so that hoteliers, bureaus, and planners can better understand the marketplace. 

It’s also helping people further develop their careers by providing useful information and awareness so that all of us understand that although we are sometimes competitors, we are all in this business together.  It takes the entire community to tackle the big issues that face us going forward.

What is your advice to the hotel community to help insure their future success?

My advice would be not to get greedy in a seller’s market.  Historically, the trends will change and the cycle will repeat itself again in our future.  Also, listen to their clients and understand that there are ways to find mutually beneficial solutions even in the way we say “no.” 

We are in a small business community and it is our relationships that are vital for success within the meetings, conventions and incentive sectors.  Don’t be short-sighted or “penny-wise and pound-foolish” for any short-term benefits that could have negative long-term ramifications.

What is your advice to CVB executives?.

The CVBs are not necessarily in the same position as the hotels as they are currently in a more competitive environment.

I would suggest that CVBs should be focusing on the perceptions of their marketplace to their assets as opposed to only focusing on how they would like their assets understood.  That’s facing reality.

It takes a lot of investment into putting together advisory councils and conducting meaningful research to understand the perceptions of the marketplace. 

Perceptions are reality in the buyer’s mind.  I believe that understanding their buyer’s perceptions is very important so that they can effectively direct their resources towards the markets that are going to be most beneficial.

And finally, what is your forward looking advice for meeting planners?

Take note of who has a long-term perspective for their business relationship.  Meeting planners have a lot of strength because they are the ones creating the economic power -they are spending the money.  I think it is important to work with those people who are appreciative of that despite the shifting market conditions and they should have a long-term perspective on the relationships that they develop. 

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