NEW YORK — Labor continues to be the biggest challenge faced by hotel operators, and Waterford Hotel Group Chairman and CEO Len Wolman said recruitment and retention should be the focal point for companies like his.
"How do you keep a culture in your organization that continually gives people the opportunity to fully realize their potential — professionally, personally and financially — and grow within an organization," he said, while speaking with Hotel News Now at the 2024 NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.
He noted that while the labor market remains "incredibly challenging," his firm has developed some tools to combat that, along with a culture of giving long-tenured employees the promise of growth.
On the enterprise side, though, Wolman noted the muted transactions market and relatively low level of hotel construction presents some challenges for growing the portfolio of a hotel operating platform. He said looking inward and leveraging existing partnerships is more important than ever.
"I think the biggest growth opportunities are really with our existing owners and portfolio and then expanding those relationships," he said.
Waterford currently has a portfolio of 30 properties with roughly 3,700 rooms focused mainly in the Eastern U.S.
He said the overall deals market likely won't open up until interest rates start going down or people grow more comfortable with rates where they are now. Either way, the low cost of debt seen over the last decade is not likely to make a comeback.
"If you look at history, this is more of the norm," he said. "I don't know that we'll ever — or won't for a long time, I shouldn't say never — go back to where we were for some many years. It was unusual."
For the full interview with Waterford's Len Wolman, watch the video above.