Donohoe Hospitality Services is investing time and resources in adding to its hotel portfolio and fortifying its team of associates this year.
During a break at the 2023 Hotel Data Conference, Leticia Proctor, executive vice president of sales, marketing and revenue management at Donohoe, spoke to Hotel News Now in a video interview about some of the challenges her company is working around this year.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based hotel company — which specializes in operations, asset management, consulting and development — currently has two hotels under construction. In Reston, Virginia, as part of the Reston Town Center development, Donohoe is building the dual-brand AC by Marriott/Residence Inn Reston Gateway, which will have 267 guest rooms. In Arlington, the company is developing the 224-room Bingham Hotel, which will be affiliated with Marriott's Autograph Collection soft brand.
Proctor said the development of both hotels has overall been successful, but there are obstacles to overcome in terms of procuring building materials and securing attractive financing.
"What we’ve seen as far as developing these assets would be supply-chain shortages in the sense of building a property, but also just the interest rates in construction have definitely been front of mind, as well as financing," she said.
Overall, 2023 has been a strong year so far for Donohoe, Proctor said. The company has had plenty of time to dedicate to investing in its employees.
"The other thing that we’re excited about is just our focus on our talent pool and our diversity and just ensuring that people are trained and recruited and that we inform people about the hospitality industry," Proctor said. "We’re really proud about that in the sense of how do we address labor going forward."
Proctor said that as a leader, she's learned to give herself more time to reset when needed, and she's encouraging her team members to "bring their whole selves" to work.
"Now, I do check-ins. I want to know, 'How is your family truly? What are you thinking about, what keeps you up at night?' Personal or professional. And how do we work together to get this done?" she said. "They check on me, too, because it is a heavy lift coming out of the pandemic for our industry, and I want them to understand how important they are for me, the entire associate, not just an associate that drives revenue. That to me has been a game changer."
To hear more of Hotel News Now's interview with Leticia Proctor, watch the video above.